Re: Best Products Horn Flush


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Posted by Lee Stofer on June 04, 2003 at 08:24:20:

In Reply to: Best Products Horn Flush posted by Gary Swart on June 03, 2003 at 09:53:17:

In a post below, you seem to indicate that your instrument has not been cleaned in 5 years. There is a good likelihood that there is red-rot happening in your valves and leadpipe. If this is the case, a really good $200.00 chemical cleaning is the thing to save the integrity of your horn.
This is my process for chemical-cleaning; I disassemble it, evaluate its condition, degrease the parts (also removing all the large chunks of dirt), then dip the parts in a de-limer/de-scaler solution. After a few seconds I remove the parts, re-wash and re-evauluate them. If there is further calcification, I will use tools much like a dental hygienist uses, and scrape deposits where necessary, then re-dip the parts. Then, I re-wash, re-evaluate, and when they are ready, I briefly dip them in a bright dip solution. After bright-dipping, it is rinsed, re-washed, dried, and reassembled with Hetman lubricants. It is the absolute best treatment I know of to protect your instrument and make it play its best. I am now using the bright dip on more instruments than I used to, because of the protection it affords. If an instrument is regularly cleaned well, the brass inside the instrument will slowly turn brown but remain healthy. In instruments like that, no bright-dipping is necessary. But, bright-dipping will arrest the rot in valve casings so afflicted. Last year, I cleaned two sets of french horns, one bright-dipped and one not, for two school systems. Neither set of horns was cleaned at all for a year. At the end of the year, the horns that were bright-dipped still had perfect valve action, and not a hint of calcification in the rotors. The ones that had been only washed and de-limed last year needed it again this year. This full chemical-cleaning process even stops valve problems with the Jupiter instruments, if combined with Hetman lubricants. They have corrosion inhibitors. Vinegar, combined with regular washing might work OK for some people if they meticulously maintain their instrument, but when an instrument is in trouble, you will be money ahead to have it cleaned professionally.

Lee Stofer


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