Paiste Cymbal Cleaner and Protector

[drummergirl2112]

I ordered a pair of these last week (one's in the bright orange bottle, the other is blue), and I used it yesterday on all of my cymbals. This comes after doing research which concluded that you should NOT use any other cymbal cleaner (Groove Juice, etc) besides Paiste on Paiste cymbals. At first I thought this was a marketing ploy, but the reasoning actually makes sense. Paiste uses B8 bronze for their high end cymbals, while other companies prefer it for their lower end ones. Since most cymbal cleaners are designed for high-end cymbals of the 80/20 Copper/Tin alloy, the formula is too abrasive for Paistes and can cause the dreaded color-changing and weakening of oxidization.

Since the bulk of my cymbals are Paiste 2002s, obviously getting this stuff made sense to me. So I followed all the directions for each cymbal, and I was fairly impressed with the cleaner. You still get the typical black residue on the cloth, but I'm trusting in the label that it is not too much. Also, this is not a miracle recipe either. This cleaner, like most others, requires a good bit of buffing with decent force. But when you do, you end up with a shinier, mostly cleaner cymbal free of fingerprints and most stick marks.

But I must say that the Cymbal Protector is my favorite product of the two. It is a clear/whitish liquid (not cream) that you apply in circles with a soft cloth just like the cleaner, then wipe off with a dry cloth. It's kind of weird when you're drying it off though because it makes the cymbal VERY slick. Supposedly, it puts a very very thin protective film on the cymbal to help prevent the oxidization from recent cleaning, as well as light stick marks and finger prints. I don't know how well it will work for the last two, but I will let you know!!! But I would definitely recommend this for ALL cymbals after using any kind of cleaner/polish.

[jodgey4]

Plus they smell great, citrus and lavender respectively.

[Arky]

I'm liking the Protector, too. Haven't tried the Cleaner yet.

That lavender smell is great because I'm using a polish with a really bad smell.

The Protector coat needs to be reworked from time to time but the thing does what it's supposed to. Personally I'm not drying it off afterwards, it'll dry by itself with no traces.

[KarlCrafton]

Nice it worked for you.

I used my regular cleaner (WCC) in order TO get the clear coat off of the cymbals (Giant Beats).
They sound better to me that way, and the logo's stay on. The color changed a little to the more Golden cymbal color (more like 2002's), but that's what they looked like before they were coated with the clear at the factory...
I may try some of the Protector to keep them shinier though. Maybe they'd look greenish brown again. Not that I really want them too, they look great brighter IMO, but the hats are still the darker shade, which is probably due to how their made and what the metal goes through in making it.

My 22" 602 ride never changed color by using Wright's Copper Cream at all though.
Not in 30+ years, but a 602 is a Paiste blending of B20 though I think.
My 22" Twenty Prototype is from a Diril cymbal company Blank.