Here is part 2 of yesterdays post on making your instrument shiny. In today's post we will be talking about how the technician would make your sliver instrument shine and also how you can make it shine. Sliver is the second most common finish you will find on instruments. It can be found on trumpets, trombones, saxes and flutes. It looks something like this Sliver sax. A sliver finish offers a different sound than a lacquer and also need to be taken of differently.
Let's talk about what a technician would use to make your instrument shine. First the technician would take apart the instrument and give it a chemical bath to remove any hard grease. After being chem cleaned, the technician would use a liquid or paste polishing solution on it. After that he would air dry the instrument and its parts, then he would take a sliver polishing cloth and polish the instrument till it shines.
Now let's talk about how you can do it. Basically what you will need is a sliver polishing cloth. You can buy one of these cloths at a music store like Taylor Band, or a store like target, or your local jewelry store will sell them. What you will do is take the polish cloth and rub the instrument down till it shines. Its a simple fix that will only take you 20 minutes to do.
~MT~
How often would you suggest shining your instrument? Wouldn't this harm the instrument after a while with all of the chemical baths?
ReplyDeleteI would shine, or wipe it down every time you are done playing it. The cloth wont hurt finish on the horn, but your body's oils and acids that come from your hands will. Chemical Cleans should only be done when the instrument has a large build up of dirt or grease on it. So once every 7-10 months you're instrument should be dipped.
ReplyDelete