[distanceisdarkness]

hey i'm new here and i have an older tama swingstar set, and i was wondering what is the best way to get rid of the little bit of rust thats starting to come in on the drums and stands. I was also wondering the best way to clean cymbals as well. any help is greatly appreciated

[Harry]

Hi Dstncdrknss,

For the chrome parts, tensioning threads etc. I had excellent results with Inox, a spray lubricant ( like CRC) just rubb it on with a cloth, soak it, and rubb it again.
You will find it drives the rust back under the surface.
For the cymbals I always use a mild (dishwashing) detergent and warm water which seems enough to keep on top of it.
That failing there are some dedicated cleaning agents for cymbals on the market, but I have no experience with those.

That's all I know about it anyway,

Cheers and happy chopping, harry

[JAubry]

I heard that a dish towel and liquid dishwasher soap cleans is fine for cleaning cymbals.

[HBdrummer1]

There are many ways to clean up chrome hardware. One is to go to your local department store's automotive section and pick up some chrome cleaner which has a very mild abrasive to remove surface rust, but then you need to protect it. Harry's way is great using a mild lubricant as it also keeps threads and moving/ sliding parts lubricated. Unfortunately the oily film collects dust and fingerprints show up when handled. Another alternative is to use an automotive paste wax (even cheap turtle wax) as a protectant for chrome and lightly lube the threads, etc. Cymbals can be more fickle, mild detergent works good, but like maintaining anything if you (or former owners) don't keep up with it, it can get beyond this method. Other alternatives for all hardware and cymbal cleaning are products like Groove Juice which most music stores sell which in my experience does a pretty good job. The last resort for cymbals (have bought some high end used ones very cheap because they were tarnished so bad) is Brasso... lots of elbow grease and they will shine like new... But (there's always one of those) it removes the factory clearcoat (and logo's) and they become like our grandparent's silverware... requiring regular polishing. Like anything it all depends on how bad it is and how much work you're willing to do.

[IBENEZCX160]

Go To Wall Mart And Buy A Tin Of A Cleaner Called "never Dull" In The Auto Section. Open The Can And Pull A Little Of The Wadding Out And Rub The Cymbal Surface. The Wadding Turns Black As The Tarnish Is Removed. You Don't Have To Let It Dry To A Haze, Just Clean Up The Cymball And Switch To A T-shirt Instead Of The Wadding And Lightly Buff 'till Those Babies Shine Like New. The Stuff Is Amazing. It Works On Anything Thats Not Porous. It's The Best Chrome Cleaner There Is And Also Works On Glass. Don't Use It On Old Paint As It Is Kind Of Abrasive.