The UN-Official guide to cymbal cleaning: The Lime-Ball Method.

[marcdadrummer]

Hello everybody!

First and foremost, i'd like to warn everybody here that this method is to be done at your OWN RISK.

alright let's get started.

Now, everyone has their own personal preference. Some like their cymbals clean, some like it dirty, some like it patinated and so on and so forth.

For myself, i like it really clean and shiny. (or traditionally finished looking)

One day, i asked my friend, how come his K ride was in brilliant finish when it was like really traditional looking and it was filled with fingerprints all over.

he said, "the lime ball method."

Advantages:
- Very easy to do.
- Doesn't remove your logo as other stronger acidic cymbal cleaners/metal polishers do.
- Cheap

Disadvantages:
- Needs more strength to remove stains
- accidents MAY happen (handling with care is crucial)
- somewhat time consuming than doing the normal way.

So, for those who wants their cymbal looking as new as u bought it on from the rack or restore it's former brilliance, then u'd need these items:

1 pair of rubber gloves
a packet of green lime balls (found on mee rebus)
shampoo/detergent (anything to neutralise the acid - alkaline)
a towel

lets get ready to jiggle now.

Steps:

1) bring your cymbal to the toilet, and run it with water. This is to clean the cymbal of any dusts on it.

2) Cut the green lime balls into halfs and go around the cymbal clockwise following the groove with a slight pressure. Amount of balls to be used vary with sizes and preference. The idea is to remove the fingerprint marks and rub away a tinsy winsy bit of surface metal on the cymbal so it'll shine - again!

3) Go on both sides and also the sides of the cymbal.

4) once your done, clean it with water again OR u can just straight away pour some shampoo on your hand and rub it against the surface.

5) make sure everything is covered. ONce done, run it again with water until everything is removed. Dry it with a clean dry cloth.

and VOILA!! ur cymbal is cleaned without any damage to your logo...

i'll be po sting before and after pictures on the next post.

thank you for reading.

marc

PS: Credits to PRAS TONTEY for teaching me the lime method.

 

[marcdadrummer]

EXhibit A: 14" Wuhan Chinese

Before:

After:

 

[marcdadrummer]

Exhibit B: Wuhan 8" Splash

Before:

After:

 

[marcdadrummer]

Exhibit C: Wuhan 10" Splash

Before:

After:

 

[marcdadrummer]

Exhibit D: Sabian 18" HHXtreme crash

Before:

After:

 

[marcdadrummer]

Exhibit E: Sabian 20" Vault Crash

Before:

After:

Apologies for the bad quality pics. taken from my Hp camera.

 

[alvyn]

hey guys,

just to add on to the above, the lime method is relatively safer than using commercial cymbal cleaners because its organic. however, because citric acid is well, acidic, there'll still be a slight reaction between the surface and the acid, in short, it will still wear out, albeit lesser. so please don't be kiasu and use alot of limes for a cymbal, and most importantly don't do this often. (limes can be used in mee rubus lah... don't need to waste)

regular cleaning with a clean cloth (i'm using a guitar cloth myself.. v soft and good ;P) to remove sweat stains, finger prints and dirt will do... polish it every once in a while say before a gig or something.

oh and do be sure to use a little soap... get something mild, because similarly soap is alkaline and will also react with the surface metal (if my chemistry didn't fail me). the whole idea about using soap is not to clean the cymbal.. its to neutralise whatever remaining acid that's left on your cymbal, so this step is rather important.

last but not least, if you're buffing your cymbal, buff evenly with small circular motions, or you'll get a wierd looking shine.

enjoy your shiny cymbals!

for the not so anal people like me, enjoy our dirty old cymbals and mock the rest when we sell ours off as "ANTIQUE VINTAGE K RIDES FROM 1960! (2350g)" or something like that.

 

[blurred]

i love dirty cymbals!!!

sori but i dun sell my cymbals, dunno wat kinda drummer u are hahahha

 

[marcdadrummer]

old k's are worth 5k if the size/weight. stamp, and condition is right.

 

[melvin]

the older ur Ks, the more Ks u can fetch when ur selling it haha! currency thats what i mean! lol. oKay..

 

[mel80]

I've also tried this method and it works wonders!

