| Ha Ha! Naaa, you can call me whatever you like as long as you don't call me too late for dinner.
The horn I mostly play is the matte finish Eclipse MR trumpet that accompanies the cornet. While Leigh was building the MR for me I sent the cornet over to him for some mild customization and refinishing so that they would be a "matched set". The entire story is to be found in last year's Eclipse contest logs.
As far as durability of the finish is concerned... no, there have been no "shiny spots" yet. I had wanted a matte finish (actually satin) ever since I saw a photo of one of Roy Lawler's cornets. I was going to ask Leigh to do a satin finish for me (soda bead blasting instead of "scratching") but he talked me out of it. His stated reason was that the relative consistency of the satin finish would mean that ANY and ALL marks, scratches, blemishes, etc. would show up immediately while the (relative) randomness of a scratch finish c/w swirl marks, etc. would tend to hide those little marks. As an example, I wear an engineering ring on my left hand. From time to time it can touch the surface of the horn (not while I'm playing but while I'm must handling it). It has left a couple of very tiny "lines" that are all but invisible from more than a foot away. Do that to a satin finish and the mark would stick out like a sore thumb. (I don't wear a wedding ring on my finger... the one through my nose is sufficient warning to the single ladies!)
The other "advantage" of the scratch finish is that they are hand done and no two will ever be identical. Therefore each horn that he makes or restores with the scratch finish is unique in it's own, small way.
The other thing I would recommend is the gold finish. Yes, it's more costly than silver. No, I am not one of those people whose skin secretions eat through silver or brass. No, I do not live in a wet, humid, or salty environment (I live in what it virtually a desert environment near the Rocky Mountains). BUT... the "maintenance" requirements of the gold finish is incredibly low. If you just touch a bright silver horn you'll leave finger marks... not so on brush gold plate. The only areas that require "polishing" (actually I just give it a quick wash and rinse once a month or so) are the inside of the bell and a couple of the bright areas on the slides; otherwise the horn doesn't need anywhere near as many "surface cleanings" as a silver plate horn. It doesn't tarnish, always looks "new". Leigh's satin silver is a very dramatic and "retro" finish as well but if you're going to spend the bucks for custom work, might as well go that last mile. (Like ordering a new car...might as well spend the extra $200 or whatever for cruise control). |