We recommend to not touch 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.

If you gong has shavings/lines from the gong making process, such as with Paiste and Meinl Symphonic Gongs, then apply and gently rub any cleaner or wax in the directly of the shavings/lines.

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 (moving in the direction of the shavings/lines, if applicable). 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. As noted above, apply and rub the wax in the direction of the shavings/lines, if the gong has them. This thin layer of wax may dry and harden within a couple of minutes, so it may be best to apply the wax in sections and then wipe most of it before it hardens. For small gongs there is probably enough time to apply the wax on the whole gong face and then wipe off; still, working in sections allows you to not rush. If you want to wax the back of the gong, you can apply the same process. Since the wax is a protective layer, waxing the back adds to the overall protection.

The wax is very helpful if gongs are near the ocean and/or salty air as well as in areas with air pollution and also common dust, dirt, etc. The wax also protects against finger prints or hand/skin oils. When the layer of wax is present, then you'll be able to more easily wipe away any finger prints and oil, so long as you wipe within a few hours of it being touched.

Paiste Symphonic Gongs

Happy gonging!