Vintage Zildjian Cymbals

JenDrum

Junior Member
I was stoked to find two crash and pair of high hats in the attic in a house my parents rented. Took them into the music store found out they are vintage Zildjian Avedis (prob from the 70's) was told they are a very good find! I really want to use them, problem...they are green. I tried Zildjian Cymbal cleaner. Not having really great results. At this rate I will be polishing them for the next year. Anywhere that can professionally restore cymbals?
Any advice? Thanks so much...
 
My advice for vintage zildjian cymbals was to leave them alone. They have now lost their vintage charm and value
 
I was stoked to find two crash and pair of high hats in the attic in a house my parents rented. Took them into the music store found out they are vintage Zildjian Avedis (prob from the 70's) was told they are a very good find! I really want to use them, problem...they are green. I tried Zildjian Cymbal cleaner. Not having really great results. At this rate I will be polishing them for the next year. Anywhere that can professionally restore cymbals?
Any advice? Thanks so much...

The green stuff is just from the cymbals age-ing. Cymbals get age spots as years go on, doesn't affect the sound but gives it a grimy look.
My crash I've had for 2 years looks very pale compared to my new (well, year old) Zildjians. But my replacement EFX stands out newer than the rest, my Sabian XS20 hi-hats have definitely aged well too. Doesn't affect the sound, infact. If it does, makes them sound better!
 
Cleaning Vintage A's especially those made after the mid 60s when zildjian went to a more mechanized production method is fine, and there is a very different sound to an aged and patina'd cymbal. It makes it dryer and warmer more like a K. For this fact if you clean a vintage K you just murdered the most beautiful cymbal ever. I am the proud owner of 60s A ride and hats as well as a 40s K ride. I clean my As a bit but not til they shine and ill only wipe dust off my K when i dare to take it out of storage.
 
I recently used Groove Juice to clean up some old Zildjian's from the 70's and 80's. They came out looking brand new. Dull, dirty and green cymbals do nothing for me personally.
I had one that ride that did not sound good, but after cleaning it it sounded so much better. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I now actually love it, whereas before I was thinking of selling it.

Something to remember for all of you dirty cymbal enthusuasts is that a lot of your favorite records from the 60's and 70's were made with brand new cymbals of the era. Not to say that a lot of them were not made with cymbals from the 50's, etc., but it is something to consider at least.
 
Yeah, I wasn't exactly excited about "Going Green", but I also didn't want to ruin the cymbals in any way as well. I Played them yesterday, the two crashes are somewhat polished up, the hats are still green. I didn't notice a difference, but I can say I was like a kid in a candy shop all these wonderful new sounds... They are beast!! The bells on the cymbals are HUGE. What a find....so happy, so happy!!!!
 
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