Clarinet Cleaning, Oiling, and Polishing

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We highly recommend a clarinet cleaning every 3 – 6 months with average use

Dust and sludge can build up in every nook and cranny on your instrument, greatly affecting its playability. Buildup in the tone holes can alter the pitch dramatically, and dirty mechanisms can slow clarinet key response.

This clarinet maintenance and cleaning service includes complete disassembly and cleaning of the clarinet. The tone holes are washed out with a soapy solution and each key is polished to a shine. Upon re-assembly the pivot screws are cleaned and oiled with special lubricants developed by NASA which prevent future key wear.

The Doctor’s Wood Treatment*

The Doctor’s treatment is a four-step process for the wood of the clarinet. It is designed specifically to keep the wood like new by buffering moisture levels, restoring the wood’s natural oils, and keeping its shine and depth.

  1. Doctor’s Wood Cleaner™: Removes old wax, oily grime, and will clean the wood and unclog the pores so that it can breathe again.
  2. Bore Doctor™: Preserves and protects wood with a proprietary blend of plant derived oils, emulsifiers, and powerful antioxidants. Many bore oils are clear and colorless light mineral oil (baby oil) which is not what instrument makers use to impregnate the wood during manufacture. They clog the pores of the wood and hinder moisture transfer. Bore Doctor™ will preserve your valuable instrument and maintain the dimensional stability of the wood. Bore Doctor™ holds and buffers the needed moisture level in the wood which retards the tendency to crack and split.
  3. Grenadilla-Oil®: Absorbed quickly and completely into fine wood instruments and is the choice for the discerning musician that wants to add back exactly the same oil lost over time to their instruments. It is more costly because of the purity of the components and the R & D to perfect and manufacture it, but worth the peace of mind that you are treating and preserving your prized instrument with the best oil treatment available and a duplicate to the natural oil found in the wood. The composition of Grenad-Oil is verified by state-of-the-art Tandem Mass Spectrometry analysis.
  4. The Doctor’s Microcrystalline Wax is the formulation used by the world’s largest museums to enhance the depth and shine of delicate wood grain in precious wood artifacts. It will renew the “glass clear” finish to wood and will not show fingerprints like other waxes.

* The Doctor’s Wood Treatment is recommended to be performed in conjunction with the Clean, Oil, Polish service. Separation of services is only possible with a very clean clarinet. Grease and buildup on a dirty instrument will hinder the penetration of the oil.