BlowDry Brass vs. Herco Spitballs
Posted: Sat May 12, 2018 11:29 am
To preface, I'm very diligent in the maintenance my trombone—all my instruments for that matter. My end-of-day routine includes wiping it off with a soft cloth, toweling off the inner slide, and swabbing out the slide tubes with a cloth-wrapped cleaning rod to remove the condensation and lubrication. My main horn gets a bath every month, or so. All that being said, I'm considering augmenting my routine with Herco Spitballs or the like. Let me reiterate, I'm not looking for a substitute to actually cleaning my horns. The goal is to aid in condensation removal/drying and neutralizing any acids from saliva in an effort to mitigate the conditions for Red Rot.
Saliva is often cited as the principal, or at least a major, cause of Red Rot. Yet looking at the chemistry, it seems that saliva actually neutralizes acids. Furthermore, selective leaching/dealloying of brass is due to the presence of oxygen and moisture, as much as anything. Granted any information found out in the World Wide Web should be taken with a grain of salt. And admittedly, chemistry isn't my strongest science; That's why I gave up on Pharmacy in college, but that's another story. As I mentioned, I'm considering Herco Spitballs or another product I found, BlowDry Brass. I have questions about the chemistry behind either choice. Hopefully, one of the chemists such as Bruce Guttman, or other science buffs, will chime in. My questions are as follows.
1) What is the cleaning agent in Herco Spitballs? I can't seem to find that information out on the Web—not surprisingly. Hickey's description says they're soaked in alcohol. I used them in junior high and and my recollection is of a seemingly more complex cocktail.
2) Does anyone have experience with BlowDry Brass? http://blowdrybrass.com/
The company is straightforward about the product; The bits are soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Unfortunately, they only offer a size for small and medium bore instruments.
3) Can all acids contribute to dezincification of brass (Red Rot).? Or, is it just hydrochloric acid?
4) So is isopropyl alcohol, or other cleaning-type alcohols, safe for brass? Alcohol is acidic by nature, correct? Supposedly isopropyl alcohol is less acidic than plain water.
5) Does anyone know where to purchase similar foam cylinders/bits appropriate for this purpose?
Thanks for reading this lengthy post and for answering my queries.
Saliva is often cited as the principal, or at least a major, cause of Red Rot. Yet looking at the chemistry, it seems that saliva actually neutralizes acids. Furthermore, selective leaching/dealloying of brass is due to the presence of oxygen and moisture, as much as anything. Granted any information found out in the World Wide Web should be taken with a grain of salt. And admittedly, chemistry isn't my strongest science; That's why I gave up on Pharmacy in college, but that's another story. As I mentioned, I'm considering Herco Spitballs or another product I found, BlowDry Brass. I have questions about the chemistry behind either choice. Hopefully, one of the chemists such as Bruce Guttman, or other science buffs, will chime in. My questions are as follows.
1) What is the cleaning agent in Herco Spitballs? I can't seem to find that information out on the Web—not surprisingly. Hickey's description says they're soaked in alcohol. I used them in junior high and and my recollection is of a seemingly more complex cocktail.
2) Does anyone have experience with BlowDry Brass? http://blowdrybrass.com/
The company is straightforward about the product; The bits are soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Unfortunately, they only offer a size for small and medium bore instruments.
3) Can all acids contribute to dezincification of brass (Red Rot).? Or, is it just hydrochloric acid?
4) So is isopropyl alcohol, or other cleaning-type alcohols, safe for brass? Alcohol is acidic by nature, correct? Supposedly isopropyl alcohol is less acidic than plain water.
5) Does anyone know where to purchase similar foam cylinders/bits appropriate for this purpose?
Thanks for reading this lengthy post and for answering my queries.