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Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Selmer saxes / MK VI fan(atic) input please

Next 20 Messages

tungp
User ID: 0952054 Jan 28th 11:43 AM
I'm having trouble deciding how to finish my 132K Mark VI....

I'm in the last stages of the chemical stripping/refinishing phase, and can't decide whether to give the horn a faux vintage look (by completing last phase of lacquer removal with brasso + fine steel wool, making "matte" effect), or to give the horn newer, shinier look (by completing last phase with brasso & a rag).

The difference in terms of effect on the brass is negligible -- it's purely a cosmetic question.

The faux vintage look is nice, but the smooth-polished look will make the horn look almost new, like a Series III.

It's hard to decide because this is the finish the horn will wear for many years to come. The thing that bothers me is that I like the vintage look, but the matte finish will make the engraving recede, visually, and it's a beautiful engraving. The polished, shiny look, on the other hand, will be almost a bit garish, I think.

Op's?

tungp
User ID: 0952054 Jan 28th 11:45 AM
It's kind of a stupid, open-ended question. Humor me...

Gary Hartle
User ID: 9579203 Jan 28th 11:52 AM
Hand polish the engraved area but matte finish the rest of it. Are you going to lacquer it? They don't look right polished unless you use tinted lacquer. You don't want it to look like a Series III, do you? You could also use satin finish lacquer to complete the matte look.

MusicMan
User ID: 0464054 Jan 28th 12:48 PM
Plate it...silver or gold

Gregg W. Jackson
User ID: 2693314 Jan 28th 2:01 PM
I think that the matte look would be nice. Just don't go too far. Something like the finish on Joe Henderson's horn would be about right, in my not so humble opinion. Whatever you do, don't put on the faux shading that the Reference 54 tenors have. They look like something in the Wal Mart lamp department to me.

LL
User ID: 0317884 Jan 28th 2:19 PM
rofl wait til Toby and Randall read this, rofl, WalMart lamps..

Thomas
User ID: 9279843 Jan 28th 2:32 PM
Man do I agree with Gregg Jackson those 54's do look terrible-awful-yuk.My opinion is even though it's a Selmer,and you think it's worth playing,I say goldplate,so when you're sick of it and realize it's a Selmer mkvi and go to sell it,to get a real horn,at least it will be unique in some way.(Selmer bashing but have two)Seriously I think if it's in the budget and the horn is ready the goldplate is nice.Hold up well too.Best of luck with whichever you choose.

saxilla
User ID: 2958184 Jan 28th 2:34 PM
Thomas, you need to put some smiley faces on that post ;-)

Innocent Bystander
User ID: 8061053 Jan 28th 3:14 PM
I say either matt black or black with orange flames coming out of the bell.

Bootman
User ID: 2964484 Jan 28th 3:16 PM
All that glitters isn't gold. The ref 54 finish looks fine. You don't need o have a bright shiny saxophone, it just has to play well.

Gregg W. Jackson
User ID: 2693314 Jan 28th 4:51 PM
Bootman, you mean you really like the faux shading? I like the matte finish, I don't need glitter, but I want my age marks to be genuine, like the ones on my face.

Patrick
User ID: 8722703 Jan 28th 5:56 PM
My vote is leave it unlacquered.

Randall
User ID: 8722703 Jan 28th 7:46 PM
lol @ LL
tungp, If I were you I'd get the engraving re-cut and send it to Andersons and get it silver plated and satined....my VI was silver plated and I loved the sound it gave compared to a laq horn...and it will have a higher resale sould you ever decide to part with it....and it won't look like a Walmart lamp! (now I know why I had a strange attraction to those darned things for so many years....)

tungp
User ID: 0952054 Jan 28th 10:08 PM
Thanks sincerely for all the input.

Of course, immediately, my first instinct is to follow Innocent Bystander's carefully considered advice.

(Haha...)

I like the silver/gold plating idea, and had been considering it, esp since all the prepwork is already done. I'm impatient to play the horn, though, and I liked the voice of the horn already, before stripping. I'll have to think more on this. Possibly this is the route I'll follow.

About the Ref 54 look.... Actually, it's hard to get the lacquer out of some areas in between keys on Selmers -- harder than on other horns. With a bit of corrosion and/or lacquer at the joints of keytubes, the initial results of the strip were like a slightly more authentic looking Ref 54 finish (i.e. like the 54, except without the "golden sword" -- as an SOTW member put it a while back -- aspect).

Thanks, again.

If any one has experience having a favored Mk VI replated, I'd love to hear about it (again, in some cases). I'll also check elsewhere on the board for comments on Mk VI replating results.

