[Trombone-l] king laquer?

[Lisa & Patrick Bates]

I've got a late 30's King "Symphony" model (.546 bore) that's got a colour
to it I've never seen on another horn, very pretty. Very dark, pretty sure
it's a red brass with this same laquer that colours over time. Maybe the
laquer ages due to oxygen instead of UV?
Patrick Bates
bass bone
Chatham Concert Band
Primitive Roots Jazz Band

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Moran, Doug" <morand at denison.edu>
To: "Bone List" <trombone-l at samford.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] king laquer?


> On Apr 27, 2006, at 3:34 PM, dslide13 at aol.com wrote:
>
> > The newest addition to my King collection is a 4B from around 1969.  It
> > is a beautiful color of rosey orange.  Frequently, saxophonists will
> > remark at what an interesting hue the bell is colored.  I recently had
> > some dents taken out of the bell and asked the repairman, who formerly
> > worked in Eastlake at the King factory, what kind of laquer was used.
> > He said it wasn't a laquer, but a varnish.  He also said that when the
> > horn was made, it would have looked like any other brass horn.  But,
> > this varnish is sensitive to UV light and starts to turn brown after
> > prolonged exposure.  Had the horn been in its case for the past 35
> > years, it would still look like brass.
> >
> > Is this true?  Does anyone know more about this than I've already
> > heard?
> >
> > David Gibson
> > trombonist/educator
> > www.jazzbone.org
>
> I had a late 1930's King Liberty that I bought from a guy who played it
> in high school and put it in the closet/attic for 40 years.  The finish
> was not cracked or spider webbed, but the entire horn had a dark color
> to it.  More dark brass than orange.  This horn should have never had
> UV light on it since it was always in the case - which looked new.
>
> Did the repairman give an indication of when the varnish was used (from
> what year to what year)?  I have a 1973 King 3B w/f attachment (brass
> finish) in high school that I dropped.  It cost more to pay the special
> courier to bring the solvent (used to remove the finish) to the repair
> shop than the solvent cost.
>
> Doug
>
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