They weren't kidding when they said they had some OLD instruments! One of the instruments was a glockenspiel that included rust, tarnish, rubber band stickiness, and striped pegs. It played in tune, but getting my students past the stains and discolorations was not a battle I wanted to fight.
Since it was donated, I was willing to try and fix it up, not knowing if I would accidentally ruin it. Thankfully, a parent was working at school the day I tried fixing it up and she suggested baking soda and vinegar! Seemed like a safer bet than chemicals so I gathered the supplies and tried!
Supplies
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Medium Cup
Soft Cloth (I used a disposable dish cloth)
Clean Water
Metal Oil (I used rotor oil because that's what I had)
Fill the cup about 1/2 full with vinegar and place a bar in the cup. Slowly add about a teaspoon of baking soda. WARNING: baking soda and vinegar volcano! (that's why we filled the cup only half way full!) Soak the bar until the bubbles eat away all the grime. You may have to add more baking soda to elicit more reaction.
As needed, soak the flip side of the bars as well. Use a soft cloth to gently rub the bars. Rinse the bars in clean water and wipe a small amount of oil on the bar with another cloth.
Before
After!
The rubber band stain didn't come off, and they don't particularly *shine* but the rust is off and they look much cleaner! I put new rubber tubing on but am still waiting to buy new nails. Tuning is still spot on too! I'm quite happy with how it turned out!
