SFPat

Comebackid

I too want to clean my Ambassador and came across your instructions. One question, Why the need to wrap the trumpet in aluminum foil? Do you have a picture of a "wrapped" trumpet?

veery715

Aluminum foil is a component of a method for removing tarnish from silver-plated horns. If your horn isn't silver, don't worry about it. If it is, do a search on aluminum foil-baking soda-tarnish removal.

veery

ComeBackKid

My continued experimentation has led me to some additional conclusions. So I will add them here. I started with a trumpet which had very patchy lacquer that I wanted to remove. I tried stripper but it does not work well on lacquer (maybe lacquer thinner would have worked better but it was not necessary). I tried the boiling water mostly to see if it would remove the lacquer - it did! But, it also seemed to create a more vigorous cleaning action with the aluminum foil and the "electrolyte" (salt, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, Biz, etc) so I decided to make it my standard approach.

Now, here is the key point to this. Since I had "bathed" my lacquered trumpets in lukewarm water with dish soap with no negative effects on the lacquer, I assumed that the stripping of the lacquer was due to the water temperature difference. I was wrong! If you put a lacquered trumpet into water of any temperature with aluminum foil and salt (etc), it will strip the lacquer. This seems to be a result of the electrolytic action between the brass and the aluminum. It just causes the lacquer to peel off. So...
WARNING! Use the aluminum foil bath on a lacquered trumpet only if you intend to strip all of the lacquer off. (water temp does not matter).

Now, if you have decided to strip it and also want to use the aluminum foil bath to remove tarnish, then the next question relates to "wrapping" the trumpet. This consists of taking pieces of foil and simply putting them around the bell and pipes of the trumpet. It does not need to be completely wrapped. The only real issue is to ensure that there is an electrical contact between the metal of the trumpet and the aluminum. If the trumpet is lacquered, that will insulate the brass and prevent an electrical connection. So, I wrapped it to ensure that the aluminum would touch bare brass as much as possible. If the trumpet is stripped so there is no question about how to make contact, you can use the original idea which is to simply put a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the plastic tub and place the trumpet and the slides on the foil, submerged in water.

Keep in mind that this process will remove some types of tarnish and discoloration (not all) but will not make dull areas shiny. For that, you need metal polish and elbow grease.

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Come-Back Kid
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SFPat

Thanks for the reply. I used the water method to remove the laquer. I'm now in the metal polish and elbow grease phase. Much effort still required.