Looks like I did forget to list this! I really wanted to put this bell on a different horn with an F attachment. I do agree with much of the sentiments, it's a pretty "dark" sounding bell although I've not had a reason to push it so I don't know if it redlines easily or not. I actually didn't get that impression from it to be honest.

At any rate, the bell is in pretty good shape given its age, but there are a few scratches throughout the lacuqer. I'd be happy to give it a satin finish on any component at no charge. Although it wouldn't be lacquered then.

The slide is also in pretty good shape. There is some wear in the stockings but nothing that makes the slide too bad. I'd say it's a 7/10 probably. Not bad enough to be annoying, bu not good enough to be a new Shires. I'm not sure if this is the 485 or 500 version as when I purchased it, I wasn't thinking about using the slide at all.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BGL4fTQP8K18yQA78

PS you may find a post about me suggesting I found corprions to play very bright. That post was regarding a different Conn Corprion that I owned before this one. I'm not sure if it's the same model or not.

Hey Matt. Thanks for sending the info. Unfortunately yesterday night ( very late ) I bought the Conn 12h which was still available. I’ll wait for it to arrive to see if everything that was said is true. Thanks <EMOJI seq="1f64f-1f3fc" tseq="1f64f-1f3fc">🙏🏼</EMOJI>

[quote="ChrisF"]Hey Matt. Thanks for sending the info. Unfortunately yesterday night ( very late ) I bought the Conn 12h which was still available. I’ll wait for it to arrive to see if everything that was said is true. Thanks <EMOJI seq="1f64f-1f3fc" tseq="1f64f-1f3fc">🙏🏼</EMOJI>[/quote]

:good: Hope it works out!!!

Hi matt. The trombone arrived 2 days ago. it was okay for its age. I have to say that coming from a king 3b this Conn 12 H felt pretty small in my hands. The slide was pretty good and the trombone was in pitch. not like others you have to pull out the tuner slide too much. Surprisingly not heavy at all. I said that because from the same era I have played other brands like olds and they were way heavier. Very nice ( mellow ) sound. ( what I was looking for )

Now I'm looking to refurbish it so it can look like new.

Do you or does anyone know who is really good at doing it?

thanks

A good rehab job can be pretty pricey. And some cheap rehabs will wreck the horn.

If the biggest problem is the loss of lacquer, you could take to polishing it yourself and putting on a thin layer of car wax, That should keep it nice for a few months after which you will have to do it again.

Dan Oberloh has a reputation as a top quality refinisher but I understand his delivery times are VERY long and he is pretty pricey. Dan is located in the Seattle area.

Like Bruce mentioned, depends on what you want it to look like. For similar horns, I tend to give it a satin finish and leave it in lacquered. Cleans it up a little and a lot of the aesthetic issues are due to lacquer flaking or scratches and satin finish hides those. But it will develop a patina, especially a copper bell. But I normally do the work for myself since it can get expensive, especially with lacquer like Bruce mentioned!!

[quote="BGuttman"]A good rehab job can be pretty pricey. And some cheap rehabs will wreck the horn.

If the biggest problem is the loss of lacquer, you could take to polishing it yourself and putting on a thin layer of car wax, That should keep it nice for a few months after which you will have to do it again.

Dan Oberloh has a reputation as a top quality refinisher but I understand his delivery times are VERY long and he is pretty pricey. Dan is located in the Seattle area.[/quote]

Thanks for the info! the bell outside around the ring was green in some parts.

I put some W40 for the moment. I'll see what I can do.

[quote="Matt K"]Like Bruce mentioned, depends on what you want it to look like. For similar horns, I tend to give it a satin finish and leave it in lacquered. Cleans it up a little and a lot of the aesthetic issues are due to lacquer flaking or scratches and satin finish hides those. But it will develop a patina, especially a copper bell. But I normally do the work for myself since it can get expensive, especially with lacquer like Bruce mentioned!![/quote]

around the bell was green ( patina ) Put some WD40. I'd like to keep its dark cooper. This one it's not as bright as those Conn 18H or shooting stars I've seen out there. It's beautiful. I doubt someone can refurbish it in a way that it would keep its dark cooper.

I would like to do the slide and those yellow brass parts though. what needs to be done in order to remove all patina? Thanks

Yeah, refurbishing an instrument requires polishing the bell (usually to a mirror finish or satin) which removes a small amount of the surface material. When you do that, it makes the horn "shiny", at least temporarily. After its shiny (or more accurately, clean), the instrument can be lacquered. The process of "refurbishing" typically refers to those two elements: polish + lacquer. Although it also often involves making it mechanically work well (cleaning/aligning the hands slide & tuning slides, possibly lapping rotors, etc.). A lot of people just have the mechanical work done because the cleaning/lacquering is expensive and unnecessary for the operation of the instrument.

However, if you don't lacquer over the instrument, it will start out shiny. Then, over the course of a few weeks, it will develop a patina, which sounds like what your horn has. How quickly it develops will depend on the amount of moisture in the air. You get most of the patina after about a month in my experience.

There are some shops who do other finishes on them, which involves putting a garbage bag over the bell and injecting ammonia or something into it and then lacquering over it before really exposing it to the air. Or... something like that. So you can end up with a patina and lacquer but I don't know who does that off the top of my head, just that I've heard of it being done... sounds expensive.

At any rate, if you just want the slide or parts refurbished... find who you want to do the work and just tell them what parts you want refurbished! Technically, you could do that on your own but it isn't easy to get right, especially if lacquer is involved (and I do typically recommend keeping lacquer on the slide for obvious reasons).