A trumpet without a protective coating soon tarnishes.
Trumpets are typically made from brass, which is a metal alloy. When exposed to the air, brass becomes discolored, turning dark and dull. While the color of a trumpet has no impact on the playing, keeping your instrument clean and shiny is both more attractive and better for the instrument. To preserve the shine, new instruments typically have a coating of clear lacquer, which prevents the brass from becoming exposed to the air. Keeping this coating clean and scratch-free is the best way to keep your trumpet shiny.
Instructions
1. Clean the trumpet. Cleaning kits for trumpets are not necessary, but they can be useful. Dismantle the trumpet and wipe down the valves with a paper towel to remove oil and residue. Soak the trumpet pieces in some warm water with mild soap. Rinse some lukewarm water through the trumpet afterwards to remove soap.
2. Dry the trumpet in a soft towel. Turn the pieces so that the water will drain out and wait for them to dry completely before continuing.
3. Wipe down the outside of the trumpet with a lacquer polish cloth or with some furniture polish and a soft cloth. This will clean the lacquer and help the trumpet shine. Never use an abrasive metal cleaner or polisher, which will scratch the coat. The lacquer coating on a trumpet is like that on lacquered furniture, so materials for cleaning furniture are safer and more effective than those for cleaning metal.
4. Reassemble the trumpet and re-oil the valves.
