All metal clarinet. Should I polish or leave the patina?

[woodhog]

My Peddler American Elkhart Indiana is a full length all metal clarinet. Guessing the age maybe 100 years old. I'm not sure if polishing should be attempted or just be left alone and used with the patina. I would like to learn play it after getting it serviced with new pads and tenon cork repair work.

[mattocks]

It looks like its silver plated.
I'd at least give it a clean with a silver cloth and see what you think.
But personally Id try and make it shine.

[Handyjack]

Ask for advice where you get it serviced.

[dubrosa22]

Often silverplated saxes and clarinets from that era (1910s, '20s, '30s) are also clear lacquered over the silverplate. As a protective measure against tarnish.

Yours could very well have that lacquer treatment, at least on the bell anyway. The photo of the upper looks typically silver tarnished and with no remnants of any old lacquer there.

Soaking a few hours in very hot water will remove the lacquer to allow a silver polish but will also ruin the key pads and corks and felts so is really an overhaul and stripdown process best done by a technician or eager woodwind enthusiast and I honestly only mention it out of interest.

Personally I would just give it a light clean with a microfibre cloth, try a light polish in a clearly tarnished area with a silver polish impregnated cloth (available at the supermarket) to see if it is lacquered over or not.

Don't use liquid silver polish or creams unless you are overhauling it with a full stripdown. The liquid ruins the pads and just gets trapped in crevices where it can't be polished out easily.

Good luck with it.

V

[China]

Have the person who does the service polish it it will me a much better job when it is disassembled.