Saxophones Lacquer to brass?

I decided to keep my 95 year-old Elkhart (built by Buescher) alto. (My grand-nephew can either like the chinese thing I sent him or he can lump it). The old grinder still has the sound I like but looks as though leprosy has set in, probably a long time ago. Now, what do you do with a fine old honker that has seen better days? (I could be speaking of myself) I mean to say that the lacquer is mostly missing. Leading to the question, if I take the remaining lacquer off and go down to bare brass, what is the process (that's #1) and would it be worth the effort? And what is the future of a bare-ass brass saxophone? After the lacquer is removed, is there another procedure to keep the old bastard from being overcome from patina? I am in high-plains New Mexico, hot in summer, snow in winter. Or maybe just play it as is and wear shades as dark as Ray Charles's so I can't see the corrosion? Maybe earmuffs, too.
 
Plus removing the lacquer/doing a re-lacquered affects resale.
A 95 year old Elkhart would have been bare brass, so any lacquer on there is not original lacquer so it's d technically a relacquer already - removing it would restore to original finish. When it was lacquered it may have suffered buffing damage to engraving, so i think any devaluing has already been done.

if you like bare brass brownish patina, then it will probably look better without lacquer, though whether any patina is a nice one or a nasty verdigris may depend on the climate.

I imagine humid climates near the sea are bad - dampness and salt would not be good.
 
I'd be inclined to leave it as it is - my old Martin tenor I sold last year looked like it'd been played on the deck of the Titanic, but it sounded amazing, so I left it alone.
Delacquering seems to be a bit of a fad these days and a lot of messing about - taking it all apart, stripping the remainder of the lacquer off with paint stripper and polishing the thing up to a nice even shine seems like a lot of work. Then you'd have to apply a thin coat of some kind of wax - car body wax or Renaissance Wax (as used by museums to prevent metal tarnishing) and reassemble the instrument again. The wax would wear off in the areas you handle the sax, so you'd have to keep reapplying it, being careful not to get any in the mechanism where it might gum things up.
Or just leave it alone and play some music
I like old horns to look old, all that lacquer wear and corrosion is part of it's history.. plus there's a certain perverse delight to be had from pulling a knackered looking old horn out of your case and blowing away all the guys with their shiny new Selmers and Yamahas

Pete, I don't think High Plains New Mexico is anywhere near the sea, so salt corrosion is unlikely
 
Pete, I don't think High Plains New Mexico is anywhere near the sea, so salt corrosion is unlikely

Hang on Altissimo......what about that film...High Plains Sifter?
 
I have done several and it is a very labor intensive and time consuming process. The saxophone is disassembled and pads are removed from the keys and the keycups cleaned. I use Klean Strip Aircraft Paint Remover spray out doors in a plastic tub to remove the remaining lacquer. The instrument and keys are then hosed off to rinse off the water soluble paint remover. The remaining raw brass parts can then be (1) buffed, (2) hand polished, (3) or given a brushed or satin finish using 3M abrasive pads.

At this point the body and parts are cleaned and degreased using hot water and Dawn dish detergent, and then when dry given a coat of Renaissance Wax. The instrument is then given a complete overhaul. The photo below shows a YAS-21 done in this fashion by my grandson working as an apprentice in my shop. On this sax the nickle plating was also chemically removed from the keys.
 
This whole topic reminds me of the "road worn guitars". Basically, extremely old and well seasoned guitars that look very old and vintage. The really seasoned ones have wood shedding seen on the body of the guitar and the fretboard has worn wood patches.

This was so popular and soughtafter that companies created their own guitar series called the "Roadworn Series". Which is to artificially make the guitar look vintage and seasoned.

I think if a saxophone ages gracefully like a proper vintage guitar and etc. It would look really nice! Really, really nice!
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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