Cymbal polishing

[marcdadrummer]

red cymbals are just plain ugly...

 

[jeepers]

the drummer of lifehouse was using an all red kit for one of their mtvs. 'cept the sticks i think. everything else was red.

 

[DullTheater]

yo jeepers, i think you referring to one of their latest vids ryte??
wherby the whole room including their outfits are red ryte?
if i'm not wrong, they use software to colour the kitah
starting of the mtv, all are white, den slowly the colour red crept in to everything in the room

 

[jeepers]

yeah i think. happened to be watching mtv the other day cos i was looking at the wrong day's schedule lol. damn it.

bloody hell. CHEY. cheat my feelings. cheat all our feelings. basket.

this is what mtv's doing to us! blaaaaaaardy hell.

 

[marcdadrummer]

hahaha mtv asia mah... not mtv us... where at night they play notty videos and by the day they play not so notty videos...

 

[Stickman]

Maybe it's just my personal opinion

 

[gambatak]

i dont polish anything. i like all the dirt and crap on my cymbals. paiste has one line where the cymbals are already red. like the visions that are blue also i think.

 

[churnz]

the best thing about my paiste dimensions or the other paiste signatures is that-----------they don't require polishing and finger prints get off with 1 wipe of the cloth

anyways,1 BIG BIG BIG warning to all people who are gonna polish.

NEVER EVER use BRASSO OR AUTOSOL.
why?
it is far too strong and will eat into the metal of your cymbal,over time,it will bemove enough metal to affect the sound.

cheers

 

[plainsman]

quick heads up for marc bro: the lime thing rocks!!!

i tried it on a couple old splashes (incl. the 'zyn' splash) and its amazing how quickly and easily the cymbal restored to its original condition.

i've been having sore fingers (on top of already sore fingers from daily playing) from occassional cleaning of cymbals.

the lime acid does not rub away ink (e.g. the sabian logo on sabian cymbal) but manages to clean pretty much the dirt.

i wish i had taken pictures of the 'before', maybe i'll post up some pix of the 'after' ...heh

cheers and thanks again for an incredibly useful cleaning tip!



[edit]

Pictures of the cleaned Zyn 8" splash

Man.. I so totally regret not taking pictures of the "before"

I can see quite a few obvious scratches.. this cymbal was pretty much abused.. i fished it out of a 'rubbish-like' corner of swee lee couple sales ago, and paid only $19.50 for it.

after that, it spent most of the time in a cardboard box at one of the studios as a 'last minute need-a-small splash' thing.

it looks really nice now though....

 

[dmr]

i've just tried the lime method... and my cymbal is turning reddish brown! not sure why but i think the bronze is getting exposed or something... advice needed!

 

[marcdadrummer]

did u use shampoo after u cleaned it with the lime??

 

[weckl-x]

dmr: what is the model/make of the cymbal you cleaned?

 

[dmr]

yes i used shampoo... my cymbal looks much better, just that some portions are reddish brown. its a zildjian scimitar ride...

 

[marcdadrummer]

i guess the scimitar series are the sheet bronze??? and the copper content is higher... which's why ur cymbal is turning like that....

oh yeah after shampooing did u use water and remove the shampooo and then u have to dry ur cymbals...

* i did put this up that use this method at ur own risk *

but this method has been done on a pair of 13" a custom hats, 16and18 a custom crash and 20" K custom ride. and all's well with the cymbals...

don't flame me if anything goes wrong with ur cymbals.

 

[plainsman]

interesting, dmr.. able to put up some pictures of the reddish brown?

yes marc bro, pls put up a disclaimer to protect yourself ...lol!

i've used lime so far on the following cymbals:

- zildjian k custom hybrid
- sabian AAX studio crash
- zyn 8"
- wuhan 8" bell
- sabian HH max 7" max splash
- sabian AA 8" splash
- sabian HH thin chinese 16"


all good and nice, no weird stains or browns.

but... i wonder if it will have adverse effects on cymbals with different alloy content (Like sheet bronze or paiste 201 bronze for example)

please consider carefully before using and read up.

more feedback here pls...


cheers!!

 

[marcdadrummer]

yeah i did put it up on the materials covered thread at how to drums and this one...

this method is really good to bring out brilliant cymbals back to it's original form. i did it on my a custom 22".. it took some time due to the size and after 10 limes or so, it's really in brilliant condition after restoring...

pls remember to run through the sides of the cymbals too...

 

[dmr]

yup i did everything... not sure why it turned out that way but it isnt too bad and it really helped my cymbal alot! previously it was grey... now at least can see it shine abit after using 12 limes... haha.

ill try to upload a picture soon... currently only got my handphone camera so the resolution wont be that great.

 

[plainsman]

omg 12 limes... :shock:

me only used one lime per cymbal and for the really big ones... 2 limes (the ride etc.)

look forward to seeing pictures!!!!

 

[alvyn]

actually Marc. lime is acidic. thats how you get the cymbal to shine. is the same as cymbal cleaners. they are all solvents. so i wouldnt overdo it with the lime. it WILL remove surface metal as well. and be sure o clean off all residue. or the acid will eat into your cymbal.... dirt can be cleaned off without solvents. a good rub will do. Shine is only restored by removing a layer of surface metal that has oxidised and thus become blackish

lime is acidic, but its an organic acid - citric acid. its quite concentrated, seeing how its fresh from the source itself, but overall its still a better choice than cymbal polishers because the cymbal polishers polish and buff the cymbal. by buffing the cymbal, you effectively oxidise a thin layer, removing it to reveal the shiny untouched layer under it. whereas for lime, the acid isn't strong enough to completely oxide the top layer. further more you'll only leave the lime juice on it for a while before cleaning it off. overall its a cheaper alternative, and it definitely has less long term damage as compared to the other cymbal cleaners.

of course you gotta neutralise the citric acid by using shampoo, as marc mentioned in a few other posts, otherwise there might be residue citric acid left on the cymbal, and over time, it will still prove to be detrimental for your cymbal.

another point to note is that you do not have to regularly polish your cymbals - you'll do more harm than good. if you've got minmal stick marks, finger prints or dirt on it, warm water + mild soap will do. give it a good rub, dry it and it'll all come off. personally i don't like polishing my cymbals... i like the "aged" feel, and the worn in sound/feeling. alot of drummers argue that a "dirty" cymbal sounds warmer and more worn in... personally my ears aren't that kilat to note the diff lah, but i think its kinda cool to have dirty cymbals.

oh yes, and just a side note, clean your cymbals with a dry soft cloth after practices.. esp. if you have sweaty palms and you grab your cymbals ALOT. i found out the hard way when i first started playing cuz there was oxidation on my cymbals... was a bitch to remove and there're still small stubborn specks around on my ride.

 

[mel80]

I tried out the method marcdadrummer suggested. It worked well for my Sabian AA, AAX, HH and HHX cymbals. Restored them to their former shiny glory. Thanks marc!

I didn't use shampoo though. I used a drop of dishwashing liquid and made the whole cymbal foamy with a soft sponge instead (as suggested by plainsman). One lime per cymbal will do, or at most two limes for the bigger ones (ride/china).