Posted by je on March 07, 2004 at 19:45:19:
Greetings -- I have a tuba jock question:
Has anyone ever used a lemon and table salt to clean/polish raw brass?? My wife is into "homeopathic/natural" things and read that this was a good, non-toxic way to clean and polish brass (and copper)
I am very partial to my unlacquered horn (yes I do believe it affects the sound and playability of this particular horn significantly) and I dont like using harsh chemicals on it that might possibly alter the properties of the brass. It is not a cosmetic issue (I dont mind the look of raw brass), but I do like to clean it every once in a while.
Any experience with this? We gave it a shot on a couple valve slides and it worked pretty well. It did take some elbow grease, and does not get it quite as shiny as commercial polishes, but it did clean it and even took off spots of red rot.
Any comments/experiences/wisdom, before I do the rest of the horn this way??
Thanks...
joe exley