This horn has this very dry, very dark, black leather-pants, cigar-smelling soul; I'm a little hesitant to risk a change in that.

Bootman
User ID: 2964484 Jan 29th 12:04 AM
Palo, Go the plating option if you have the money. Gold for preference would be advice.

majus
User ID: 9851073 Jan 29th 12:19 AM
I am in agreement about the gold plating...definitely the way to go.
the matte and faux finish stuff looks so cheap...yuuurk!
leaving it bare brass ...it will turn green or red..and over time the metal will dissapear. Relaq. never looks very good these days...and will fall off eventually, plus it just decreases the value.
Silver plating is nice, but it turns black...hard to clean, so silver plate and then seal it with gold, which basically does not tarnish unless you fill your sax case with aquareggia on a regular basis.
if you have it done well, and dont destroy your engraving, or tone holes...gold plating may actually increase the value opf the horn.

looks good too.

Prince
User ID: 0136334 Jan 29th 1:01 AM
Palo,

Send it to me. I'll get it plated for you. OR!!! Phone Anderson Plating, ask them how much and tell me.

My price of gold plating is about $500.

OnyxSax
User ID: 2212414 Jan 29th 12:58 PM
I prefer to stay as close to authentic as practical. If it was me, I would silver plate the horn in the same manner that Mark VIs were silverplated at the time.

I just had a Chu Tenor replated, and I opted for the satin silver look with the gold bell, because that's how this horn actually looked back in 1927. I've made some small modifications to the horn for the sake of practicality (modern pads and resos, repositioned strap hook, better Bis key arrangement), but otherwise I tried to keep it as close to original as I could.

LL
User ID: 0317884 Jan 29th 3:11 PM
Palo, ask Paul.
We have a chemically stripped bare brass VI that the previous owner hand engraved. Paul was going to clear lacquer it for us, it just has been sitting in the case, lol.
Not far, and from someone we trust.

David Mekan
User ID: 8778463 Jan 29th 6:06 PM
Tungp I have a mark vi tenor #103513 I the lacquer is a little different color tint.Its more like a honey gold like a little darker color.I've seen mark vi's and that color that I have looks better than any I have seen.If you could find that lacquer I think you would like it.Ihave had a guard that fell off and they put it back on and removed the lacquer and if you just put clear lacquer it looks awful.I believe you need a tint.Clear lacquer makes it more yellow and I don't like it.

