Current project: scratched/brush finish on Yamaha 354

[davdud101]

A guy was offloading a bundle of horns for $50 - a Yamaha 354 with a pretty dented slide but otherwise decent condition, and 2 Bundys (one with a horrible mangled bell but a GREAT slide, maybe one of the best I've owned, lol, and the other in okay condition with a fairly scratchy slide and some leaks somewhere.)

I've been looking for a 354 to do this mod to as I'm playing a 200AD right now (obviously a compatible model), and financially it's not in the cards to splurge on a sweet horn, so I'm bridging the gap by taking a horn that I already love and making it a little more "custom".

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Gotta polish up this edge before lacquer though

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It holds up pretty well under scrutiny if I do say so! There's an upper limit to what's realistic, what's necessary, and how far I'm willing to go. I think most of the defects won't go noticed by the casual onlooker.

I spent a long time trying to pull the lacquer with both Klean Strip and Citri-Strip. Many hours of hand-sanding with a Scortch-Brite and some 400 grit later, and I think I finally got the brushed look I want. No pics of the tuning slide here, but the look carries through. I wonder if it will stay as bright under lacquer or if it will eventually darken.


Some before shots

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Gonna be doing Minwax gloss lacquer tomorrow. Hopefully my experience finishing guitars and furniture will be advantageous.... we'll see. Jury's still out on what I'll do with the Bundys, but next time I come across a cheap 354, I think I want to do something that looks like the Schagerl Kissbone in black and gold (kinda like what Burgerbob did)

[Finetales]

2 Bundys? Easy: turn them into one double-bell Bundy!

[davdud101]

2 Bundys? Easy: turn them into one double-bell Bundy!

Honestly that is a stroke of pure genius! xD

[harrisonreed]

Looks dope dude

[davdud101]

Looks dope dude

Thanks man!! It was surprisingly easy (relatively, at least once the lacquer was off, that was the hard part)

[sacfxdx]

The scratch finish with the bell lacquered inside looks great, IMO.

[BarryDaniels]

Did the bell have any engraving? And if so, did you scratch-brush it too? I am gearing up to do this to an old Holton and am trying to decide if the fairly light engraved name would be obscured by the scratch brush or if it would pop a little.

[atopper333]

Did the bell have any engraving? And if so, did you scratch-brush it too? I am gearing up to do this to an old Holton and am trying to decide if the fairly light engraved name would be obscured by the scratch brush or if it would pop a little.

I had mine done professionally…with the right grit of scotch brite pad it would end up looking like this.

[BarryDaniels]

Looks good.

[davdud101]

The scratch finish with the bell lacquered inside looks great, IMO.

Thanks! It was a shot in the dark, but I'm a fan of the contrast of goldfish bells on silver horns. I figured it could look cool and it certainly does not not disappoint

Did the bell have any engraving? And if so, did you scratch-brush it too? I am gearing up to do this to an old Holton and am trying to decide if the fairly light engraved name would be obscured by the scratch brush or if it would pop a little.

This was actually a thing I wondered about. My bell had no engravings, so nothing to 'worry' about. atopper333's professionally-done finish looks great, I'd love to see that company's process.
I'd love to play around with masking and possibly sandblasting/media-blasting if I ever do this kind of thing again.

[atopper333]

Here is a video put out by the tech who did the work:



He has a few other videos. I’ve had a Bach 36bo, Conn 88H and a YBL-322 refinished by him. Also had string link to mechanical link conversions done there as well. Everything I’ve sent has come back excellent.

[atopper333]

The scratch finish with the bell lacquered inside looks great, IMO.

Thanks! It was a shot in the dark, but I'm a fan of the contrast of goldfish bells on silver horns. I figured it could look cool and it certainly does not not disappoint

Did the bell have any engraving? And if so, did you scratch-brush it too? I am gearing up to do this to an old Holton and am trying to decide if the fairly light engraved name would be obscured by the scratch brush or if it would pop a little.

This was actually a thing I wondered about. My bell had no engravings, so nothing to 'worry' about. atopper333's professionally-done finish looks great, I'd love to see that company's process.
I'd love to play around with masking and possibly sandblasting/media-blasting if I ever do this kind of thing again.

Always wondered about a vapor blast on a bell with silver plating…wondering if it would duplicate the stain plated look…