Tips On Polishing A Silver Trumpet

By: JL Bowers, The Bandroom

I receive emails all the time regarding polishing of instruments. Before we discuss how to polish, allow me to give you a few tips on how to prevent tarnishing of a silver horn. First, try to wear gloves when you practice and save the "raw hands" playing for the gig or concert. The oil on your skin will definitely cause tarnish and even plating wear. Keep a fine-woven cloth of some sort in your case to keep your horn wiped down with. Next, use a tarnish prevention method. We sell Tarnish Strips in our eBay store that you place in your case. These strips will time release an anti-tarnish agent. They work great!

Now then, before you polish your horn up, it really needs to be cleaned first. Our Super C Powerful Citrus Soap is an excellent choice and is really easy to use. Once you have the horn cleaned, dry it well and lay all of the parts out on a soft, clean cloth. Put on your White Cotton Gloves and use some of our Haggerty's Silversmith Spray. Spray an even coat on both sides of the slides, then spray a light, even coat on both sides of the horn. Be as careful as you can not to spray too much in the tubing or casings (A small amount will not harm it). Once the haggerty's dries, you need to stabilize the trumpet. A stair spindel with  a dish towel wrapped around the small end, with the large end clamped to a table vice works great! Once stabilized, tear some 1-2" strips from some of our Super C Bulk Polishing Cloth. Slide the strips in between the clusters grasping it on each end with both hands and work it back and forth and polish all you can. Remove the strip and place it into the next crevice. Do this until you have polished in between all of the tubings. Then tear off about a 6" piece and polish the bell and all other areas that are still covered in the spray. Once you complete the body, use the larger piece to polish all of the slides. If you have a tubing expander tool, clamp it to the vice and polish the strips just like the body. Once you have polished it all, keep one glove on and apply all of the necessary lubricants with the other hand as you assemble it.

This is only a summary of how a trumpet is professionally polished. I am sure with a little practice, you can clean and polish your horn just as well as any repair shop, maybe even better!

Note: Our Super C Bulk Polishing Cloth and Haggerty's Spray also works really well for gold horns, gold and silver jewelry, collectibles and even fine antiques!

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