How to Clean Cymbals
Musicians need to make sure that both themselves and their instruments look clean and presentable to highlight their playing. The cymbals are among the instrument’s most visible elements, so they should be kept clean and shiny. Cleaning them is easy. You only need a cleaning solution and a clean cloth to do the job.
Clean with Mild Soap and a Cymbal Cleaner
Mild soaps are potent enough to remove the dirt stuck to your set of cymbals. Cymbal cleaners, on the other hand, restore the metal sheets’ glimmer, making them seem like newly bought items. Cleaning your cymbals with these solutions also extends their useful life. You purchase a cymbal cleaner at any music store.
Procedure:
cleaning cymbals
Mix soap and warm water in a basin to create a frothy solution.
Soak each cymbal in the solution for a minute or two.
Once done, remove the cymbals from the basin then wipe.
Pour some cymbal cleaner on a clean cloth. Apply it on a small portion of a cymbal’s surface until it glistens. Do the same for the sides of all cymbals.
Rinse off the cymbal cleaner.
Wipe the cymbals with a clean cloth then return them to your drum set.
Don’t use strong chemicals when cleaning your cymbals. They might be too abrasive, which can affect the sound emitted. Settle for regular cymbal cleaners or consult the sales personnel of a music store.
Rust-Removing Solution
Rust is often hard to remove when it latches on to a metal surface. Surprisingly, removing rust from your cymbals is not much of a problem. It loosens its grip on the metal sheets when soaked in lemon and iodized salt.
Procedure:
Wash a rusty cymbal with soap and water then rinse.
Apply liberal amounts of lemon juice on all the rusty areas.
Add a sprinkle of iodized salt on top of the lemon juice.
Let the juice and the salt for about three minutes.
Once done, scrub off rust with a hard-bristled toothbrush.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 twice, if the rust stains are pretty stubborn.
Rinse the cymbal then wipe.
If lemon juice doesn’t seem to work on rust, you can use vinegar or a commercial rust-removing solution. The effects of both solutions are just as good or even better then lemon.
Wipe the Cymbals after Every Performance
Aside from applying the two cleaning procedures, make sure to wipe your cymbals after every performance. Wiping them prevents the build up of dirt and moisture, so you won’t have to clean them, frequently.