40 years of silver tarnish taken off this Holton silver tuba as part of it getting an overhaul in the shop. I tried several different silver polishes (video on that coming soon) and then took it apart today. More to come.
That was logically backwards. I mean, if you want to take out the bell and the lower curve (sorry, i don't know the english terminology), why wouldn't you take out the bell first, then take out the lower curve. That way you wouldn't need to heat two parts at the same time. Also, why polish it first, if you'll desolder it later? Polish it in the end, after all the repairs are done.
Yeah, good questions. I took the bottom bow off hoping I would not need to take the bell. When we can leave parts in place, it often makes remounting the instrument easier, however, in this case the dents under the branches proved too much so I pulled the bell as well. I agree with you the order you suggest would be easier...had I known the bell needed to come off. As for polishing before dent work - it's a matter of seeing things. It's amazing how many more dents can be seen in a polished instrument than a dented one. Once polished the soldering doesn't discolor too much and that polishing is quite easy in comparison. Good questions.
