There's always one in the crowd. :rolleyes: ;)

Some people like clean cymbals, some don't. Whichever way is good for you is the right way.

I'm one of the clean freaks. I don't clean my cymbals constantly, maybe once or twice a year.

I've tried just about everything on the market for cymbal cleaning in my 42 years of playing, and that includes products not targeted specifically for cymbal cleaning.

I reviewed a very cool and effective cymbal cleaning system for the current issue of MD called "Cymbal Doctor". The system is not cheap, but the results are exquisite, IF you like shiny cymbals. It's a three-step system consisting of a cleaner, liquid polish (machine-applied) and a sealer to prevent premature oxidation, which is especially important if you are cleaning B8 cymbals, which tend to turn green faster than their B20 counterparts due to the 12% higher copper content.

If you just want to do basic cleaning, the Cymbal Doctor Step 1 Cleaner is the absolute best I've ever used, and will remove the dirt and tarnish quickly, without leaving any stains on the cymbal, plus it is not a noxious product and actually smells quite agreeable. This is what I would recommend for basic cleaning. It's easy and quick.

Years ago, a veteran pro drummer turned me on to Amway metal polish, and I've used it ever since (no, I'm not a salesman, and neither was he lol). Never on my vintage K's, mind you, but I sold them years ago (sniff) and I don't own anything earlier than 60's A's now anyway.

Sorry if this question is way too asked......been trying to search on here for "wax" and "car" and indeed "car wax" .....and the search engine will not search for such words (too short or common or....)

So, I must just read through some of these....thought I would just tag my question onto here.....hope you all can help.

I have some Paiste cymbals that I want to clean (will use the yellow bottle Paiste cleaner) and am wondering what the best thing to use afterward. I remember reading somewhere that Paiste's blue bottle protector is not the best (effective) thing to use on them.

Someone please suggest what you have successfully used....car wax is one I recall, wondering if Pledge would be good, etc. etc. My objective is to prevent any tarnishing, discoloration over time once they are cleaned.

Thanks so much for indulging me on this.......please include specific brand/product info as opposed to general 'car wax' suggestions.

Thanks so much!

John

I've tried most of the commercially available cymbal cleaners.

PEEK if the best stuff I've used. Works great on ALL parts of your kit, even lacquer finishes.

Always in a circular motion(with the grooves).

A non abrasive scouring pad(the ones for non stick pans) are great for stick marks and stubborn fingerprints.

Micro fibre or 100% cotton flannel for finish buffing.

Alot of old jazz drummers would die if they're cymbals were polished. Adds character.

Personally, I only polish crashes, never my ride or hats.

yb

If by non abrasive scouring pad you mean something light Scotch Brite, than you are incorrect about their non abrasive characteristic. They WILL leave swirl marks on cymbals which means they are removing metal regardless of how little. Those marks can only be removed by smoothing them out by removing even more metal. Using non stick frying pan scouring pads is a really bad idea for anyone who values their cymbals.

Hate to disagree but not in my experience.

Don't know what scotch brite are like but I've been cleaning brilliant finish cymbals for over 20 years like this.

There are NO swirl marks on my cymbals.

Even an abrasive pad(not recommended) will not leave visible marks if you stay with the grooves.

I don't know what product you're using, so it t may not be a problem if it really is totally non abrasive. All the nonstick nylon scouring pads that I'm aware of are mildly abrasive and keeping to the groove pattern would just hide the marks so they're not as obvious. My question to you is if you used your pads in a circular motion instead of following the grooves would swirl marks appear on your cymbals? If the answer is yes, than your taking off metal, regardless of how little, and I think that most of us here would consider it a poor choice for a tool to clean cymbals.

I get mine from a commercial cleaning supplier.

Non-abrasive means just that.

Anything abrasive will obviously scratch and I too would consider something like that a poor choice.

I clean all my cymbals on my cymbal lathe now and that's at a much higher speed than by hand. If there were any abrasives in the pads, it would surely show up quickly.