Posted by GC on October 25, 2002 at 09:37:46:
In Reply to: thinking about buying a King 2341 posted by runswithscissors on October 24, 2002 at 23:30:29:
Two comments:
(1.) The inside of the bell is bright silver, not nickel.
(2.) The satin finish is beautiful and makes a big impression, but it's a bear to clean and polish; the pits in the finish tend to hold polish after cleaning, and it comes off on your hands and clothing for a while. Several people have suggested cleaning the horn with Windex after polishing to remove the residue. David Fedderly suggested spraying the horn with Simple Green and hosing it off to remove the leftover polish. I haven't tried it yet, but it makes lots of sense. The tubing around the valve section has very little clearance, and it's unusually difficult to reach those areas. I saw one repairman apply Hagerty's spray polish and then use strips of roll gauze to reach in between the tubes.
The satin 2341's are beautiful horns, but their finish maintenance is a lot of work. Remember to use silver polishes with a tarnish inhibitor and to wipe it down every time you play.