Lacquer damage? Or more?

[MStarke]

Hi all,

I am searching a little bit for a cheap euphonium.
Now I have found a potential candidate.
It's a Weril - I have in the past had good experience with a Weril bass trombone.
Valves seem to be okay.

However it has substantial surface damage.
The owner claims it's just the lacquer.
Maybe some of the techs here can jump in and share their evaluation based on the picture?

Thanks everyone

[Burgerbob]

Just looks like tarnished brass to me.

[MStarke]

Aidan, thanks for the quick first response.

If that's the case then I would be perfectly fine with it.

I forgot to mention regarding Weril: One of my altos is a Weril. And I really like it - apart from it being a little challenging regarding intonation.

[hornbuilder]

The lacquer has come off the dark areas, which has oxidized. It doesn't look like there is anything bad going on, other than the lacquer loss. Are.you able to polish the dark areas? That would give a better indication of any possible problems.

[MStarke]

The lacquer has come off the dark areas, which has oxidized. It doesn't look like there is anything bad going on, other than the lacquer loss. Are.you able to polish the dark areas? That would give a better indication of any possible problems.

Thanks a lot!

This reassures me that it may be worth the risk, as long as the price is low enough.
I won't have a chance to see it before purchase, so try to get the best possible impression this way.
If it's just visual then I don't really mind. Some polishing might make it look better. However this is anyway a location that you don't really see during performance, so I don't care really.

[BellBent]

As others have stated, that just looks like lacquer loss + oxidation. I’m mostly a sax player - I’ve had horns where the whole thing looked like that!

If you buy it you could try polishing it, but be careful not to wear away the intact lacquer. You might just clean up the tarnished areas a little with a light application of 0000 gauge steel wool & then cover the area with a clear carnauba paste wax. Not as durable as lacquer but would afford some protection & it’s easily re-applied.