What product do you use to clean your cymbals?

[Ed U Kater]

Can you tell me what you are using to clean your cymbals? I bought a bottle of Zims to clean my Sabian cymbals and the Sabian printed markings are coming off when I dry the cymbal off with a towel. Anyone else having a problem like this? The directions say to leave it on for 1 minute and then wash off. I am doing just that but I was really dismayed when I noticed that the black print markings were coming off as I towel dried the cymbals. Have you had better luck with a different product? This one seems like it is too powerful. It was recommended to me by a Sam Ash salesman.:rolleyes:

[DRUMMAN]

i use groove juice. It works great but also can take the markings of the cymbals. I sprayed it on and left it for like 30 seconds and it didnt take any markings off my cymbals. The only sabians i have are my hihats but they lost the stamp logo long ago so i cant say whether it comes off on sabians. I used them on my zildjians and paistes and it didnt hurt anything

[Ed U Kater]

Originally posted by DRUMMAN
i use groove juice. It works great but also can take the markings of the cymbals. I sprayed it on and left it for like 30 seconds and it didnt take any markings off my cymbals. The only sabians i have are my hihats but they lost the stamp logo long ago so i cant say whether it comes off on sabians. I used them on my zildjians and paistes and it didnt hurt anything

Thanks for the reply. Its sounds like if I do not leave it on as long as they recommend, then I might be OK. Also, maybe I should dilute the cleaner with some water to weaken it a bit. What do you think?:eek:

[dave007]

I bought a used 16" Zildjian thin crash and it was pretty dull with hand dirt and stick marks. I wasn't sure what to use to clean it but somehow had a hunch to try "Lime Away", which I think I used on brass lighting fixtures long ago.

Lime Away worked great!! Just like I was in a commercial or something, before I could even wipe away the (apparently very toxic) solution, the drips running down the cymbal were revealing the shiny surface underneath.

I carefully and gingerly wiped this liquid all over the top and bottom using a paper towel pad without really scaping or rubbing, let it soak for about 2 minutes, then rinsed with water in the sink. I also did a light soaping of the surfaces to get the Lime Away off just in case. So far, it's beautiful - good as new - and the black logos are as intact as they were when I started (but they were kinda worn anyway).

Do the Lime Away thang!

[Oak]

There is this literaly magic solution called Roadie In A Bottle.
Its hard to find too, but ask around for it, you'll be glad you did.
Larry Allen used this on Neil Pearts' cymbals.

www.symbiontmusic.com

[SLIPKNOT1]

I use "Kick-n-Brass" spray. Has worked fine for me. I want to try Groove Juice once i run out of this stuff though.

[meetthemets]

I just tried a new metal polish called MAAS and it kicks ***. I got it at home depot. It is a pink creme that you rub in and then polish with a dry cloth. I wish it just rinsed off but oh well. If you really scrub the logo it will start to rub off but you really gotta be laying into it. I personally could care less if my logos wear off ....Hell I know what kind of cymbal they are.

[Rich]

There are several on the market today that work fine. However I perfer to use a cleaner made by the cymbal company. I doubt they would put anything in that stuff to harm their product. I feel a bit safer this way. I use Zildjians and I use their cleaners as well. It does say on the lable that it will remove the logo if you put it on there. I go around the logo. Also they have a different cleaner for the Brilliant finish than they do for the traditional finish. Rich.

[AppNothingPearl]

i use proffesional zildjian cymbal cleaning cream. tis very nice. it even makes the cymbal looking better than when i bought it straight from the store. tarnish takes a while to come back too cause it leaves an invisible protective coating on the cymbal. i only use this on brilliant. for traditional, like my A's and K's , i use groove juice. its ok, but tarnish tends to come back really fast. but i guess you can keep using it oh well. i would never use either on paiste cymbals (which i use to have). they have some kinda special black coating on them that the company makes and they reccomend using soapy water or their actual brand cymbal cleaner. but ne ways. drum on folks.

[DRUMMAN]

Originally posted by Ed U Kater


Thanks for the reply. Its sounds like if I do not leave it on as long as they recommend, then I might be OK. Also, maybe I should dilute the cleaner with some water to weaken it a bit. What do you think?:eek:
i wouldnt take away the strength of the cleaner but i would leave it on less. I agree that you should use what the manufacturer recommends,but, iwasnt satisfyed with the job the paiste cleaner was doing.

Also, i have used ziljian's polish in the past and found it works well,however, if you notice when you use the polish you get a black grime that ends up in the grooves of the cymbal and never truely comes out no matter how hard you rub it. With the groove juice you dont get this affect at all. The true testiminial was when my wife walked into my studio and asked" Did you buy another cymbal?" She couldnt believe how new they looked

[AppNothingPearl]

i dont get any grime, but im sorry that you do. i only use the polish on brilliants, never on traditional cause yes then it does stay. basically i only use it on my A customs which virtually have no grooves. lol. and the only place where some of it stays on is in the imprinted stamp thing. but yeah. groove juice is good too, but it allows tarnish to come back very very quickly.

[sk8drummer]

since i use mostly paiste's i use their cymbal cleaner. i no this doesnt help since u got sabians but hoo no's it might work on ur cymbals.

[pearlplayer16]

i have also used '' KICK N BRASS" work great on my zildjians.... and made my hardware shine ....