Tech/maintenance Mouthpiece Oxidation

[skeller047]

Seriously, polish it, clean it and coat it with food-safe wax or oil. The taste will go away and and a patina will develop. After a few weeks you’ll forget all about it.

 

[thomsax]

What he means is that the mouthpiece has gold metal plating (yes, it is a coating or layer chemically bonded to the mouthpiece.) This prevents the native metal surfaces from corroding by the saliva of the player's mouth, and corrosion byproducts being ingested. In essence it is for the health of the person.

In general, plastic and hard rubber materials don't require this, because they do not corrode nor dissolve or etch by the person's saliva. Usually, they may be polished by the manufacture for a smooth, shiny finish.

I don't if plastic or hardrubber is better?

80% of the plastic used EU is; polyeten (PE), polypropen (PP), polyvinylklorid (PVC), polystyren (PS), polyuretan (PUR), polyetentereftalat (PET).

 

[Targa]

I don't if plastic or hardrubber is better?

80% of the plastic used EU is; polyeten (PE), polypropen (PP), polyvinylklorid (PVC), polystyren (PS), polyuretan (PUR), polyetentereftalat (PET).

Is the other 20% polyputketlon?

 

[thomsax]

Is the other 20% polyputketlon?

I'm just pointing out that plastic and hardrubber are not harmless.

 

[turf3]

So called "plastic" mouthpieces tend to be made of PMMA poly methyl methacrylate also called "acrylic" or "plexiglass" or "perspex".

The majority of plastics and hard rubbers pose zero health risks to people from putting them in one's mouth.

 

[ghostler]

There are concerns over artificial materials used in mouthpieces and this would be understandable. There are now certain plastics that have been barred from being used in for example, as food containers, wrappers, cups for drinking and eating utensils.

One thing I have noticed is that the modern mouthpieces seem to be made of a tougher plastic. Teeth marks on my Brillart designed Rico Graftonite mouthpieces (I have two that I have used consistently for the past decade, B5's on my bari and soprano) are relatively minimal.

I remember the older black and white moulded Brillhart mouthpieces of the 1970's. Those were of a softer plastic and it was only months that they gained significant teeth marks.

Plus because of our modern litigious society, mouthpiece manufacturers are more scrutinous of the materials used. (My own "gut level feeling" is that the earlier would also be careful based on the known facts of the time.)

So, I have less reluctance in using them, and have not worried about my older rubber mouthpieces.

One thing that would be of greater concern is potentially health destructive habits, such as smoking and tobacco chewing. My wife's father passed away of throat cancer. He was a heavy smoker and tobacco chewer. Although he underwent surgery and it went into remission, it came back to bite him several years later.

I know there is freedom of choice and I dare not point out to even friends, they have responsibility over their lives. But, I know there is a certain sense of joy when our musician friends are still playing their saxes into their elderly years. There is a storehouse of knowledge in those years.