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Polishing metal buttons


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Some  tarnish,  as in your  case  Christian,  can  leave  the  metal  buttons  slightly  sticky  or  feeling rough.  I  think it is  good to  have  a very smooth  polish  on the  ends of the  buttons  so  that    fingers  can side  on and off  without  resistance.  Some  might  prefer  a grippy  surface  but  I  find  it is  useful  to  be able to  slightly adjust  the  position of  the  fingers on the  buttons  for  better  chord  shapes  or  when  playing two  notes with  one finger.

 

I  also  think  the  suggestion, on facebook,  of  re-plating  those  buttons  is  a good one.

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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Hello Geoff,

apart from cosmetic reasons I prefer the non-sticky version as well. My own sweat shouldn’t be the reason as it’s never occurred on my other Instruments. I hope it’s going to stay relatively clean now, if you zoom into the photos now the dark spots that you seen on each button are apparently a reflection of me holding the phone. I’ll attach a photo so you can see how they looked before the treatment. 
Hope to find sth now to give the ends back a bit of a shine. 

8A3121F3-05BE-4AE5-8E82-9B4093B35558.jpeg

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Christian

 

To clean the ends and improve their finish I have used Super NIcko burnishing cream, recommended to me by an ex luthier and French Polisher. It is a little expensive, but you shouldn't need a lot. It is used by violin makers / repairers to clean those instruments.

 

Available from Beare and Son, £5

https://beareandson.co.uk/super-nicko-31-p.asp

 

Regards,

Rod

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