My Handhammered Chinese before polishing:

After polishing:

 

[blurred]

may u and ur K's live long and prosper

 

[alvyn]

i love dirty cymbals!!!

sori but i dun sell my cymbals, dunno wat kinda drummer u are hahahha

Excuse me? This may be an internet forum, where things may not be as serious as they ought to be, but I take offence at your statement - "dunno wat kinda drummer u are". You may have played for 10 years, with tons of accolades, achievements and accomplishments behind you, but please do refrain from making such irresponsible and downright provocative statements.

I'm glad you do not sell your cymbals, because that's your personal preference. I personally like to buy and sell cymbals because I get to experiment and try out a whole palate of sounds.

Oh and before you hit the "Reply" button, please do re-read my initial reply to Marcdadrummer's post, and do a search for "Sacarsm" and "Joke" and understand that my parting sentence for my initial post was meant to be a lighthearted joke/comment.

the older ur Ks, the more Ks u can fetch when ur selling it haha! currency thats what i mean! lol. oKay..

Yeah I stumbled upon a website selling vintage gear and cymbals... if I'm not wrong it was a softie's company. The cymbals were amazing, but its a pity they cost a bomb.

I'm thinking that if I could justify the cost and get myself a vintage cymbal, I'd probably be super anal about it, and super protective over it as well.

 

[blurred]

yo alvyn, chill out. dun take offence take a defence. alright alright jokes aside, it was meant to be a joke. i'm sure u can tell, if u still take offence okie loh. so wat exactly do u want me to say to make the bad smell go away?

 

[plainsman]

wooo.... was wondering when marc wld start a thread on this *rubs hands* :mrgreen:

yahhhh more K's please ....

 

[marcdadrummer]

can someone make this thread a sticky? thanks!

 

[alvyn]

yo alvyn, chill out. dun take offence take a defence. alright alright jokes aside, it was meant to be a joke. i'm sure u can tell, if u still take offence okie loh. so wat exactly do u want me to say to make the bad smell go away?

Nah don't worry about it, i was questioning what you meant by your statement because I didn't know if you were making a joke, or being serious about it - not easy to read emotions online especially since I don't know you personally. Don't worry about it, no harm no foul.

may you have many limes to clean your cymbals with

 

[sheldie87]

nice thread! really would need a lot of limes, especially if you suay suay buy the dry ones. i used to clean my cymbals. then i got lazy. for me, it's half "im lazy to clean" and half "i like them dirty". hehehehehe...

besides, buying a cymbal is like buying a fixed asset. can sell off later and you'll still get good money back. if you buy and sell the right kinds tt is....

 

[Nike]

The lime kinda corrodes the cymbal a little to get the shine back right?

 

[ACR]

Protect your precious investment !

Cymbals. chrome or goldplating on the drumkit,etc :

> Be it showroom display or personal cymbals - it would be good for cymbals & drumkits to look like new ! ( obvious )

> However, fingerprints, dust, sweat, body acid, sulphuric air, fungi are unavoidable.

> They, in due time mar the looks of the cymbal, making them look unsightly.

> Manufacturers either put a thin coat of wax ( which soon rubs off ) or a thin coat of clear lacquer ( which looks marked after the coating flakes off )

> frequent polishing or the lime ball cleaning would eventually wear off the fine tonal grooves of the cymbal ( removing the capability to reproduce rich harmonics that give higher quality cymbals the shimmer & sizzly wash.

It would be akin to shaving ones head -looking bald !( sounding threadbare )
The freshly ' cleaned ' bare ( unprotected ) cymbal would soon oxydize within 6 hours- a waste of time, effort & lime or polish ! )
The very reason why most drummers give up polishing & cleaning after awhile
-a chore & futile attempt

As all drummers soon notice a new set of drums & cymbals soon look old - due mainly from fungi attack as a result of our 99% relative humidity ( we are living on land surrounded by water ! )

>>> There is now a proprietary Cymbal & drumkit Protection treatment available from ACR ( AmazingCustomReference )

>> A SuperProtectant that seals & shields the bare metal from the harmful elements.
1) it is tough - it binds to the metal ( mono molecular )
2) it is invisible - so the surface looks discrete ( nude )
& thus looks better than new ! ( very shiny ! )
3) it is impervious to the elements-acid ,alkaline, grease,etc
4) when dusty- just hose it off under the tap & dry with a clean non abrasive cloth !
5) Retreatment, when neccessary after frequent wear, is easy & no buildup marks !
6) For extra failsafe -three coats could be applied as a start & there after a maintance retreatment for heavy users after about one year !
7) Makes life easy for the drummer besides looking good !

sincerely,
ACR