Tried cleaning/polishing some cymbals: REALLY disappointing

[EricT43]

I've tried cleaning cymbals with several of the methods mentioned - Magic Eraser (abrasive, leaves residue), Zildjian polish (polishes, obviously), soap and water (does nothing), and I've been disappointed every time, so I don't do it anymore. I like my cymbals to look new, so now I mostly just buy new or mint-condition cymbals when I need one. It costs me more money, but not a LOT more - cymbals hold their value quite well. If I have one that gets nasty-looking for some reason, I'll sell it and get a new one, but that generally doesn't happen because I handle my cymbals carefully. I lift them by the edges or by putting my finger underneath the hole. I even do cymbal chokes by putting my palm to the edge of the cymbal so I don't cover it with fingerprints. A dry microfiber cloth will get rid of most stick marks, but fingerprints are pretty much permanent.

I wish I wasn't so particular about it, I see other drummers eating fried chicken and then doing 5-finger cymbal chokes without a care in the world, and they look so happy. But I can't let anyone touch my cymbals.

 

[timmdrum]

Tim, I had replied to one of your posts previously. I did clean them, with Dawn dish soap. It removed some of the black and gunk. But I took no before pics. It simply didn't shine them up or change them much at all.

Oh, dang, that's right, I recall seeing that now. My bad. I'd still try once more with the cleaners I mentioned, because they practically do all the work; it really is very little effort. Even with the nylon bristle brush I mentioned, I don't work at it very hard. Maybe if that doesn't do it, they're too far gone, barring something extreme like the sanding mentioned above, and I wouldn't go that far.