I saw this video, went and bought some BKF at Lowes, cleaned all 8 Zildjians (brilliant and traditional finish) prior to a show in one hour! Cymbals shined like new under the lights! (Note: I did use the black temp gloves during cleaning). Thank you for this video. Cheers friend! ~ML

I use this exclusively for cymbal cleaning. But I would add one caveat. Make sure you rinse the cymbals thoroughly to remove ALL residue. If you leave oxalic acid on cymbals, it can discolor them over time.

I agree, as I've used Barkeepers friend for years, and actually discovered it on a internet message board. It easier and cheaper to use than these cleaners touted by various cymbal companies. My oldest cymbal (Zildjain) is 30+ years old and it still looks good. Big name players have a fleet of roadies that polish their cymbals after EVERY gig, thus they look brand new during a show. My main problem with cymbals is not tarnish but STICK MARKS, which many polishes have trouble removing. BKF removes stick marks easily and tarnish stains as well. On a side note, I've found that one should polish their cybals regularly as heaving tarnishing can permanently stain a cymbal. I saw a guy online use every from ketchup to gasoline to clean his cymbals! LOL. I'm not that intense, but BKF does a nice job.

Thanks for the tip. This stuff works great. Had all my cymbals shining in under an hour. Cheers mate 👍.

I use this on cymbals too. And I strongly recommend that you rinse your cymbals very thoroughly after using BKF. It contains Oxalic acid which is GREAT as a bronze cleaning agent but can discolor cymbals if you leave the residue on them long term. Just make sure you rinse the cymbals clean with a hose or in a utility sink/bath tub to get any remaining residue off.

I have some classic 70's Zildjians I got with a drum kit. I stopped in the store and got a can of BKF. I laid down a sponge mat, hose, some old, cotton socks, and went to work. I wanted clean not spectacular. In 30 minutes I had both sides of top/bottom hi-hat and a 16" and 20" ride done on both sides. Thanks for the video.

Love the sound effects during application!

Was that a Curly from Three Stooges impression? Many kudos

I just cleaned my hi hats from the 70’s & my 20” ride from late 70’s early 80’s so much brighter

You paid for decent sounding cymbals. You get the logo's to advertise their products. Bollocks to the logo's. I know what I've got, they sound good. Personally I hate advertising if I'm not getting paid for it.

The Sabina safe and sound from formula works well. No acid, no harsh chemicals or compounds, odor free, etc. it’s lotion consistency and wets the oxidation and prints and polishes out pretty nice. Not as harsh on your cymbals as these type of abrasive, caustic materials... IF you care about that. I have switched from good ole Buckaroo to the new Sabian formula for the sake of being able to do it indoors without chasing the family away.

Here in Brazil, we don't know what is 'Bar keepers Friend' but, well, it seems to very good ...

I was stunned by the result made my k custom hybrid hats look new again

It really works. Old & new cymbals ✨✨✨

Great tip,thanks mang!

I have a friend, bartender but I don't allow him to touch my cymbals, even for free rounds.

I also find mother rim polisher cleans cymbals really nice

Great tip. Thanks man.

For the record, this works awesome, HOWEVER. USE THE LIQUID KIND. The powder left small, nearly microscopic abrasions in parts of my cymbals. nothing too terrible, but still. The liquid kind didn't. Also, I cleaned up an entire set of lugs and hardware off a Ludwig Super Classic Pro Beat using the liquid kind (much more labor intensive), and found that it's rather hard on the hands. I actually had a few decent sized cuts from using it. My hands were soaked in it for extended periods of time for several days though, so that could've been it, too, but gloves wouldn't be a terrible idea. other than that, it doesn't negatively alter the sound. It simply brightens the sound/less muffled from grime. If you hate it, the audience won't notice a difference, and eventually they'll get patina'd again.

Hey nice video tutorial! I'm just gonna ask if the product also works on traditional finish A Zildjian?

Is that rain in the back ground ?

Bar Keepers Rocks!!!

I like u ur fun :)and great way to clean ur cymbals

Thanks, dude!

I like the Curly style singing at 1:00 😄. Anyway that looks like it works great. I have a cymbal with some hints of green oxidation, I'm gonna try this on it. Thanks.

Brilliant!

Thanks for the tip on BKF! I'm going to try this. Btw, what was that noise at 1:00? It scared my cat.

Will this work with Zildjian A line Cymbals that have grooves or ar we simply clogging them up or scratching them??

I use red sticks. No issues with cymbals but coated heads will get red on them. You can rub it off though

Gracias muy bueno

This works, but be careful of the logos !!

One blunt per cymbal or ?

Namanya itu untuk membersihkan simbal dan belinya di mana.

Easy on the LOGO!

Nice!!

I like it can I buy

Do you still use this? i saw many people having problems with this because it removes too much from the cymbal. How does it work out for you after all theses years ?

Did this change the sound or warp the cymbal at all?

was that curly from 3 stooges lol

Will this work on older cymbals too?

Man...forgive me if I'm wrong but, is that stuff anything like Comet or Ajax? They both come in an identical container, and they are both VERY ABRASIVE. They are made using something like volcanic pumace (meteor collision result, actually). Vitrified sand, basically. I've never used BF before, or even seen it used before now. If that stuff is abrasive it would seriously harm your cymbals. How long have you been using this for?

Naoa sells mother's mag and wheel cleaner paste been Playing 70 years so I know a little lol bar keepers is real good as we all know

Does BKF remove the logos? Looks like yours came out safe.

I thought I was the only one using this, they have a cream version now.

Have u tried it on a traditional cymbal?

Does it affect the logo?

"I leave it on about 10, 15, 20 seconds" Then proceeds to leave it on for a minute! LOL

That's the best

This can destr5the tone of your Cymbals. This stuff if very abrasive.

i use coloured sticks. never had these problems. hmmm.

Nope. The ONLY thing I trust on my Zildjian cymbals is Brasso. Used since the mid 1970's through the late 1980's, although I understand that the formula has changed ☹.

Bar Keepers Friend is acidic. You don't need much at all...use a medium-stiff brush, and go with the grooves/grain. I would not use it on a brilliant finished cymbal.

It's both cool, and sad to see kids discovering the stuff us old timers were doing 40 years ago. It's a shame the younger generation doesn't really speak to the older drummer,.... the secrets they could learn!!

I have actually seen bar keeper's friend advertised as Cymbal Cleaner on eBay.....(check it out).....£10. !!....the same thing you buy in Home Bargains for £1.75!!....And....The chump hasn't even changed the container it's in!...he has had a new printed label on it but it's still in the white container with the blue lid.......talk about blatant rip-off...you can't make that shit up!!....some people have brass neck's..

Don't do this actually. I've done it with a handful of cymbals and while it removes pretty much every mark you could imagine, it also removes the protective coating. This means that the cymbal loses its golden color, and worse - every fingerprint you leave on the cymbal will turn a strange copper color that really stands out, and you'll be doing this cleaning process weekly just to keep them at bay.

I’ll never understand why guys will spend hundreds of dollars on cymbals but cheap out on harsh abrasive cleaners that are meant for kitchen sinks. For the love of god, stop being cheap and just buy cymbal cleaner!

this is for cleaning sinks not cymbals. they make specific cymbal cleaners for a reason. definitely a dumb idea.