What are these marks?
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Can anybody speculate on what the heck might have made these marks on and around the valve blocks? It looks like somebody was wearing Brillo gloves.
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Only a guess, but it doesn't look like "original lacquer" (as advertised). The bell is too shiny and pristine for a horn of that age with original lacquer. It looks like it might have been re-lacquered at some point without proper surface preparation around the valves.
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That's Edward's old Committee.
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Nothing sinister. That is what old lacquer on a used trumpet looks like.
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Ivan (glad to see you, BTW), so that's typical? Do you see anything amiss from those photos? Thanks.
pss.
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That horn probably has a tone that peels paint - or lacquer...
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@Kehaulani I would want to see better photos of the underside of the beginning of the lead pipe. Looks like it has been serviced recently (newish looking valve felts and very clean valves). Pricey!
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If the servicing was pricey, then the cost of the instrument is not proportional. Questionable?
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@Trumpetsplus Ivan: I know you're an expert, but I have owned quite a few vintage horns and I have never had one where the bell looked very shiny, but the area around the valves had this weird craquelure / scratch look. You don't suppose the player actually had a prosthetic hand or something like that, do you?
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@Newell-Post any expertise I may have is certainly not in this area. Neither a cosmetician nor an aesthetician be I!
However, the engraving on the bell is so clear that I doubt that it has been reacquired. Relacquering requires buffing which removes metal.
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The marks are caused by the dreaded plastic valve cover that was supposed to protect the finish from the oils in the hand. The problem was leaving the thing on and a trumpet being for long periods of time in a hot environment, like the trunk of a car or more likely the storage under a bus, and usually in a case. I've seen that before. Doesn't seem to have affected the price the horn brought.
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@Niner
If that's the case, why are the marks on adjacent tubing, as well?
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Looks like old lacquer that was left after stripping the rest of the horn.
I’ve stripped a few and the valve block is the toughest part of the job
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@Kehaulani Ok... see what you mean now. But the worst is on the valve body. Maybe a plastic valve guard and then a flip music marching band folder with a plastic outside pressed against it in a case? Or....not.
