Posted by Lew on November 24, 2001 at 21:36:21:
In Reply to: Repair Questions posted by Tom B. on November 24, 2001 at 21:02:52:
There is no reason that you have to do anything to raw brass patches on your horn. They will oxidize, but not severely enough to make a difference. Some have claimed that lacquer can deaden the sound of a horn so they leave their entire horn in raw brass, or remove lacquer from it. Since yours is already silver plated this isn't an issue. A few small spots will have absolutely no impact on the way the horn plays. Polishing and lacquering would protect those spots, but it's not necessary. If you really want to you can use a little lemon pledge to polish those spots and it will keep them shiny and somewhat protected.
It is possible to spot plate parts of a horn relatively inexpensively. The resulting plate will be thinner than on a complete job and won't hold up too well. Again I don't think that it's worth bothering.
A chem clean could be worthwhile. Minerals do build up in a horn and need to be cleaned out periodically. You could do this yourself at home if you are handy. Check the archives for discussions about what chemicals to use. Just giving the horn a bath won't do the same thing.