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So I did some research on cleaning cymbals and found the ol' tomato sauce/ketchup trick. I gave it a go and holy fucking fuck wtf! never again!!! I'm not sure why it didnt work for me but ddaaammnnn... photos explain the mess ....

the mess after the tomato sauce...



then found this and it saved the day, with a lot of fucking elbow grease and black shit on my hands...



finally a before starting and where im at now...



will give it more passes tomorrow but it looks promising so far, was scary af for a min tho.


TL;DR? - don't put ketchup/tomato sauce on your cymbals unless you want to potentially enter a world of pain. Not worth the risk.

but im not currently in your country

need more universal ideas B)

If ever a product definitely has a US equivalent it's Cillit Bang.

I've never tried it on cymbals, but we moved into a 1920s home and I cleaned the original, tarnished to hell, brass doorknobs using lemon and baking soda. The lemon is a mild acid and the baking soda acts as an abrasive.

My solution for cleaning cymbals is to not do it.

i think the 'wisdom' behind tomato ketchup is misguided. it has a bit of vinegar in. vinegar is acid & breaks down grease. & it is pasty so mildy abrasive. but it will mostly be tomatoes (shock) & sticky sugar & wheatflower & msg & other things that cause more probs than they solve.

the solvol stuff is an abrasive paste (maybe mineral based, maybe soluable) which (so i was told) will wear off a fine layer of metal.
i remember hearing that if you use it regularly it will detune your cymbal because less metal alters mass alters pitch.
maybe it's not that much metal so it doesn't matter. but if the tuning of your kit is important to you maybe check that out.

i started on drums as a teenager & bought myself a little bottle of the grey white 'paiste' cymbal cleaner back then (if i still had it i'd post it to you). i would have been surviving on baby sitting money, so it wasn't expensive. & it went a long way.
you use it just like cleansing lotion with make up. get a wad of cotton wool, squirt a good splodge on rub in, then wipe off with a paper towel. works really good.

one thing i will say is that it does smell a bit fishy on your hands after you use it, so maybe don't clean your cymbals immediately before you go out on a hot date. unless that is how you roll! i am judging no one.

if you are desperate to do it cheaps then anything that breaks down grease (vinegar? lemon juice? lemon may be too sticky but try). & anything abrasive that wears away dirt but not metal (salt?), mixed in a little of the vinegar/juice.
maybe try a bit in the cup under the cymbal (where it won't be seen) to test.

i recomended food stuff because you don't wan't horrid chems wrecking or stinking your hands or flicking in your eyes, or fumes making you puke.
or maybe try an abrasive toothpaste (whitening paste) if you have any around?

drums are the best. you can do more with a guitar which is why i moved to guitar, but nothing feels like thundering the hell out of a drum kit. it's like dealing with business on a very primitive level.

happy drumming soggy mittens!

yeah i ain't ever going to use anything acid based ever again, not even lemons. This pasty tube produce for cleaning nickel and chrome should be fine for maintenance from now on or something similar. Maybe they were just toooooo dirty for a light acid based bath.

soggy mittens wrote:yeah i ain't ever going to use anything acid based ever again, not even lemons. This pasty tube produce for cleaning nickel and chrome should be fine for maintenance from now on or something similar. Maybe they were just toooooo dirty for a light acid based bath.

but at least you've got your technique all sorted out now if relic cymbals ever become a thing.

xD nneevveerrrrr!1

Theydid look really nice this weekend tho with the stage lights reflecting in them, glad i had a good go at cleaning them.

marqueemoon wrote:My solution for cleaning cymbals is to not do it.

Word. Not something I've ever had the desire to do. Sweat, beer, fingerprints, etc. it's the natural relic'ing and "mojo" of the cymbal world.