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-   -   How do you put the shine back on Bakalite? (https://www.diybanter.com/uk-diy/210643-how-do-you-put-shine-back-bakalite.html)

George August 12th 07 10:51 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?



Stuart B August 12th 07 11:00 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:51:41 GMT, "George"
wrote:

my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?



IF it's Bakelite then you can buy Bakelite Polish .You'll probably
need to Google for it .
I have also successfuly used T Cut for car bodywork .
Stuart

George August 12th 07 11:17 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 

"Stuart B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:51:41 GMT, "George"
wrote:

my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?



IF it's Bakelite then you can buy Bakelite Polish .You'll probably
need to Google for it .
I have also successfuly used T Cut for car bodywork .
Stuart


Could be ebony? but this is an old clairinet about 1930's B flat.

T-cut, now why did I think of that. :-)

Cheers.



Stephen Howard August 13th 07 12:55 AM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:51:41 GMT, "George"
wrote:

my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?


If it's a synthetic body it won't be Bakelite....it'll be Ebonite.
If it's any more recent than about 1960 it could well be one of many
other hard rubber or plastic compounds...though these tend not to
dull.

As ebonite ages it breaks down at the surface and typically goes a
dull brown/green colour.
It's possible to cut the surface back to reveal the original colour,
but it's a lot of hard work - and because the breakdown is an
irreversible chemical one the new finish seldom lasts very long.
Exposure to light ( particularly sunlight ), air pollution, acidic
compounds and heat ( including warm water ) will turn the surface
green again. All of those things happen if you simply take the
instrument out of the case and handle it.

Cutting back the surface is best done with a buffing mop and bar of
medium grit soap ( Tripoli..or brown soap ) - but extreme care is
needed otherwise the friction of the wheel on the job will turn the
ebonite green again.

Polishing fluids aren't recommended - the stuff gets into the pores,
and the fluids themselves often react with the ebonite. More often
than not the polish residues turn white when they dry, then people
attempt to wash them off in warm water....and it's back to square one.

Without a buffing machine, the best method of cutting back the finish
is 0000 gauge wire wool. The drawback is that it leaves a matt finish
- but then most true ebonite clarinets never had a completely glossy
finish anyway. The wire wool must be used dry.

It could, of course, be made of wood - typically a blackwood, though
early 20th century clarinets were often made from Cocobolo.
Best way to test without the benefit of an experienced eye is to shave
a *very* fine slice off one of the tenon joints ( the sticky-out bit
with a band of cork on, on one of the ends of the joints... ) then
burn the shaving and take a whiff of the fumes.
If it smells like satan farting in a kebab shop - it's ebonite.

Professionally speaking, it's not worth it. If it's a collectable make
( Conn, Buescher...) your work will devalue it.


Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

The Natural Philosopher August 13th 07 05:17 AM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
George wrote:
my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?


Bakasfluid?

Dave August 13th 07 09:23 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
George wrote:
"Stuart B" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:51:41 GMT, "George"
wrote:


my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?



IF it's Bakelite then you can buy Bakelite Polish .You'll probably
need to Google for it .
I have also successfuly used T Cut for car bodywork .
Stuart



Could be ebony? but this is an old clairinet about 1930's B flat.

T-cut, now why did I think of that. :-)


Go and find your local car body shop and ask them what is the gentlest
polish that they use. I can't tell you any more, as my son knows the
name of it, but he is not available right now. An old friend of mine has
a son that is into car painting, that is how we found out about it.
Apparently, T Cut is way down the list of polishes.

HTH

Dave

Stuart B August 13th 07 11:02 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:23:31 +0100, Dave
wrote:

George wrote:
"Stuart B" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:51:41 GMT, "George"
wrote:


my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?



IF it's Bakelite then you can buy Bakelite Polish .You'll probably
need to Google for it .
I have also successfuly used T Cut for car bodywork .
Stuart



Could be ebony? but this is an old clairinet about 1930's B flat.

T-cut, now why did I think of that. :-)


Go and find your local car body shop and ask them what is the gentlest
polish that they use. I can't tell you any more, as my son knows the
name of it, but he is not available right now. An old friend of mine has
a son that is into car painting, that is how we found out about it.
Apparently, T Cut is way down the list of polishes.

