Someone recently posed a question about cleaning cymbals, and their teacher had said to not clean their cymbals, as it would damage them and affect the sound.  Well I consider myself an expert on cleaning cymbals (at least in my own head anyway). I really hate dirty cymbals (believe me, I made a sound engineer in London cry once, after he finger marked one of my crashes!), but some people actually prefer the darker, earthier sound of a grimy cymbal.

All the main cymbal companies make their own cleaners, which are all very good, and seem to differ in their individual applications and processes, and there is also a company making a great cleaner called Groove Juice, which is a very aggressive cleaner more suited to occasional use on really grimy lumps of bronze!  Groove Juice also makes a very good shell polisher called Shell Shine that is well worth a look.

These days I use Paiste Rude cymbals, so don’t suffer with finger marks so much! With brilliant finish cymbals, I use the Paiste cleaner, or sometimes if I’m cleaning regularly, just soapy water. The Groove Juice is also excellent, and I would use this if your cymbals were very dirty, as this stuff really kicks some dirty cymbal arse.

The key thing is with ANY cleaner: DO NOT RUB IT OVER YOUR CYMBAL’S LOGOS!!! Not unless you want to wipe them off anyway...

With the Paiste cleaner, I get the cymbal wet first, which is not necessarily following the instructions. This gives a good clean, but getting the cymbal wet first just takes away a little of the abrasiveness of the cleaner.  You can do this just to protect the cymbal’s lacquer, and as if you were washing your hair, repeat as necessary! Then rub in some cleaner gently with a wet cloth, rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft dry towel.

With the Groove Juice, I follow the instructions, but as I said, mind those logos!  Some of the other cleaners I have tried work very well, also, and generally I tend to stick with the instructions, unless I feel I need to get the cymbal wet first.

Sometimes, finger marks will wipe off by just rubbing with a dry cloth duster, immediately after use.  Ensure knock off any dust first, as wiping over this will scratch your cymbal!  Some cymbals lacquer also protects from finger marks, so gently rubbing regularly with a dry cloth can be enough, but to get rid of other grime or stick marks will require a more thorough clean.

The comment about cleaning affecting the sound, well it does, marginally, making the cymbals a little brighter. If you follow these tips, you shouldn’t strip the lacquer or damage them, with occasional cleaning, but this also depends whether you prefer the clean or dirty sound!  Some drummers actually use a machine buffer to clean their cymbals although I must say this is not recommended, could possibly void your warranty, and in any case, you would not want to do it more than once or twice.

Finally, Ill just say, that if you handle your cymbals carefully, it goes a long way to help keep them clean!

Until the next time...