Refurbishing brass chimes

[Sam I am]

There is so much expertise in this forum. Does anyone here have experience in refurbishing brass musical instruments? Here's why I ask:
I just acquired a 40 plus year old set of Deagan tubular chimes for our church to use. They are complete and play well, but the finish is pretty rough.

The brass tubes are corroded badly. I would like to get them shiny and smooth again, but how far can they be buffed down without altering their pitch or sound quality? And how would I do it?

The supports are castings (aluminum, I think), and I can probably apply some paint stripper to them, then give them a coat of gold paint, but I would like to make the brass tubes look better, then apply a clear lacquer finish.

Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks

[Kevin A]

And lots of elbow grease.

[rainjer]

They almost look like brass plated steel tubes. I have never seen brass turn that color. You may want to check them with a magnet. If the are you could get them stripped & re-plated.

Jeremy

[Micro469]

I'd like to know how you play them things....

[doug hodder]

Is there a lacquer coating on them? I know that brass beds and I think some musical instruments clear the brass so they won't tarnish. On the Coleman lanterns or fuel tanks, I soak the brass parts in white vinegar, then use 0000 steel wool on them and finish up with a metal polish. All this assumes they aren't plated however. Doug

[Steve_Cox]

There is so much expertise in this forum. Does anyone here have experience in refurbishing brass musical instruments? Here's why I ask:
I just acquired a 40 plus year old set of Deagan tubular chimes for our church to use. They are complete and play well, but the finish is pretty rough.

The brass tubes are corroded badly. I would like to get them shiny and smooth again, but how far can they be buffed down without altering their pitch or sound quality? And how would I do it?

The supports are castings (aluminum, I think), and I can probably apply some paint stripper to them, then give them a coat of gold paint, but I would like to make the brass tubes look better, then apply a clear lacquer finish.

Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks

Most likely the tubes are like the finish on brass wind instruments and they are plated then lacquered. If you take off the lacquer and start to polish you will find the brass is a different color than the gold plating. The good news is you can get a fairly inexpensive hobby plating set up. See http://www.caswellplating.com After the plating, it's easy to spray some lacquer. Or, you can take the chimes to an instrument repair shop and get it done professionally then the chimes will be ready for another 40 years and will play in tune.

[Sam I am]

Thanks for all the good ideas, guys! I just checked with a magnet and the tubes are not steel. Apparently they are brass. Looks like they had a lacquer finish like other brass instruments. I rubbed some steel wool on the spots and it removes the white powdery spots of oxidation, but leaves the dark blotches that surround each white spot. I'll try some polish and see if it helps.
There is a place that repairs instruments not far from here. I'll give them a call and see what they recommend. They probably have buffing wheels and polish that they use for trumpets and such. I'll bet the cost would be high, though!
Plan B is to just paint the tubes a nice silver or gold color with some clearcoat over it. Not as fancy, but certainly better than the way they are now!