Posted by dschultz(AT)evansville. on March 12, 2004 at 13:24:59:
In Reply to: What exactly is posted by chemical cleaning on March 12, 2004 at 03:51:24:
Most modern chemical cleaners for brass are sulfamic acid. This acid is very safe inasmuch as it's almost impossible to make a solution stronger that 10-15%. It won't damage your horn unless your tech leaves it in the bath over the weekend. It's a lot safer to use that some of the 'radiator shop' methods (muriatic acid) that have been used in the past. Simply running warm soapy water through the horn is a good thing to do if you play the horn very much but water will also leave behind calcium and hard-water deposits that can only be removed by an annual chemical cleaning. $100 bucks a year is pretty good insurance that your horn will continue to be of good service to you. Don't try to use products like CLR in your horn. It clearly states on the container that CLR is NOT for use on brass.