Left-Hand Lacquer Protection

[Beanett]

I have been playing on my older small tenor for a while now and the lacquer around the area where my left hand goes has been wearing off and is starting to tarnish.

I've heard of different trombone grips for your left hand or different forms of leather straps, and I'm curious about ways I can protect the horn in that area so no more lacquer gets removed and the horn doesn't tarnish further. Does anyone have suggestions on protecting the lacquer?

I am also getting a new horn soon and I'm hoping to protect the lacquer so it never tarnishes in the first place.

[Elow]

Wipe your instrument with a cloth every time you put it away, it will become a habit and will slow down the wear. Grips are to help aid with holding the instrument, not really protecting the instrument.

[brassmedic]

Anything you wrap around the horn will trap moisture and actually damage the instrument even faster than having nothing wrapped around it. Lacquer doesn't last forever. Just accept it.

[tbonesullivan]

Another tip: wash your hands before you play. Dirt, Sweat, Oil, etc all can slowly erode the finish. This is also a good tip for anyone who wants to keep their instrument clean and looking great for as long as possible.

[craign]

Jumping in on this question! What about some sort of polish? Would that help in terms of protecting the metal? I've been considering this for a horn I have (seems to leave a brass smell on my left hand). I've seen Renaissance Wax mentioned somewhere, and then there is a thread on SimpleCoat here recently too.

[Posaunus]

Another tip: wash your hands before you play. Dirt, Sweat, Oil, etc all can slowly erode the finish. This is also a good tip for anyone who wants to keep their instrument clean and looking great for as long as possible.

I always wipe the exterior of my trombones with a micro-fiber cloth before putting them back in their case.
I haven't noticed much wear or lacquer damage progression.

[hornbuilder]

Have the areas that are worn relacquered. Using a baked epoxy lacquer will give a very durable finish. It would even be possible to do 2 coats, just on the contact areas, for added piece of mind.

[Matt K]

I use a wise grip on most of my slides, which is what I actually make contact with. It’s not like wrapping, so it doesn’t trap things under it as far as I can tell. Super comfortable too. But narrow, large bore tenor slides need a little tweaking to get them to fit. Small bore ones work on all the small bores I’ve tried on. But it won’t be compatible if the grip is already the Williams style curved brace

[tbonesullivan]

I always wipe the exterior of my trombones with a micro-fiber cloth before putting them back in their case.
I haven't noticed much wear or lacquer damage progression.

I have a ton of DILLON MUSIC marked ones. I also for years had a UMI branded blue lacquer cloth. They seem to be impregnated with silicone or something similar, and were great for keeping my horns clean. I seriously get comments when I bring in a 25 year old horn and there is still most of the lacquer on the grip area.

[craign]

I use a wise grip on most of my slides, which is what I actually make contact with. It’s not like wrapping, so it doesn’t trap things under it as far as I can tell. Super comfortable too. But narrow, large bore tenor slides need a little tweaking to get them to fit. Small bore ones work on all the small bores I’ve tried on. But it won’t be compatible if the grip is already the Williams style curved brace

This seems worth trying for older horns where the lacquer is already worn as well.