Removing paint from a sax
Ron Meyer
thinking that this may be that opportunity to restore a sax like I have
alway been threatening to do.
So, how about some advice. What is the best way to remove spray paint from
a sax?
Am I biting off more than I can chew?
Thanks, Ron M.
grego
i am in the process of doing the crime that you are trying to reverse,
painting a alto which only cost me 75 .- and I bought it for the very
purpose of committing the crime.
In your case it is either a matter of purchasing a good facemask
,rubbergloves and applying a lot of paintstripper , or having the horn
"stripp-dipped" by a commercial dipper.
If you are prepared to persist with what will be a task that will probably
take weeks and months, no, I do not think you are biting off too much.
Just be prepared to look at it as a learning experience and don't be
surprised if the horn will look a million dollars but might sound like a
bucket a sh.........tt.
regards
grego
Ron Meyer wrote in message <7ks280$fp3$1...@cletus.bright.net>...
Bob Fowler
>I have this Selmer Bundy bari that someone saw fit to spray paint. I am
>thinking that this may be that opportunity to restore a sax like I have
>alway been threatening to do.
>
>So, how about some advice. What is the best way to remove spray paint from
>a sax?
>
>Am I biting off more than I can chew?
>
>Thanks, Ron M.
It's probably safe to assume that the underlying lacquer is shot anyway, so
here goes...
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! - After you take all of the keys off the horn, try
using brake fluid. That stuff will strip just about ANY paint ever made.
WEAR RUBBER GLOVES AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA (preferably outside)!
I would try a small inconspicuous area first... You will have to completely
wash the horn down with a dish soap ("Dawn" works well as a general purpose
degreaser) and rinse thoroughly when you're done. BTW - Brake fluid WILL
take the lacquer off as well as the paint so you'll wind up with a bare
brass horn. Don't expect it will come up shining, you'll still have to
polish it (and then degrease it again!).
Oh yes, read the warning label on the can of brake fluid, the stuff is VERY
nasty! Be careful and wear eye protection as well. Finally, don't blame me
if you mess up! :-)
Bob Fowler
sax...@superlink.net
http://mars.superlink.net/saxman
LeliaLoban
>>a sax?
Depends on what kind of spray paint was used. I bought a painted sax and found
that acetone on a paper towel removed the stuff easily. Same advice that Bob
Fowler gave for brake fluid: use at your own risk, do the job outdoors if
possible, and wear rubber gloves, eye protection and a face mask, preferably a
cartridge respirator designed to filter out dusts and mists. Please read the
label warnings. Acetone doesn't get much respect because it's used (in low
concentrations) in nail polish remover, but it's seriously unhealthy to inhale
the stuff or get a lot of it on the skin. No chemical that will remove paint
is safe, alas.
Lelia
Please delete NOSPAM from my address to reply by e-mail.
ferd
Bob Fowler <sax...@superlink.net> wrote in message
news:7ktdge$7nr$1...@usenet45.supernews.com...
> DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! - After you take all of the keys off the horn,
try
> using brake fluid
>
The very same stuff that will make a car rot to hell when spilled over the
laquer.
This stuff is definitely not to be kept within half a mile of a saxophone.
Make that a mile.
rule #1) do not even wish to remove any laquer from a saxophone.
rule #2) If violation of rule #1 is inevitable, take a cold shower
rule #3) If still not cured, ask expert advice
rule #4) if still not cured, get a proffesional to butcher your sax. (but no
true pro would do it)
rule #5) Find gullible owner of other sax of your liking and trade painted
sax for one without paint. An attempt to make profit is allowed
rule #6) there are exactly 5 rules.
--
Keep you reed wet
ferd, f1...@xs4all.nl
JEAN TREMBLAY
plated sax, that somebody painted in silver to cover the brass where the plating
was lost. We used a regular paint stripper and it turned out real good.
John
Ron Meyer
Did you have to remove all the hardware first? (Any how-to videos and/or
books on this?) What kind of paint stipper did you use; a generic or a
particular brand?
Thanks, Ron M.
JEAN TREMBLAY wrote in message <3772B8D3...@sympatico.ca>...
Guy Washburn/Laura Reiner
Guy
Bob & Liz Fowler
>
>Bob Fowler <sax...@superlink.net> wrote in message
>news:7ktdge$7nr$1...@usenet45.supernews.com...
>> DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! - After you take all of the keys off the horn,
>try
>> using brake fluid
>>
>
>The very same stuff that will make a car rot to hell when spilled over the
>laquer.
>This stuff is definitely not to be kept within half a mile of a saxophone.
>Make that a mile.
WRONG!!!!! Brake fittings - i.e. the metal parts that come into direct
contact with brake fluid are made of brass! Cars rot when brake fluid is
spilled and the paint is destroyed because they are steel, which rusts, not
brass (like a saxophone), which doesn't rust.
>rule #1) do not even wish to remove any laquer from a saxophone.
The stripping of the lacquer doesn't hurt the horn. Damage is done when the
instrument is carelessly buffed. The stripping process doesn't take any
metal off.
>rule #2) If violation of rule #1 is inevitable, take a cold shower
I thought that was for "other" desires...
>rule #3) If still not cured, ask expert advice
Who would you suggest?
