TromboneChat

Bought some citristrip for an ugly corp 42 on the way home, will attempt it tomorrow. I looked up to see if there were threads about stripping a 42 lacquer and couldn’t find any so i’m making one. Has anyone gone through this process, specifically with citristrip? I bought the aerosol can because i thought it would be easier, i’ll post pictures tomorrow if no one tells me not to.

I think I've tried Citrustrip on my corp 50 bell and got no results at all.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sat Jul 25, 2020 8:06 pm I think I've tried Citrustrip on my corp 50 bell and got no results at all.

Every experiment requires multiple trials. Let’s hope i get better results

Citristrip will work. You just need to score all of the lacquer thoroughly with a coarse steel wool first and leave the Citristrip on for at least 12 hours. Scratching the lacquer allows the Citristrip to get under the lacquer so it can do its thing. Not the best way to remove lacquer but, with a little effort, it will work.

The deed has been done, now to wait until midnight to clean them up.

For Corp era lacquer you just need to soak it in hot water in the tub.

tbonesullivan wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2020 1:37 pm For Corp era lacquer you just need to soak it in hot water in the tub.

Not all of it. Mine is impervious.

Some seem to have harder finish
Rumors of being done at blessing
Citrus is sloooow
Brush on thick
Let sit forever
If nothing
Try spray oven cleaner

There are strong stripping agents available for the different types of lacquer. However, having tanks of these chemicals sometimes requires permits and/or compliance with OSHA. This is why only businesses that do bulk refinishing of instruments have tanks of these chemicals.

For the average tinkerer (or part-time tech like me that does not want a 50-gallon barrel of those chemicals in my garage), stripping lacquer requires the combination of elbow grease, ingenuity and a decent stripping agent. Citristrip or an oven cleaner can certainly be part of the equation but you will need to know how to prepare the instrument before applying it. I completely stripped a Bach 42 a couple of weeks ago with Citristrip. No, you do not just apply the stripping agent and expect it to do all of the work. Yes, it takes some effort.....but if done correctly, you can remove the lacquer effectively.

I think of stripping lacquer as being similar to removing difficult wall paper. You need to scratch into the finish a bit, which allows the chemicals to penetrate and fester a bit. If you miss some spots and don't scratch the lacquer, the stripping agent might not be effective in those spots. If you don't scratch deep enough, there might be some lacquer left. Coarse steel wool works well and I have seen people score a lacquer finish with sandpaper (I recommend 400 grit or higher) and then use the stripping agent.

In a way, stripping lacquer is kind of like practicing a trombone. If you buy an expensive trombone, you can't just expect to play better on it......you need to practice. Likewise, just because you bought a stripping agent at Walmart, don't expect it to strip the lacquer with no effort....do the prep work and it will work better for you.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:11 pmNot all of it. Mine is impervious.

Dang. Maybe it was refinished sometime? But for refinishing they usually use the old Cellulose lacquers.

I have heard that Citristrip works much better with some heat, and this is the perfect time of year for that.

A success... kind of. Took two attempts because the first one i didn’t scratch it and i probably didn’t leave it on long enough. Either way i’m happy with the result, now i have to clean up some messy solder joints and hopefully sell it. I’m debating on sandblasting it or just polishing it and leaving it unlacquered. I really love unlacquered horns but i also love matte horns, but sadly i can’t keep this one. What would you do?

It’s junk. Send it to me and I’ll dispose of it for you

Elow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:10 am A success... kind of. Took two attempts because the first one i didn’t scratch it and i probably didn’t leave it on long enough. Either way i’m happy with the result, now i have to clean up some messy solder joints and hopefully sell it. I’m debating on sandblasting it or just polishing it and leaving it unlacquered. I really love unlacquered horns but i also love matte horns, but sadly i can’t keep this one. What would you do?

Looks great! What did you end up using to scratch it? I like the sandpaper idea because I have plenty of high grit paper lying around, but also want to do it right.

Luckily for me i plan to do a straight horn. The valve tubing looks like a pain.

Amconk wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 2:29 pm It’s junk. Send it to me and I’ll dispose of it for you

I’m in need of a car so i’ll have to sell this junk

JLivi wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:12 pm

Elow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:10 am A success... kind of. Took two attempts because the first one i didn’t scratch it and i probably didn’t leave it on long enough. Either way i’m happy with the result, now i have to clean up some messy solder joints and hopefully sell it. I’m debating on sandblasting it or just polishing it and leaving it unlacquered. I really love unlacquered horns but i also love matte horns, but sadly i can’t keep this one. What would you do?

Looks great! What did you end up using to scratch it? I like the sandpaper idea because I have plenty of high grit paper lying around, but also want to do it right.

Luckily for me i plan to do a straight horn. The valve tubing looks like a pain.

I used a steel brush which i was scared about leaving marks but i did it pretty lightly so not much was left if any. Yes, valve section was the worst part, spent about half of my time scraping the valve section but it turned out well

Elow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:20 pm

Amconk wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 2:29 pm It’s junk. Send it to me and I’ll dispose of it for you

I’m in need of a car so i’ll have to sell this junk

What are you doing? You should never sell a trombone to buy a car. You should sell your car to purchase more trombones! Silly kids!

Elow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:24 pm
I used a steel brush which i was scared about leaving marks but i did it pretty lightly so not much was left if any. Yes, valve section was the worst part, spent about half of my time scraping the valve section but it turned out well

I’ve used citristrip to refinish a table before. Did you wraps the bell in Saran Wrap or just let it dry and leave it for 12 hours? Also how did you remove the citristrip? Rinse it? The steel brush?

Sorry for all the dumb questions.

JLivi wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:05 pm
I’ve used citristrip to refinish a table before. Did you wraps the bell in Saran Wrap or just let it dry and leave it for 12 hours? Also how did you remove the citristrip? Rinse it? The steel brush?

Sorry for all the dumb questions.

I tried to rinse it but it wouldn’t come off and so i used a plastic scraper thing my mom uses to paint with and it came off pretty easily. Only problem was it got all pasty white so i had to make sure it was all off and then used WD40. I’m not really sure why it works but i was told that when it gets pasty then it’s a lack of oil or something and the oil in wd40 helps it. Not sure if that’s the right thing to do but it was what i was taught.