The Penny-Chanter is extremely durable compared to fine hardwood instruments. But since they have now been on the market for 8 years, some will inevitably be suffering from damage or normal wear-and-tear that can be easily repaired by the owner who purchases an older used Penny-Chanter. Penny-Chanters should remain playable for decades, and probably generations to come, with little if any degredation in sound, tuning and performance.

User feedback on refurbishing projects is appreciated. Click here to email David Daye with comments or questions.

Cleaning Corroded Brass Exterior

Cleaning Supplies Acetone or nail polish remover containing acetone, steel wool, spray lacquer for brass, electrician's tape for protective masking.

Corroded Brass above, compared with clean lacquered brass below. Mask (protect) the plastic shell next to brass with electrical tape (blue in picture).

Wet paper towel with acetone and scrub brass to loosen and remove worn lacquer coating. Notice lacquer stain on paper towel afterwards. Brass surface is shinier too.

Polish with steel wool--it cleans away all remaining flakes of old lacquer. Brass was originally polished on a lathe in rotary (crosswise) motion. You may get a better shine by steel-wooling in the same orientation.

Mask plastic again if the edges of masker were loosened or damaged by the cleaning. Spray with protective lacquer. Follow manufacturer's instructions. I find that 3 coats are needed to prevent premature loss of shine.

Dirty, Sticky Plastic shell up close.

Use rubbing alcohol, acetone or nail polish remover containing acetone for cleaning plastic. If using acetone, cover all lacquered brass with electrical tape that might be touched by the cleaning solvent. Otherwise acetone will dissolve and remove some lacquer, exposing brass to premature tarnishing.

Scrub plastic to remove stains or sticky residue from old electrical tape used for tuning holes. Notice stain on paper towel above, and clean appearance of chanter shell below.

Protect plastic surface from staining by applying 1+ thin coats of paste wax or floor wax. Follow manufacturer's instructions.

Coming.