Tech/maintenance Polishing a silver saxophone

[jbtsax]

Several folks have posted here about cleaning and polishing older silver saxophones, so I thought I would show some of the products and techniques professional techs use. I had been making friends and customer's saxes look like new for several years while my own sax was being neglected so I finally decided to do something about it. Below are some before and after pictures and a link to a slide show detailing the process [pun intended]. 🙂





http://s162.photobucket.com/user/jbtsax/slideshow/Selmer SBA alto

 

[kevgermany]

Nice job John. Go easy on the toluene, it's carcinogenic.

 

[Vlad]

^ Don't drink it then....

 

[jbtsax]

I researched the effects of breathing tolulene fumes and found this:

Psychological: Dizziness, euphoria, grandiosity, floating sensation, drowsiness, reduced ability to concentrate, slowed reaction time, distorted perception of time and distance, confusion, weakness, fatigue, memory loss, delusions, and hallucinations.

And I thought it was just the effects old age.

 

[Targa]

That's why ProfJames likes silver.
If he can't go out and wash his mouthpieces he polishes his saxes.

 

[kevgermany]

On the carcinogenic side, sorry I got confused - it's in the unsure category. Some derivatives are definitely carcinogenic. However there's a risk of permanent nerve damage.

It was one of my favourite chemicals at school. I though it was the smell at the time. I must have been enjoying some of the other effects.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Toluene is the stuff the EU made the glue manufacturers remove from their products - ostensibly for 'environmental reasons'....but more likely because it's the stuff that made glue appealing to glue-sniffers.
Unfortunately it's also the stuff which makes the glue work....which is why I'm hanging on to my last 9 tins of 'Vintage Evostik'.