Re: How do you clean a Euphonium


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Posted by tubagoo on October 25, 1999 at 16:23:36:

In Reply to: How do you clean a Euphonium posted by Steve on October 23, 1999 at 19:29:42:

so you want to clean your euphonium,

its about time
go to walmart, get one of those giant rubber maid storage container, saves your euph, and your tub, and water
remove the valves, keep track of the numbers, not all have it stamped on top, (some times 3 dots means 3rd valve() remove the buttons, felts spacers, and soak in a plastic bowl with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. forget about them for awhile...
remove springs, set them somewhere safe, and remove the bottom caps....
remove all the slide, put them on a towel.
put cool water and lemon dish detergent, in the tub... dont go crazy with the detergent...
put the body of the euphonium in the tub and wash it care fully with all cotton cloth, use a trombone snake for all the tubes and use a nylon bottle brush, with plastic handle and stem for the valve casings(no metal parts)
let it soak some more and then give it another scrubbing on the inside.. remove it from the tub.....set the horn aside, and use the same procedure to clean all the slides...
after thats all done, remove the slides and empty the water,
clean the tub and fill with fresh water, and carefully rinse the euph and its parts...
care fully....it is easy to damage a horn at this time.....
after every thing is rinsed, dry with all cotton cloth (any nylon will scratch the silver) and set aside for awhile.....
you will also want to clean the valve caps(especially the threads on the bottom caps) and clean the springs care fully, with the vinegar solution...i use a tooth brush for these parts
finally, finish cleaning the valves, use soft cloth, toothbrush, bone snake, etc...never use pumice
rinse the valve very well
blow water out of the vents
let every thing air dry...
assemble the horn, valves last....use whatever slide grease you like...
i use vaseline but it needs to be wiped and re done often, selmer is also good
i also use al cass valve oil , oiling it every day...care ful of the valve guides especially if they are the white nylon kind, dont damage them, they are a pain to replace...

if you really want to polish silver, dont do it every time you bathe it...each time you polish the silver, you take some off,,,
also, polish befor you reassemble...and make sure you remove and rinse all the polish from the inner slides, in side the outer slides, and especially the valve casings

try wrights silver CREAM or twinkle.....
if you buy something that seems to abrasive, it probably is.. take it back....twinkle is a very fine paste you mix with water.
good luck, wear a bathing suit.



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