>rule #4) if still not cured, get a proffesional to butcher your sax. (but
no
>true pro would do it)
I guess Ed Strege of Badger State Repair (formerly of Allied) doesn't
qualify as a "true pro". I also assume that the guys at Anderson are a
bunch of butchers as well...
>rule #5) Find gullible owner of other sax of your liking and trade painted
>sax for one without paint. An attempt to make profit is allowed
To quote the original post " I am thinking that this may be that opportunity
to restore a sax like I have
alway been threatening to do." What's the big deal, it's his horn and his
project. It's not like it's the last Bundy on the face of the Earth.
>rule #6) there are exactly 5 rules.
So I guess rule #6 doesn't exist...
I'm guessing that you've had a bad "relacquer" experience in the past. Not
all mechanics are dolts, stooges, or incompetents. There are quite a few
who do a damn fine job restoring instruments. I've seen a bunch of bad
relacquer jobs, complete with "ski slope" tone holes, but I've seen more
that were VERY well done.
JEAN TREMBLAY
We took off all the keys and since it needed a repad, took them off at the
same time. The springs were left on. I do not remember the brand name of the
paint stripper, but we bougth it at a local hardware store here in Montreal.
The stuff was applied on and wipped after about 30 minutes. Took the whole
day but was worth every minute of it ! We did the same thing on a Lazer
trumpet that was red lacquered but silver plated under. Turned out great too
!!
Hope this helps and let me know of any further questions
John
Ron Meyer a écrit:
Malcolm Tattersall
>
> I have this Selmer Bundy bari that someone saw fit to spray paint. I am
> thinking that this may be that opportunity to restore a sax like I have
> alway been threatening to do.
>
> a sax?
>
Some nut ate a whole Cessna once - a bari shouldn't be impossible ;-)
Malcolm Tattersall
Ron Meyer
Guy Washburn/Laura Reiner wrote in message
<3772E770...@mediaone.net>...
>Wouldn't it be easier to just use a Dukoff D8? ;-)
>
>Guy
Yeah, it may sound better but still look like hell!
Image is everything!!
Ron M.
J.H. Kovacic
find it a fairly good horn. Can you tell me what company manufactures
Lazer instruments? From what country do they come? TIA
Joe
--
"Teach a boy to blow a horn and he'll never blow a safe."
JLM
LeliaLoban
Hi, Ferd--I think this is a misunderstanding. If I understood the original
question right, he wasn't talking about stripping off original lacquer. He was
talking about getting rid of a spray-paint job someone had done after-market.
I've got a silver-plated Conn "Chu" alto sax that was painted with opaque
silver and gold spray paint. Apparently some bands went in for this look. I
think the paint looks horrible, but it sure got me a bargain price on this sax!
Someone else asked if it's necessary to take off all the hardware. Yes.
Remove everything possible, including the screws, and after stripping, wipe off
the residue as well as possible and then wash the whole sax and all the parts
thoroughly with water, inside and out. It's much easier to take the sax apart
and put it back together than to try to do a thorough job in all the nooks and
crannies with the keys on. Chemical stripping will destroy the corks and pads,
anyway, so might as well do the whole overhaul at the same time. Anyone not
comfortable with taking the sax apart should go to a repairman for this job.
It's a big, messy undertaking and not safe to do around pets or little kids.
Richard Bush
keep track of all pivot screws and get them back into the same posts and
with the same key pieces they were originally with.
If you have a large area, maybe a table top, where you can lay
everything out, put the keys from top to bottom in the order in which
they were taken off. If the screw is a rod or arbor, return it to the
key's tubing. If the key, say a low C# is attached with pivot screws,
put each screw at the appropriate end of that key.
When you start putting stuff back on, start at the bottom of these rows
of layed out keys and work yourself backwards toward the top key.
Guy Washburn/Laura Reiner
Oh well -- serves me right for posting obscure horn puns. ;-)
Guy
LeliaLoban
Yes! Once the keys are all off the sax, out of context, everything can look
totally confusing. If there's any doubt about the sanctity of the workbench,
any chance that someone will come along and "just move a few things out of the
way," Ferree's Tools sells a screw-board, a piece of wood with holes drilled in
it and labelled with a diagram, where you can keep the screws. There are a
bunch of different sizes of screw, so it's important not to mix them up. I
also set aside a box lid big enough to hold all the keys, drew a crude Magic
Marker outline of them, labelled the drawings, and set the keys on the drawings
as I take them off in order. That way, even if the box gets scrambled somehow,
it's easy to figure out which keys, and parts of keys, go where and do what.
mmd...@gmail.com
> I have this Selmer Bundy bari that someone saw fit to spray paint. I am
> thinking that this may be that opportunity to restore a sax like I have
> alway been threatening to do.
>
> So, how about some advice. What is the best way to remove spray paint from
> a sax?
>
> Am I biting off more than I can chew?
>
This is interesting information.
I bought a Alexandre Alto Sax for $55, it has lots of rust but all the keys
are working. I bought it just to attempt to restore it and acquire the experience.
1. I want to leave the lacquer alone and just remove the rust and shine it.
then I want to polish it and just to see if I can do it and how it looks I want to use some car paint on it.
2. After I get all the rust of without taking the lacquer off, what would be the proper steps to take to get this done right and have a nice looking saxophone? I know I have to take the saxophone completely apart then take get the rust off. (what should use to remove the rust without removing the lacquer?)