Say guys,
What do you recommend for an annual light cleaning of smudges, fingerprints, stains, etc. off regular cymbals. Not a deep cleaning of an abused cymbal, just a light wipe-on, rinse-off cleaning.
My cymbals are A and K Zildjian, modern manufacture, regular finish. Nothing custom or fancy.
Thanks in advance, Marty Black
Seems nobody touched this topic.
Are there Inked logos on these cymbals you wish to protect-save? Or no?
I sort of doubt anything like an auto detail spray will do much as far as removing stains, discoloring, tarnishing, but such could be tried, and doubtful any harm would come of such.
Products like Brasso, or other metal polishes I never really liked, as while they will make your cymbals shine, they also have a tendency to leave lots of residues in the lathing grooves that prove difficult if not impossible to fully remove.
Some may say don't clean, or ever clean your cymbals, as it will change their sound. Change their sound to what?
That they somehow will sound better dirty? Why? Does it then revert the sound back to as they sounded when you bought them as new?
If so, and you didn't like the sound of them new, then why does one buy a particular cymbal in the first place?
Many know this, and my drum teacher Phil Stanger always said Barkeeper's Friend was the best. I done such, and admit, BF is super easy to use, works great, no hard scrubbing needed at all, such cleaning comes by chemical reaction mostly, and I've done such with a small wash cloth-water is all.
And no black residues coming off forever either.
Thanks Mark D., for checking in.....I never thought to take a look on youtube! I've used Barkeeper's Friend to clean drum hardware such as lugs, cymbal and snare stands, etc., and it works great! But I never thought to try it on cymbals....I've been using a cheap liquid cymbal cleaner called Groove Juice, wiping it on and off with a sponge. And then rinsing it off with hot water. It works pretty good, but I don't think it's strong enough for badly tarnished cymbals. It does take some of the black logo off a cymbal, so I take care not to scrub those areas...So I was wondering if anyone had a better cleaner....Off-topic possibly-silly question. Do you know a keyboardist/singer named Wes Jerving? He is in a worship band in Sheboygan. I dunno what church. He enjoys golf. I was in the Navy with him. He grew up in Sheboygan and went back there in retirement. He's 78 years old or so. Thanks much, Marty Black
Hi Marty,
In this vid I'll link in this post, they make the job look much harder and labor intensive than it actually is. That I've found it takes much less work, and no hard prolonged scrubbing for the average cymbal.
I sort of liken it to cleaning a Vinyl Record, always follow the Grooves, a light touch is all that's required, unless you've unearthed some Cymbal that hails from the 30's-40's.
Most my Cymbals are Paiste Signatures which have a coating, but my Hi-Hats are Zildjian 15" New Beats.
I'm sorry that the name you mention does not ring a Bell.
Now, here's another vids for you and others to view and enjoy, a resto on one of the Brilliant Finish Cymbals.
I'd likely believe that for these types, Bar Keepers Friend will work, but might not be the optimal or even the correct product to use. In essence, there might not be a "one works for all" situation.
Restoration-cleaning of a finish, whether paint, a wrap, or a metal have specific needs of various products and methods.
For many years, my mother who was born-raised in UK had a love-affinity for Antique Indian Brass. Surely not to be confused with lesser Chinese thrift store stuff. Very high brilliance and quality, hand beaten-carved.
I inherited all of her better Brass Antiques, two of which are a 30" and 34" Brass Tables on hand figured Wooden Stands.
Now for these, I/We usually did use Brasso. And as you likely know, such a polish can work the bejesus out of you. But the final results are worth it.I also have a priceless Pewter and rose Copper hand hewn Jug that is about 400-450 years old. No recent appraisal, but might guess it's value around $10K. It has been cleaned with Brasso over the years. I cannot see any other product made that would really be as suitable
Yep, you're gonna rub till the cows come home, go through numerous rags, your fingers-hands are black, and sore.
No, I would not ever use Bar Keeper's Friend on these valuable artifacts.
I'd say either one of these Tables is likely worth more than my entire Cymbal Collection.
Here's a short vid and one example of a Brass Table which I speak of.
You note he mentions the use of a Lacquer after to stop further/future tarnishing occurring.
Being an Amateur Astro Buff, I have seen and viewed through fully restored Alvan Clark Brass Refractors, one example, a 6" with a 4" piggy-backed at an Astrofest StarParty. That scope setup is likely worth $60K today. And the views were marvelous, Alvan Clark has gone down in history as a master Lens Maker, largest being the 40" Yerkes in Williams Bay Wisc.
Yes, again the Brass Tubes were sprayed with a protectant product to seal and cease tarnishing.
One thing I liked about my Paiste Sigs, less upkeep. Most important, I fell in love with their sound. Too many and mostly all of the newer Zildjians, Sabians, and all the rest were sounding too much like Garbage Can Lids.
But the New Beat Hats still reigned supreme. LOL I remember having Krut Hi-Hats in the 60's! LOL Again, Garbage Can Lids! LOL
