jimbo-G
44 posts
Nov 15, 2011
10:14 AM
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Yes ketchup. I decided to take an old harp apart to clean and thought id try the ketchup idea, it works. I filled a glass up half warm water and half ketchup enough to completely cover the reed plates, chucked them in and whilst they soaked I sanded and sealed the comb. After I had finished the comb I took the plates out to dry next to the comb and they were just like new. After I put it all back together it felt like a new harp. I'm well happy now. :-)
P.s. remember to rinse all the sauce off, or you will be tasting the nasty red stuff every time you play.
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toddlgreene
3454 posts
Nov 15, 2011
10:27 AM
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I prefer a wasabi aoili wash with an awamori chaser on my harps.
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Todd L. Greene
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toddlgreene
3455 posts
Nov 15, 2011
12:27 PM
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...or perhaps marinara with a nice Chianti?
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Todd L. Greene
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Stevelegh
340 posts
Nov 15, 2011
12:48 PM
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Heinz Tomato soup has the same effect. I don't know why, but it's an amazing metal cleaner.
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toddlgreene
3456 posts
Nov 15, 2011
12:56 PM
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I guess the citric/malic acid cocktail found in tomatoes are what is doing the trick for you, but with the price of tomatoes(at least, here in the states), ANYTHING is a cheaper alternative.
In my teens, I restored a '66 Mustang. When I would come across rusty parts, I initially used muriatic acid, but a friend said to try Coca-Cola...it worked great! The fact that it would eat rust and completely dissolve a tooth soaking in it overnight are also reason I don't drink the stuff!
Barkeeper's Friend, a soft toothbrush(easy does it), and a thorough rinse will yield excellent, shiny results. Save the tomatoes for salsa! I'll even give you my recipe, if you are prepared to take the oath of secrecy.
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Todd L. Greene
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2011 12:57 PM
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Todd Parrott
776 posts
Nov 15, 2011
1:56 PM
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The impotant question is.... Heinz or Hunt's? ;)
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toddlgreene
3457 posts
Nov 15, 2011
2:35 PM
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Just don't use ketchup in Chicago-it's gotta be mustard!
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Todd L. Greene
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BronzeWailer
325 posts
Nov 15, 2011
2:40 PM
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It's also good for getting skunk juice off a dog. Our mutt wouldn't learn so he got a ketchup bath several times during my (Canadian) childhood.
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rbeetsme
462 posts
Nov 15, 2011
3:45 PM
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Sounds like vinegar might have the same effect. Anyone try it?
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ridge
293 posts
Nov 15, 2011
4:35 PM
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I've done white wine vinegar and salt, but it discolors the reed plates slightly.
Used to do the same thing as a kid with pennies and it would make them nice and shiny.
Maybe if you don't use salt it won't discolor, I dunno, only did it once.
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nacoran
4933 posts
Nov 15, 2011
5:25 PM
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Mythbusters busted the tooth in Coke trick. (Would it be ironic to clean the couple spots of rust on my Coke machine off with Coke?) It did score pretty well as a cleaner though.
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mx
3 posts
Nov 15, 2011
6:57 PM
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Hi, the reson the ketchup works is that you are makeing a battery(acid, electlites are in ketchup) so just coat the copper parts with ketchup let soak 20-30 min. then rinse of with worm water and dry. the cool thing is that the electric runs backwords so that the negitive is positive and the positive is negative. this means that the particals are removed from the copper and deposited it the ketchup is this bitching or what. ps use pure ketchup stronger battery
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2011 6:59 PM
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isaacullah
1679 posts
Nov 15, 2011
9:59 PM
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lemon juice (or any acid) and salt work just the same. It's a chemical reaction between the copper oxide, acid, and salt, that does it. works "like magic"!
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Ringo
2 posts
Nov 16, 2011
4:50 AM
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Well,- what is going on here,- use water and drink some whiskey,- its works.
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arzajac
686 posts
Nov 27, 2011
6:19 PM
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I tried it this morning. I used straight ketchup and it did a bang-up job! However, since ketchup is so thick, there are spots at the base of some reeds that didn't get covered. I did not dilute the ketchup.
I have decided to not use CLR to restore harps anymore in light of this.
Not wanting to leave it at that, I found another dirty harp and tried vinegar and salt. It works perfectly. Not only is it every bit as good as ketchup or CLR, but there were no missed spots.
I buy 3 liter jugs of vinegar to clean up our animal cages - they cost a little over a dollar per container. I put two teaspoons of salt onto a plate and poured about a half cup of white vinegar. I dropped in the reed plates and sloshed things around. The salt dissolved in a few minutes and the plates cleaned themselves.
Much cheaper and much more environmentally friendly than CLR. And this is something accessible to most people.
Has anyone ever tried using a salt/vinegar solution in an ultrasonic cleaner? That would shorten the time it takes me to clean a reedplate and coverplate significantly! I'm just not sure if the ultrasonic cleaner would work as well as with plain water. I suppose it would...
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STME58
27 posts
Nov 28, 2011
11:42 AM
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Isn't one of the main ingrediants in ketchup vinegar?
MX mentioned the battery concept. I have noticed that when I tongue block on a Suzuki Pro Master (Aluminum comb, brass reed plates) I can feel a voltage just like if you tongue test a week 1.5 volt battery Aluminum and brass are about a half volt or so apart on the galvanic series so this makes sense. Has anyone else noticed this with harps of dissimilar metals?
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Reverend Jimmie Jive
10 posts
Nov 28, 2011
8:00 PM
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Hot DOGkitty !!! what a GREAT idea
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