Hi, I don't normally clean cymbals, but I did play a gig once where the band leader had a kids bubble machine going! No kidding. The wind blew many of the bubbles back at me, and you could see - afterwards - where every soapy bubble landed on a cymbal. Polka dots on every cymbal!

I had some "Groove Juice," which is a mild cymbal cleaner. I rinsed the cymbals in a wash tub, and then ran a sponge wetted with "groove juice" in a circular motion - so as not to accidentally make any visible scratches on the cymbals - and then rinsed the cymbals again with water and dried them with a towel. That cleaned them up.

I've never tried to clean real grimy cymbals, so I can't address your question on that. Hopefully, a cymbal restorer will chime in.

Good luck with it! Regards, mb