Polishing Silver Plated Sax

[Blackmoor]

I have a Conn 6m "Ladyface" from about 1934-35.

 

1.) How would you rate this saxophone compared to others

 

2.)It is silver plated - At present it is a little "cloudy" -  How do I polish the sax and how shiny do you think it is possible to get it

 

Thanks all

[Steve Marshall]

1. 6Ms are one of the best altos ever made. However, like the Selmer MK VI
they can vary considerably and there seem to be a lot of poor ones around.
I've not seen too many , but the ones I've seen have all been excellent.

2. As little as possible !!! Plating is very thing and every time you polish
it you'll wear away the silver. Use just a lint free cloth. Occasionally one
of those silver polishing cloths are great to use. Certainly don't use
silver polish of any kind or you'll be down to brass in no time.
Personally I much prefer a slightly blackened sax with all its plating
intact to one that has the brass showing.

Steve M
"Blackmoor" <gbur...@bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:3uBa6.74963$xW4.5...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

[Bob2221M]

I had the silver plate on my mark VI tenor looking a little flaky. I polished
it with one of those "treated" polishing cloths and it took the flakes off and
left brass showing through. Ouch!

[chuck]

sterling silver does tarnish, does it? Regardless, I'd just leave the
dirt/finger prints. It gives it character, and makes it look old.

chuck
"Bob2221M" <bob2...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010121202750...@ng-ff1.aol.com...

[Stephen Howard]

On Sun, 21 Jan 2001 20:40:15 -0000, "Steve Marshall"
<48ka...@freeuk.com> wrote:

>1. 6Ms are one of the best altos ever made. However, like the Selmer MK VI
>they can vary considerably and there seem to be a lot of poor ones around.
>I've not seen too many , but the ones I've seen have all been excellent.
>
>2. As little as possible !!! Plating is very thing and every time you polish
>it you'll wear away the silver. Use just a lint free cloth. Occasionally one
>of those silver polishing cloths are great to use. Certainly don't use
>silver polish of any kind or you'll be down to brass in no time.
>Personally I much prefer a slightly blackened sax with all its plating
>intact to one that has the brass showing.
>

You can use one of the non-abrasive polishes ( such as Goddard's Long
Term Sliver Polish ) to bring it up to a shine.
This polish works chemically to remove the oxidisation so you won't
wear the finish.
Having said that it's a real chore to polish a sax, and it starts
tarnishing again almost instantly.
Give it a go, but don't be surprised if after a few weeks you think
'ah sod it - it looks kinda funky when it's tarnished'!

Regards,

Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
Emails to: shwoodwind{who is at}bigfoot{dot}com

[cou...@my-deja.com]

I have a '27 silver Conn "New Wonder" alto. I keep it polished using
Hagerty spray-on dry silver polish applied on special soft polishing
gloves - it works great - just don't rub hard! Also, Hagerty sells
cloths that are treated to prevent tarnish - I keep the horn wrapped in
the cloth, in the case (after its good and dry, of course).
Stuff works great on gold plate too - I made a really nasty looking GP
King look like new.

Check it out at:
http://www.brauncompany.com/braunco/index.html

Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

[cou...@my-deja.com]

In article <94h9oc$cjs$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

Sorry - this is the right link:
> http://www.hagerty-polish.com/

[HOST Comp Tanker]

>Stuff works great on gold plate too - I made a really nasty looking GP
>King look like new.

It continues to amaze me just how horrid gold plated instruments can end up
looking. With gold and platinum being way up there on the non-reactive scale of
metals, you would think that there would be minimal tarnish (which there is,
actually) and an easy to clean surface. But, most of the gold plated horns that
I've seen are really dirty and "gummy looking".

Of course, this will work to your advantage if you find a sax with "horrible"
lacquer that is in otherwise good condition. If you know that that "horrible"
lacquer is actually gummy gold plate, you're ahead in the bargaining process
right there...

Terry L. Stibal
HOSTCom...@aol.com

[Paul Lindemeyer]

HOST Comp Tanker wrote:

> It continues to amaze me just how horrid gold plated instruments can end up
> looking. With gold and platinum being way up there on the non-reactive scale of
> metals, you would think that there would be minimal tarnish (which there is,
> actually) and an easy to clean surface. But, most of the gold plated horns that
> I've seen are really dirty and "gummy looking".

They put so little gold on these instruments, and gold is so soft, that
it never wears well. The years really take their toll. A shame, really,
when you consider how VERY expensive they were when new. A gold horn
would cost you twice what a silver horn would (the same horn, no special
features or extras -- just gold).

I also think there may be some tendency to react badly with silver,
brass, and certain bodily chemistry, because there are a lot of gold
horns with spot wear not just to brass, but to a really rough, cruddy
brown surface, as if some serious corrosion has taken place. You seldom
see this on silver plated horns.

-P.

[ClickRec]

> How do I =

>polish the sax and how shiny do you think it is possible to get it

That silver's not going anywhere overnight. I'd leave it till the next overhaul
and do it then, or possibly have it dipped.

-John

[cou...@my-deja.com]

In article <3A6C633B...@cyburban.com>,

pau...@cyburban.com wrote:
> HOST Comp Tanker wrote:
>
> > It continues to amaze me just how horrid gold plated instruments
can end up
> > looking. With gold and platinum being way up there on the non-
reactive scale of
> > metals, you would think that there would be minimal tarnish (which
there is,
> > actually) and an easy to clean surface. But, most of the gold
plated horns that
> > I've seen are really dirty and "gummy looking".
>
> They put so little gold on these instruments, and gold is so soft,
that
> it never wears well.

