Posted by pfft on March 14, 2004 at 13:03:42:
In Reply to: Re: Silver vs Lacquer posted by Silver makes your... on March 13, 2004 at 16:31:41:
raw brass turns you green and is toxic
current acrylic (read PLASTIC) lacquer is seldom applied anymore to well-polished and properly-cleaned instruments (when horns are built new) so its not 100% durable and flaws in appearance can irritate even the most pragmatic of BBS-readers.
current silver plating seldom uses a copper flash over the brass, which is necessary to obtain a good interstitial (technically "co-valent" molecular) bond between the dis-similar metals--another reason why so-called "thin silver" plating is not very durable over time.
Bright silver is better than satin as far as tarnish because it doesn't have as much surface area (on a real fine, surface finish level) as the sometimes bumpy satin can.
All in all, silver is better, unless its a BBflat tuba. (note the veiled waggish sarcasm)
How could this help?
dp