Tarnished brass - what do you do?

[Thomaston]

I vaguely remember reading that there's a color you're supposed to polish out due to being toxic. Blue, red, green? I can't recall what that color was. Seems like only certain alloys would get it.

[West]

I vaguely remember reading that there's a color you're supposed to polish out due to being toxic. Blue, red, green? I can't recall what that color was. Seems like only certain alloys would get it.

Green, probably. Brass contains copper, and when copper oxidizes, it turns green. And yes, that green stuff is toxic.

[dryer]

To keep my guitar/mando strings fresh longer (change every two weeks instead of weekly...) wash your hands with a drop of dish detergent or castile (bronners) soap before you play. Use a dab of hand cream works too, after you wash your hands.
My brass whistle tarnishes too. I personally like the look of a well worn instrument, so I don't mess with it. Brass polish technically scratches the metal on a microscopic level. Tarn-x chemically removes the tarnish instantly. Problem is, you'll need to wipe the whistle down with something like sewing machine oil or it will begin oxidizing again instantly.
Brass instruments like trumpets are lacquered. Lots of pros remove that from the bell.

If you change you strings every 2 weeks, what are you doing with that brass bead at the end of the string? I've made necklaces with those beads. Right now, I have more than enough colored D'Addario beads to make a rosary with each decade being a different color but I'm waiting for a bass player to change his stings. The bigger beads could be the our Father beads.

Now that's interesting...I must have thrown away about a million of those ball-ends over the last 40 years. My daughters could have been making cool jewelry out of them.....guess I'll start cutting them off! Thanks!

By the way....another easy tarnish repellent for brass/silver is a light wipedown with a WD-40 impregnated cloth, after playing. Silicone is even better but WD-40 is cheap and works just peachy. (after playing my whistles, I generally toss them up on the desk like an old ball point pen... )

[chansherly212]

hhm i'm wondering if unpainted whistles tarnish? i have an unpainted natural tin finish original clarke whistle, i rather have it remain nice and shiny so i wonder if i need to spray with some kind of varnish (?) before it starts getting that used look? would that work though...?

[Cayden]

Clarkes, Sweetones etc are more likely to rust.

[free-feet]

If you call it "patina" you'll like it better.

I've always like "patina". It's just so wabi sabi.

[Ballyshannon]

Waxing, varnishing, and coating brass whistles

I'm with the old school....let 'em "patina-ize" and just keep playing. I like to see whistles that are obviously played. Have you seen Joanie Madden's O'Riordan up close on YouTube videos? Talk about well-worn.

If your chemical excretion is that potent, nothing's going to be of significant help and you'll just have to keep polishing and re-coating, so just go with the natural flow of your brass whistle aging and developing character.

[walrii]

That said, there's nothing wrong with polishing your whistle from time to time.
-James

But preacher said that this would make me go blind...

Oh, that old wive's tale is verifiable poppycock. In fact, the hair that grows on your hands makes for a better grip on the whistle.

[walrii]

Dang, my five-hundreth post turns out to be an off-color comment having nothing to do with whistles. That's life at C&F, I guess.

[MTGuru]

I suggest a complete heavy polish job, followed by a couple coats of hard paste wax. The wax will wear off in time, but this will slow the process dramatically

Inspired by this, I just treated my ucky Dixon Trad brass to a Simichrome polishing, followed by two coats of Meguire's #26 carnauba wax. Now it's as clean as a whistle (I had to say that!), and sparkles like the treasures of Tutankhamen. And the wax seems to work. Normally, after 10 minutes of play, my fingers would have it well on its way to antique status. But there's not a mark so far, and I like the silky sort of feel. Thanks, Mr. Whistle!

[Thomas-Hastay]

Your welcome MT. I always try to find several answers to suit different tastes. (Pssst! I love your "Rana Regis"! [Frog Prince] Icon)

[FJohnSharp]

All my brass whistles are tarnished.

If you call it "patina" you'll like it better. This one word has saved me countless hours of work polishing.

Doc

Yes, and it makes it look like I play them a lot.