We recommend not touching your gong with your fingers or hands. This will prevent finger prints and skin oils from getting, and accumulating upon your gong - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you want to soften or mute the sound of your gong, we recommend using a mallet rather than your hands.

For light cleaning and dusting, gongs can be cleaned with a moist & dry rag. Simply whip the gong with the moist rag and dry immediately with the dry rag. A little elbow grease often removes light finger prints & possibly some oils if the gong is touched.

For heavier cleaning here are some products and methods that are helpful for Chinese & most Eastern-made gongs as well as for Paiste, Meinl and other gongs with similar finishes:

Heavy Cleaning for Chinese Gongs

Chinese gongs, many or most Eastern gongs & bronze gongs, in general, can be easily cleaned with cymbal polish. Follow the cymbal polish directions.

Heavy Cleaning & Protection for Paiste, Meinl & Similarly Finished Gongs

Waxing may be the most thorough way to clean and protect Paiste, Meinl or other similarly finished gongs. Johnson's Paste is a semi-hard wax, which is commonly used on fine furniture and works excellent on these gongs when applied correctly.

How to Apply the Wax

With a soft polishing cloth rub and spread a very thin layer of the wax upon the gong and then wipe it off. For large gongs (36 or larger) it may be best to wax on half the gong and then wipe it off immediately. Then do the other half.

Since a very thin layer of wax is being used it should dry and harden within a couple of minutes. But it is best not to let the wax get too dry or hard and therefore when waxing large gong applying wax to just half of it at time and then wiping it off immediate works well.

For medium and small gongs there is probably enough time to apply the wax on the whole face of gong and then wipe off. Same with the backside, if you want to wax the back.

The front and back can be waxed, although waxing the back side is not as important for most gongs. However, it's more important with Paiste Brilliant finished gongs rather than their Planets, regular Symphonics & Sound Creations.

This wax not only cleans but it protects from finger prints and oils. If anyone's finger prints or oils get on the gong when the layer of wax is present then you'll be able to easily wipe away the prints and oil so long as you wipe within a few hours of it being touched.

Paiste Symphonic Gongs

Happy gonging!