Satin Finish

[Dsmith]

I have a rather nice Besson Imperial Euphonium which I really enjoy. It has a glass bead blasted (satin) silver finish. I really would like to polish it, only I worry that using a silver polish would strip away the beautiful finish. The best one that I have found so far is an eraser...with isn't all that great, since I'm erasing the silver off my horn. A more extreme method involves a bathtub, some aluminum foil in warm water, and an electric current.
Im curious if anyone has come across a decent method for polishing without ruining satin silver. I would be very thankful if you could share your knowledge.

[davewerden]

Certainly the more you polish the horn, the smoother the finish will get. I think your best bet would be to polish it in the most gentle manner possible using a tarnish preventing polish. That way you will not have to do it very often and you can preserve the finish. Once it is polished, use a soft, damp cloth to wipe off your hand prints after playing.

The best polish for this is probably Haggerty's spray-on, linked below. It will require the least rubbing to get good results:
Haggerty's Silversmith Polish - Spray

[suetuba]

The first tuba I bought had a satin finish. It was impossible to clean, and eventually I took it to my repairers, and got them to take the satin finish off, using the buffing machine, from as much of the instrument that could be got at without unsoldering anything.
It was much easier to keep looking decent after that, not that shining a horn is high on my list of things to do!

Long live lacquer! Much easier!

Sue

[davewerden]

Here is a longer explanation that I just posted on my blog.

Back in the 1970's when I had a satin silver Besson, I used to use normal Haggerty's silver polish because it helped prevent new tarnish, and I didn't mind if the finish got a little smoother. However, to preserve the finish I would suggest a different approach.

Get some Haggery's spray polish (with tarnish preventative). Spray it on, let it dry, and buff it off. By not rubbing the polish on, which is where most of the real polishing takes place, you preserve the finish. And the tarnish preventitive will mean you have to do the whole thing much less often. I don't remember the directions, but you might get the polish off quicker by using a damp cloth.

Hagerty Silver Polish Liquid 14 1/2 Oz.

If the tarnish is really bad, then this method may not clean it off. In that case, I would try Haggerty's Flatware Dip. It uses chemical reactions to clean off the tarnish, which takes off a little silver, but would do so without disrupting the "bumps" in the satin silver. However, the tarnish will come back quickly, so after using "dip" I would then still use the Haggerty's spray. At that point, though, it will take less rubbing to do the job. You obviously can't dip the horn in this liquid, but you can apply it to the horn and then rinse the horn in water. Be creative - it can work.

Hagerty Flatware 17-1/2oz. Silver Dip

The satin finish is made by sandblasting the brass to make it rough and then silver plating it. So the finish is not quite as fragile is it would be if they made only the silver plating rough-looking.

[davewerden]

Haggerty has added a "greener" product now for the spray version. It is a simple pump spray with no aerosol. It is on the Euphonium-Tuba store:

Instrument Maintenance

[prototypedenNIS]

Originally posted by: suetuba

The first tuba I bought had a satin finish. It was impossible to clean, and eventually I took it to my repairers, and got them to take the satin finish off, using the buffing machine, from as much of the instrument that could be got at without unsoldering anything.

It was much easier to keep looking decent after that, not that shining a horn is high on my list of things to do!



Long live lacquer! Much easier!



Sue

NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yikes!
there are exceedingly many reasons why I would STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST THIS!

[Euphinator]

So anti tarnish silver polishing products would be the most effective on the satin silver finish?

[davewerden]

Originally posted by: Euphinator So anti tarnish silver polishing products would be the most effective on the satin silver finish?

Yes, absolutely! Actually, it doesn't matter whether you have satin silver or bright silver. Either way, the anti-tarnish feature is very, very helpful at reducing your maintenance load and keeping the horn looking nicer longer.

[daruby]

I actually use baking powder on my satin finish 1941 Holton Double bell. As long as the silver isn't black, the baking powder is less abrasive than even Hagerty's and does not leave a bright sheen or polish off the "pebbly" surface of the satin finish. It comes out looking GREAT and no black oxidation is left on the horn.

Doug

[davewerden]

Doug: The Imperial has bright accents and a bright inner bell if I remember correctly. Have you tried the baking soda on bright silver?

Another factor is how long it stays looking nice. Of course, that's going to be different with different body chemistry, different type and age of silver, use patterns, and even storage conditions. If you could reduce the need for thorough cleaning by 50-80%, which was my experience with Haggerty, then the extra abrasive factor might be cancelled out.

I have to say, though, that I have not found the Haggerty polish very abrasive. If I had a tough spot of tarnish (which I periodically got on my bell from a piece of leather in my case), I didn't rely on Haggerty to take it off because it wasn't very effective on tough spots. The Haggerty polish was best if I got around to it before the horn was looking too awful - then it was a smooth, easy, and satisfying process.