Cleaning your cymbals

[topdog63]

Whats good to use to clean your cymbals? I heard if you use brasso or never-dull or something no tspecifically designed for cymbals it will make them brittle.

[TURTLINATOR]

I am not sure but I think that might be true in some cases but for the most part I think that is a rumor started by the people who make cymbal specific cleaners.

[Nik276]

I use Zildjian Cymbal polish. It takes a while to clean my cymbals but it gets them shiny.

[drummerdavie]

i dont clean my cymbals. or rather i never have, the dirt makes them sound better imo

[crazydrummer]

brasso works good on low-end cymbals..used it on my starter cymbals...(zildjian zbt)......i got this spray stuff i use on my a custom and avedis cymbals...its called``groove juice``....it works awesome....really good.....

[Pearldrummer13]

Zildjian cymbal polish FTW!!! lol

it is an awesome polish and does an amazing job
it does take a little bit of work though

[gonefishin]

You just have to be careful what you use because you could wipe away the logo on the cymbal if youre not too careful .

[Church Drummer]

Most Cymbal polishes, and other metal polishes are abasives, and will remove the logos over time. I have a pair of ZBT Rock Hats that I inherited from my stepfather who used them for marching with a fire department band (he originally was a trumpet player but when he lost his front teeth and had to get dentures couldn't play trumpet anymore). They were in terrible shape from sitting unused in a damp basement, so I got out the Brasso and they cleaned up really nicely, it removed some of the smaller scrathes, the tarnish, fingerprints, and green stuff that had accumulated, but it also removed the logos too. If you want to preserve the logos don't use a metal polish on those areas of the cymbals. I definately wouldn't recommend Brasso on an expensive set of cymbals, because you are polishing away some of the metal when you do it, but I actually think in the case of the ZBT hats it made them sound better.

Some one mentioned Groove juice, how is that at getting fingerprints off of cymbals? I know it is supposed to be none abrasive, just wonder how it works on finger prints, that is the one thing on cymbals that drive me nuts is when I get fingerprints all over them.

[crazydrummer]

it works great....the thing with groove juice is people dont use it right...lol...get your cymbal wet with a rag...totally soaked...then spray the juice over the whole thing...let it sit 15-20 seconds...then take your wet rag and wipe in a circle around the entire cymbal..then rinse your cymbal off...it works amazing...your cymbal will look brand new....if one coat doesnt do it, repeat the process....letting it sit a bit longer before you rinse it....it wont let you down....

[nemrac76]

I love my K Zildjians. When I buy new cymbals I always wipe all the black logos right off to give them that old vintage look...and I NEVER clean them. Motown bassist James Jamerson once said he never changed or cleaned his strings because "the dirt keeps the funk"...so I always keep that in mind when it comes to cymbals. Peace out!!

[DamageDrummer]

cleaning your cymbals is important, every single fingerprint, dirt, blood, and whatever else builds up on the bronze causes obstructions in the natural vibrations of the cymbal, and you dont want that. a good studio technician will tell you this.

any kind of cymbal cleaner is probably the best thing, because the cleaners are tested on actual cymbals, so you know you will get what you want without damaging or discoloring the cymbal. while other products like brasso or never-dull might give you unwanted results.

[Timactionfigures]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and I'd like to add something that I haven't seen suggested yet for cleaning cymbals...good ol' WD-40 seems to work well for me.

[zzzdanz]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and I'd like to add something that I haven't seen suggested yet for cleaning cymbals...good ol' WD-40 seems to work well for me.

Is there anything that stuff can't clean.!!!!

[Nik276]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and I'd like to add something that I haven't seen suggested yet for cleaning cymbals...good ol' WD-40 seems to work well for me.

That`s intersting. I`ve never heard of that but I see how it would work because it`s a grease remover.

[zzzdanz]

A can of wd-40 and a roll of duct tape and Mcgyver could make world peace.

[Timactionfigures]

A can of wd-40 and a roll of duct tape and Mcgyver could make world peace.

LOL...well I dunno...but I bet he could make any old beater kit sound good and look shiny. But anyway, yeah WD-40 is made for metal, removes corrosion, rust, oil, grease, and leaves a nice shine. If you can deal with the smell of metal shop for a day or two, and provided there's no side effects I'm unaware of (being bronze and all as opposed to rusty car parts) well it really seems to work quite good.

[Fades Away]

I use Zildjian Cymbal polish. It takes a while to clean my cymbals but it gets them shiny.

+1 It does take some time but the result is awesome!

[DantheDrummer]

Groove Juice all the way

[Morello Man]

Close to a year ago, there was a small article in Modern Drummer about Bosphorus Cymbal Swipes. They sounded good to me as it read, "Super simple to use and totally mess-free. Just pull a cloth through the top of the container, rub away the grit, rinse the cymbal with water and toss the swipe in the trash." I haven't tried this cleaner but I'm interested to know if anyone out there has.

[Northern Redneck]

Close to a year ago, there was a small article in Modern Drummer about Bosphorus Cymbal Swipes. They sounded good to me as it read, "Super simple to use and totally mess-free. Just pull a cloth through the top of the container, rub away the grit, rinse the cymbal with water and toss the swipe in the trash." I haven't tried this cleaner but I'm interested to know if anyone out there has.

Its Nev R Dull with a different name and a bigger price.

[MartyM]

Ok all, It seems this has been threading for awhile....and now it continues..LOL. i only have to thank all the people here that have offered there opinions...i do value all! as some regular posters know i have been away from drumming for quite some time..i remember the old days cleaning my cymbals with gritty paste to very little result...yesterday i stopped by local music store and picked up some Groove juice..and lo and behold it does work as some have offered...i was surprised at how simple this was..where was this stuff when i was a rockin regularlly?? but once again thanks to all to that helped me decide...

[RickyT]

Brasso is a metal polish which works GREAT on my high end cymbals.
But as stated by other drummers, you need to be careful around the printed areas as it will remove them. I think Brasso Rocks!!

[Greenmonster206]

Being a lover of the environment...I let my cymbals 'go green'.

[mcramer]

though i agree that some cymbals sound better when dirty.
i used to use groove juice, but it took all my labels off my starter cymbals (zbt)
ive used the sabian cymbal polish for a while, but stopped when i found the zildjian cymbal polish

[Greenmonster206]

though i agree that some cymbals sound better when dirty.
i used to use groove juice, but it took all my labels off my starter cymbals (zbt)
ive used the sabian cymbal polish for a while, but stopped when i found the zildjian cymbal polish

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