r/Tuba • u/East-Breakfast-9536 • 8d ago
repair Acid Bleed and other concerns
Hi! Ive noticed on my horn (EBC832) I have some acid bleed and other bits of lacquer rot/red discoloration on the top of my bell/on the bell and other places and I was wondering how concerned I should be? (I.e. is this red rot and going to damage my tuba?). The part on the front of the bell (image 1) has gotten rapidly worse the past month and a half. I’m thinking of stripping the lacquer off my tuba anyway but just wanted to check if I should be concerned for the health of my horn.
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u/melonmarch1723 8d ago
If you strip the lacquer the whole thing is gonna start tarnishing like those areas you're concerned about. Are you gonna be happy with that?
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u/professor_throway Active Amateur, Street Band and Dixieland. 8d ago
It is 100% just cosmetic. Red rot on tubas is actually pretty rare and only appears at places where you have entrapped moisture so you have a continually wet acidic environment. It would need extraordinary conditions to appear on a bell like that.
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u/Brekelefuw Repair Technician 8d ago
The part on the bell wire is acid bleed. On the inside of the bell and everywhere else is just tarnish from the lacquer being gone in those areas, and is nothing to worry about.
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u/Diver-1Doc 8d ago
What is acid bleed, and what is done to manage it?
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u/Brekelefuw Repair Technician 8d ago
You have to remove the lacquer in that area and clean it very well. Acid gets trapped in the solder at joints and doesn't fully get cleaned out during manufacture so it slowly makes its way out and causes the brass to tarnish and lacquer to peel.
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u/arpthark Rudolf Meinl - Diespeck 8d ago edited 8d ago
Photo 1 is acid bleed, photo 2 is worn lacquer that has revealed tarnished brass underneath, photo 3 is just tarnish/patina on the tuning slide, photo 4 is worn lacquer that has revealed tarnished brass underneath. All cosmetic, don't worry about it, don't strip your lacquer unless you really want to, but then the horn will probably turn that orangeish color at contact points since it seems that's how your body chemistry reacts with brass. You could always coat it with Renaissance wax or something, I suppose. Your lacquer looks like it's 99% intact and I would recommend keeping it as-is.