I was amazed how much plate that old king had -(H.N. White, serial no.
97xxx, circa 1928) the plating was a good 98% - even after polishing.
By comparison, I know a guy who had his Mark VI gold plated by a well
known plater, and its all but worn off just a few years later.

The years really take their toll. A shame, really,
> when you consider how VERY expensive they were when new. A gold horn
> would cost you twice what a silver horn would (the same horn, no
special
> features or extras -- just gold).
>
> I also think there may be some tendency to react badly with silver,
> brass, and certain bodily chemistry, because there are a lot of gold
> horns with spot wear not just to brass, but to a really rough, cruddy
> brown surface, as if some serious corrosion has taken place. You
seldom
> see this on silver plated horns.
>
> -P.
>

[Steve Marshall]

Sounds like the plating had lifted from the body of the sax. It's best to
steer well clear of it if it goes like that, unless you're going to have it
re-plated.

Steve M

"Bob2221M" <bob2...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010121202750...@ng-ff1.aol.com...

[Man of Steel]

I asked this question a year ago and here was a tip from Leila

I asked my repairman the same question about my old gold-plated Selmer
alto,
which is fairly beat-up with a lot of scratches. He cleaned it when
he
restored it. To keep it looking bright, he suggested leaving an
anti-tarnish
strip (3M makes them; they're sold in stores that carry supplies for
cleaning
table silverware) in the case so that the silver plating that's
underneath the
gold won't tarnish in the numerous scratches and scuffs. The gold
won't
tarnish. He suggested just using a piece of an old flannel shirt (a
soft one
that was washed a lot and wore out) to wipe off fingerprints once a
week or so.
Seems to work.

HTH,

MoS

[Lelia Loban]

>It continues to amaze me just how horrid gold plated instruments can end up
>looking. With gold and platinum being way up there on the non-reactive scale
>of
>metals, you would think that there would be minimal tarnish (which there is,
>actually) and an easy to clean surface. But, most of the gold plated horns
>that
>I've seen are really dirty and "gummy looking".
>
>Of course, this will work to your advantage if you find a sax with "horrible"
>lacquer that is in otherwise good condition. If you know that that "horrible"
>lacquer is actually gummy gold plate, you're ahead in the bargaining process
>right there...
>
>Terry L. Stibal
>HOSTCom...@aol.com
>

Yup...I found my gold-plated American Selmer (ca. 1930) for sale from a
"junktiques" dealer (low-end antiques mall where most of the stuff isn't
authentically old). He also had a modern Bundy in bad condition for sale. He
wanted more for the Bundy! He said he wanted less for my Selmer -- and it was
mine in about five minutes flat -- because it was "only plated". I don't know
what he thought it was plated with. Bare brass showed through (outlined in the
silver under-plating) in some high-wear places, such as the spot where the sax
rubs against the player's body down near the curve of the bell. Anyone could
see there was no lacquer and I've never heard of anybody plating brass or base
metal over brass (!), so I don't know what this guy's reasoning was, exactly,
but I was glad to take the dirty old sax off his hands.

Since this was my first saxophone, I didn't dare mess around with it. All I
did was clean up the filthy case, shake the dead bugs out of the sax and wipe
away the worst of the loose grunge. I had all the real work done by a pro
repairman. While he had all the keys off to re-pad and re-cork them, he gave
the sax a bath (literally, with dish detergent, in the utility sink), but there
are plenty of permanent "dirty looking" places.

Those 3-M anti-tarnish strips have worked really well for me on silver-plated
saxes. I've been using the 3-M strips for over two years now and haven't seen
any need to polish the saxes, beyond an occasional wipe-down with plain
flannel. The strips (according to the package labels) absorb sulfur compounds
out of the air, so it's important to keep them with the sax in a *closed up*
case, so new sulfur-laden air doesn't constantly come in contact with the
metal.

Lelia
Please delete NOSPAM from my address to reply by e-mail.

[Joe Pairman]

As I deliberately keep my silver-plated sax 'grey' in order not to go
through a clean/tarnish cycle thereby maybe losing metal, is there any
point in me keeping these 3M strips in my case? Anybody got any
thoughts?

--
Joe Pairman
Leeds, UK

Lelia Loban <lelia...@aol.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
news:20010126092126...@ng-fb1.aol.com...

[Paul Lindemeyer]

Joe Pairman wrote:
>
> As I deliberately keep my silver-plated sax 'grey' in order not to go
> through a clean/tarnish cycle thereby maybe losing metal

Erm, Joe, isn't this a lot like never washing your clothes because all
that harsh soap & water wears out the fabric? <-- NOT THAT YOU DO THIS,
OF COURSE

> is there any
> point in me keeping these 3M strips in my case? Anybody got any
> thoughts?

It might keep a gray horn from turning brown and then black.

Next question: If you polish vintage satin silver too much, it begins to
get shiny. If you polish Anderson bead blast plating a few times, does
it start to look like the old stuff and less like silver-colored plastic?

-P.

[Edward Branham]

ummmm - keep the grey from turning black maybe ....

[Joe Pairman]

I've had the sax a year and it has stayed the same colour, a kind of
dull grey. No browns or blacks in sight.

P.S. what is this thing called 'washing your clothes'? Do you mean
you have to wash them? Like you wash the car?

Seriously, though, the grease keeps me warm in winter and the smell
means I always have plenty of space on the bus.

--
Joe Pairman
Leeds, UK

Paul Lindemeyer <pau...@cyburban.com> wrote in message
news:3A71A8D9...@cyburban.com...