Posted by Karl Parks on May 12, 2001 at 00:10:30:
This week I have in my possession 3 silver plated brass instruments:
- my son's conn trumpet (bright finish, but well tarnished))
- a borrowed, somewhat beatup and neglected Marzan tuba (I think the original finish was bright, but the best I could get it is more of an aluminum duller finish. In some areas, like the slides, it is down to the raw brass)
- and a Conn 3 valved euph (this definately was a satin finish with a bright finish on the bell around the engarving.)
In preparation for an orchestra concert this weekend, more for the fun to see what they could look like, I got out the Wright's silver polish and tried to clean them the best I could. The trumpet cleanup the best, followed by the euph. The tuba, as stated above, I could not get it looking real nice. I am assuming there is not enough silver left on it. Just after several days I can see the tarnish returning on the euph. My son says the his tarnich also returns with in days. Actually the tuba has seen the least amount of tarnish return.
Several threads have talked about how to clean silver and different products. I also have read several threads about silver vs laquer. From these discussions,I have basically come to the conslusion that there is not much difference in the sound of laquer vs silver, thus it is more of an aesthtic quality. I hope soon to buy my own tuba. I still like the looks of the silver finish, but am having some difficulty in appreciating the extra money for the silver. To help in my decision I have some questions on the silver finishes.
QUESTION TO YOU WITH SILVER INSTRUMENTS:
1) Is a new silver instrument easy to keep clean? Or, in other words, do older instruments tarnish easier than a new one?
2) Does the quality of the silver plating effect the amount it will tarnish, or do all silver instruments tarnish at approimately the same rate?
3) Have you given up trying to keep your silver instrument looking nice? How often do you clean it?
Karl Parks
Orlando, FL