TromboneChat

Hello everyone I was wondering if anybody knew a tech around Texas that would be able to change the look of my bell from its clear lacquer to a satin finish? I’ve been thinking about this look and I think I want to do it next year when I come back to school. If there aren’t any techs in Texas I’ll take any suggestions.
Thanks in advance for yalls advice.
-Cris

What part of Texas?

The satin finish is applied to the metal and then clear lacquer is sprayed over that. So you're talking about stripping the lacquer from the entire instrument, texturing the metal, then relacquering. That will be very expensive. Just so you know.

brassmedic wrote: ↑Sat May 17, 2025 11:13 pm The satin finish is applied to the metal and then clear lacquer is sprayed over that. So you're talking about stripping the lacquer from the entire instrument, texturing the metal, then relacquering. That will be very expensive. Just so you know.

Unless he doesn't lacquer it, which is perfectly acceptable.

Honestly any part of Texas is fine I don’t mind making the drive but more so I’d hope for Austin,DFW area. I would just want to get the bell done to where it looks similar to how Edwards has theirs. I really love my bell but want to change the look of it.

Eric Edwards (Bonezart here on the forum) is in Denton (Highland Village). If he isn’t able to do it, then he could point you in a good direction. There’s also Eric Swanson in Dallas.

We have an awesome tech in the San Marcos area, but unfortunately lacquer/finish jobs aren’t his specialty. He’d probably send you elsewhere, but I’ll ask him when I see him this week.

J

You should also clarify exactly what you mean by “satin finish.” My definition of “satin finish” is the cloudy finish that was found on older Conn and Besson instruments. It is produced by using a sand blast or media blast on the metal.

There is also a “brushed finish” that is produced by using sand paper or emory cloth to actually scratch the metal into uniform patterns. Unfortunately, many people refer to this as a satin finish, so there can be confusion. Another thing is that brushed finishes can be done in a horizontal or vertical direction on the instrument. That is something that the owner should specify and check with the tech before any changes are made.

I am pretty sure the satin finish silver on early Conns and others was a silverplating process, not done to the base metal. I ha e never seen that finish on a brass horn from that era.

The early Conn (and other brands, B&H Imperial for example) satin finish was a media blast finish, performed before Plating. Any areas that were bright were buffed to high shine, then masked for the media blast, then the horn was plated.

Yes, I have a few of the old Conns (euphoniums and trombones) in satin silver. If you look closely at the finish, you can see that it is actually thousands (possibly millions) of tiny, shallow dents.

I love the look, especially on a euphonium. I wish I would have had it done when my 1972 Besson was refinished in silver (it was originally lacquer). The bright silver is nice, but the satin silver would have given it a unique glow.