HTH

Dave


Well T-Cut isn't really a polish .

dave @ stejonda August 13th 07 11:12 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
In message , George
writes
my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?

http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-and-Tak...-Your-Clarinet

--
dave @ stejonda

Andrew Gabriel August 13th 07 11:52 PM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 
In article ,
"George" writes:
my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?


You need to practice more, and maybe get a new reed. ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

George August 14th 07 12:09 AM

How do you put the shine back on Bakalite?
 

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George" writes:
my clarinet needs polishing up as its gone dull,dunno how old it is?


You need to practice more, and maybe get a new reed. ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]



My Beatles compositions polish up well thanks and I have a full set of new
reeds.

Thanks all for response.



Geoff Berrow August 14th 07 07:15 AM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 
Message-ID: from Dave
contained the following:

Go and find your local car body shop and ask them what is the gentlest
polish that they use. I can't tell you any more, as my son knows the
name of it, but he is not available right now. An old friend of mine has
a son that is into car painting, that is how we found out about it.
Apparently, T Cut is way down the list of polishes.


I wonder if there is a scale of abrasiveness?

I'd guess it goes something like this, least abrasive at the bottom

Toothpaste
Hob Brite hob cleaner
Duraglit wadding
Brasso Metal polish
Car wax polish
T- cut
Jif (ok...Cif)
Fine wire wool
Ajax

Anyone like to add or re-order the list?

You can get an idea of the abrasiveness of a substance by putting a
little on your thumbnail and rubbing it gently with the other nail

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

Terry Fields August 14th 07 08:37 AM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 

Geoff Berrow wrote:

I wonder if there is a scale of abrasiveness?

I'd guess it goes something like this, least abrasive at the bottom

Toothpaste
Hob Brite hob cleaner
Duraglit wadding
Brasso Metal polish
Car wax polish
T- cut
Jif (ok...Cif)
Fine wire wool
Ajax

Anyone like to add or re-order the list?

You can get an idea of the abrasiveness of a substance by putting a
little on your thumbnail and rubbing it gently with the other nail


I recently spent six days cleaning three rooms of a house occupied by
an old lady. It started out as a two-day task to do the house, but in
the end the time was spent on the three rooms she actually lives in.

While not bad, it nevertheless hadn't been cleaned for twenty-plus
years, apart from light vacuuming.

What rapidly became obvious is that own-name supermarket cleaners
wouldn't touch the deposits on painted or glass surfaces, only the
branded cleaners could cut through the grime.

Chris J Dixon August 14th 07 05:11 PM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 
Geoff Berrow wrote:

I wonder if there is a scale of abrasiveness?

I'd guess it goes something like this, least abrasive at the bottom

Toothpaste
Hob Brite hob cleaner
Duraglit wadding
Brasso Metal polish
Car wax polish
T- cut
Jif (ok...Cif)
Fine wire wool
Ajax

Anyone like to add or re-order the list?

Are you sure you don't mean least abrasive at the top?

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

Dave Plowman (News) August 14th 07 07:48 PM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 
In article ,
Geoff Berrow wrote:
I wonder if there is a scale of abrasiveness?


I'd guess it goes something like this, least abrasive at the bottom


Toothpaste
Hob Brite hob cleaner
Duraglit wadding
Brasso Metal polish
Car wax polish
T- cut
Jif (ok...Cif)
Fine wire wool
Ajax


Anyone like to add or re-order the list?


A car wax may or may not have an abrasive added.

--
*Husband and cat lost -- reward for cat

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Geoff Berrow August 15th 07 12:46 AM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 
Message-ID: from Chris J
Dixon contained the following:

Anyone like to add or re-order the list?

Are you sure you don't mean least abrasive at the top?


Of course I do :-)

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

Geoff Berrow August 15th 07 12:46 AM

Abrasiveness of cleaners
 
Message-ID: from Dave Plowman (News)
contained the following:

Anyone like to add or re-order the list?


A car wax may or may not have an abrasive added.


True.

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/


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