Next 20 Messages

tungp User ID: 0952054	Jan 28th 11:43 AM I'm having trouble deciding how to finish my 132K Mark VI.... I'm in the last stages of the chemical stripping/refinishing phase, and can't decide whether to give the horn a faux vintage look (by completing last phase of lacquer removal with brasso + fine steel wool, making "matte" effect), or to give the horn newer, shinier look (by completing last phase with brasso & a rag). The difference in terms of effect on the brass is negligible -- it's purely a cosmetic question. The faux vintage look is nice, but the smooth-polished look will make the horn look almost new, like a Series III. It's hard to decide because this is the finish the horn will wear for many years to come. The thing that bothers me is that I like the vintage look, but the matte finish will make the engraving recede, visually, and it's a beautiful engraving. The polished, shiny look, on the other hand, will be almost a bit garish, I think. Op's?
tungp User ID: 0952054	Jan 28th 11:45 AM It's kind of a stupid, open-ended question. Humor me...
Gary Hartle User ID: 9579203	Jan 28th 11:52 AM Hand polish the engraved area but matte finish the rest of it. Are you going to lacquer it? They don't look right polished unless you use tinted lacquer. You don't want it to look like a Series III, do you? You could also use satin finish lacquer to complete the matte look.
MusicMan User ID: 0464054	Jan 28th 12:48 PM Plate it...silver or gold
Gregg W. Jackson User ID: 2693314	Jan 28th 2:01 PM I think that the matte look would be nice. Just don't go too far. Something like the finish on Joe Henderson's horn would be about right, in my not so humble opinion. Whatever you do, don't put on the faux shading that the Reference 54 tenors have. They look like something in the Wal Mart lamp department to me.
LL User ID: 0317884	Jan 28th 2:19 PM rofl wait til Toby and Randall read this, rofl, WalMart lamps..
Thomas User ID: 9279843	Jan 28th 2:32 PM Man do I agree with Gregg Jackson those 54's do look terrible-awful-yuk.My opinion is even though it's a Selmer,and you think it's worth playing,I say goldplate,so when you're sick of it and realize it's a Selmer mkvi and go to sell it,to get a real horn,at least it will be unique in some way.(Selmer bashing but have two)Seriously I think if it's in the budget and the horn is ready the goldplate is nice.Hold up well too.Best of luck with whichever you choose.
saxilla User ID: 2958184	Jan 28th 2:34 PM Thomas, you need to put some smiley faces on that post ;-)
Innocent Bystander User ID: 8061053	Jan 28th 3:14 PM I say either matt black or black with orange flames coming out of the bell.
Bootman User ID: 2964484	Jan 28th 3:16 PM All that glitters isn't gold. The ref 54 finish looks fine. You don't need o have a bright shiny saxophone, it just has to play well.
Gregg W. Jackson User ID: 2693314	Jan 28th 4:51 PM Bootman, you mean you really like the faux shading? I like the matte finish, I don't need glitter, but I want my age marks to be genuine, like the ones on my face.
Patrick User ID: 8722703	Jan 28th 5:56 PM My vote is leave it unlacquered.
Randall User ID: 8722703	Jan 28th 7:46 PM lol @ LL tungp, If I were you I'd get the engraving re-cut and send it to Andersons and get it silver plated and satined....my VI was silver plated and I loved the sound it gave compared to a laq horn...and it will have a higher resale sould you ever decide to part with it....and it won't look like a Walmart lamp! (now I know why I had a strange attraction to those darned things for so many years....)
tungp User ID: 0952054	Jan 28th 10:08 PM Thanks sincerely for all the input. Of course, immediately, my first instinct is to follow Innocent Bystander's carefully considered advice. (Haha...) I like the silver/gold plating idea, and had been considering it, esp since all the prepwork is already done. I'm impatient to play the horn, though, and I liked the voice of the horn already, before stripping. I'll have to think more on this. Possibly this is the route I'll follow. About the Ref 54 look.... Actually, it's hard to get the lacquer out of some areas in between keys on Selmers -- harder than on other horns. With a bit of corrosion and/or lacquer at the joints of keytubes, the initial results of the strip were like a slightly more authentic looking Ref 54 finish (i.e. like the 54, except without the "golden sword" -- as an SOTW member put it a while back -- aspect). Thanks, again. If any one has experience having a favored Mk VI replated, I'd love to hear about it (again, in some cases). I'll also check elsewhere on the board for comments on Mk VI replating results. This horn has this very dry, very dark, black leather-pants, cigar-smelling soul; I'm a little hesitant to risk a change in that.
Bootman User ID: 2964484	Jan 29th 12:04 AM Palo, Go the plating option if you have the money. Gold for preference would be advice.
majus User ID: 9851073	Jan 29th 12:19 AM I am in agreement about the gold plating...definitely the way to go. the matte and faux finish stuff looks so cheap...yuuurk! leaving it bare brass ...it will turn green or red..and over time the metal will dissapear. Relaq. never looks very good these days...and will fall off eventually, plus it just decreases the value. Silver plating is nice, but it turns black...hard to clean, so silver plate and then seal it with gold, which basically does not tarnish unless you fill your sax case with aquareggia on a regular basis. if you have it done well, and dont destroy your engraving, or tone holes...gold plating may actually increase the value opf the horn. looks good too.
Prince User ID: 0136334	Jan 29th 1:01 AM Palo, Send it to me. I'll get it plated for you. OR!!! Phone Anderson Plating, ask them how much and tell me. My price of gold plating is about $500.
OnyxSax User ID: 2212414	Jan 29th 12:58 PM I prefer to stay as close to authentic as practical. If it was me, I would silver plate the horn in the same manner that Mark VIs were silverplated at the time. I just had a Chu Tenor replated, and I opted for the satin silver look with the gold bell, because that's how this horn actually looked back in 1927. I've made some small modifications to the horn for the sake of practicality (modern pads and resos, repositioned strap hook, better Bis key arrangement), but otherwise I tried to keep it as close to original as I could.
LL User ID: 0317884	Jan 29th 3:11 PM Palo, ask Paul. We have a chemically stripped bare brass VI that the previous owner hand engraved. Paul was going to clear lacquer it for us, it just has been sitting in the case, lol. Not far, and from someone we trust.
David Mekan User ID: 8778463	Jan 29th 6:06 PM Tungp I have a mark vi tenor #103513 I the lacquer is a little different color tint.Its more like a honey gold like a little darker color.I've seen mark vi's and that color that I have looks better than any I have seen.If you could find that lacquer I think you would like it.Ihave had a guard that fell off and they put it back on and removed the lacquer and if you just put clear lacquer it looks awful.I believe you need a tint.Clear lacquer makes it more yellow and I don't like it.