Re: Bathing my SILVER horn??

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Posted by Sean Chisham on July 09, 2001 at 14:42:54:

In Reply to: Bathing my SILVER horn?? posted by Todd on July 09, 2001 at 09:50:36:

Don't use soap!!! It will take forever to get that soapy smell and taste and residue out of the horn. Just plain old warm water and a cleaning snake is all you need.

All of these instructions are at your own risk and may cause extreme damage to your property, nuclear war, or even the destruction of the universe. So don't try charging me for dents or any other damage.


  1. Supplies needed are a cleaning snake, large bath towels for padding, valve oil, and tuning slide grease.
  2. Lay a towel down in a safe area. Place all of the valves, if piston, and tuning slides on the towel. Also remove the bottom caps from piston valves along with the springs. Place these on the towel for later cleaning.
  3. Start to fill the tub with warm water and place towels in the bottom to prevent scratches on the tuba while it soaks. Before the tub gets too full, carefully place the
    disassembled horn in the tubs onto the soft towels. You could lower the horn in later, but as the bell fills with water suddenly, it may shift and land too hard on the bottom bow. Whichever way you prefer.
  4. Continue to fill the tub as full as possible. Allow the horn to soak for a while. I usually wait about 45 minutes or so.
  5. Take the flexible snake and proceed to run it from the leadpipe into the valve section. Also from the valve slides into the valve section. Take special care not to scratch the inside of the valve casing. Most of the sludge collects at bends.
  6. All of this is assuming a piston horn. Rotary horns are trickier. Snakes sometimes get bound on rotary valves, so be careful around the fifth valve or all of the valves in the case of rotary horns.
  7. The large sections such as the top and bottom bow don't really need to be cleaned as they don't really get that dirty. Besides, the tubing is so large there that I doubt it matters.
  8. After you have flushed as much of the grey jelly like crap out of there as is possible, try to get the horn out of the tub. I say try because it will be very, very heavy. The horn will also be very, very slippery due to water and grease. Be careful. As you pick it up, tip it over in the direction which causes water to flow out the bell. You will need to spin the horn in that direction at least twice to get the majority of the water out. Also empty the valve slides as best as you can.
  9. Now that the horn is cleaned, set it aside. Place the tuning slides in the bathwater and let them sit for a couple of minutes. While they soak, clean the valves, springs, and bottom caps with a toothbrush in the sink under running water. They will probably clean up pretty easily. Try not to tear up the corks or felts. You might even consider setting them aside before this step.
  10. Set the valves back on the dry towel and go after those slides with the snake. On my horns, it seems the tuning slides get the nastiest. After they are cleaned out, place them on the dry towel.
  11. Put the horn back together with fresh tuning slide grease and valve oil and have at it. The valves might be a bit weird for a day if there are a few particles of loosened dirt floating around in the slides. A few applications of valve oil should flush this away.
  12. To clean the outside buy some 3M TarniShield and follow the directions on the bottle.
  13. The last step is the most important for anyone living with parents, a wife, or roomates. CLEAN THE TUB!!! It will have an aweful ring around it which consists of the same stuff which filled your horn before you start. It is a greasy dark gray ring which you don't want Mrs. Tubawife to see or you will be sleeping on the couch for the next 2 weeks.


sean


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