Below is a common relacquered finish on a Conn 10M Naked Lady. Can you find the Lady?

Sometimes when you see an ad, it will say Factory Relacquer...the reason this is desirable, is the factory will usually have the exact color tint formula, for an authentic look. An elderly Selmer should have a dark gold hue to it.  As it ages,  it will take on a sort of brownish-red highlight near the edges of some areas. This is usually because the original technician, many years ago, polished and cleaned all the acid and residue, off the main bell, but missed some at the outside edges.  This continues to oxidize under the lacquer and cause color variations.  A 40's  instrument without any blemishes or discoloration could be a relacquer.  A older instrument with a light gold finish like a Yamaha is probably not original.

Runs in the lacquer are a dead give-away.  Look for paint that has sags or runs off of posts... then it almost surely is a relaq.  Another good way to tell, is if the lacquer fills in and smoothes out the engraved areas of the bell and serial number location.  Original engravers received the horn after it had been lacquered, and then cut the engraving, by hand, through the lacquer, into the bell or other areas.  This was frequently done with a temporary tattoo, called a STENCIL, (a drawing of the pattern they are going to engrave on the sax was called a stencil) hence the term "Conn stencil" etc.  The engraver would transfer the stencil pattern onto the bell and then follow it's pattern as he engraved.

Yet another give-away is to look for fine scratches under the lacquer.   When the finish is removed, the buffing process can leave tiny lines in the metal.  These are then lacquered over and can be seen where it was hard to do the fine buffing and rouge polishing process, like behind the bell, around the keyholes, etc.  Many times red rouge compound can be found inside the toneholes too.  That said, many fine horns, such as mid 60's Selmer have buffing lines under original lacquer... sometimes rouge in the horn too. This is normal and sometimes happened because they hurried their work too much, trying to keep up with production.

The most difficult "tell" is the depth of the engraving.   It should be clear and deep and a little rough to the touch.  If the instrument has had the original lacquer buffed off, it takes a couple thousandths of an inch of metal off the engraved area and lightens the engraving.

It is most difficult to tell the engraving depth on French instruments from the 40's and 50's.  The French seem to engrave very lightly, and this makes the depth tell difficult.  When in doubt, take it to the very best vintage sax specialist in your area for a 2nd opinion.

I also frequently see acid bleed and copper bleed under the finish on Selmers. This was probably due to an overall rushing the manufacturing, assembly and finishing, in order to keep up with the overwhelming demand for Super Balanced Action and Mark VI saxes.  A little solder acid under the finish, not thoroughly cleaned off, will show up years later as discoloration.  There are several things that will cause discoloration, but they are considered part of the "original" finish and therefore do not detract from the value or playability of the instrument.

Note the smoothness of the engraving.  It should be sharp and distinct and maybe even have a little corrosion in the lines that are cut through the lacquer into the brass.  The engraved lines here are filled in with lacquer and smooth, rather than cut and sharp.

Thanks, Sarge

1936 Conn 30M:

1968 Selmer Mark VI:

1934 Buescher Aristocrat tranny:

For myself, I have to note that I looked very hard at this sax. I did not see any guarantees in one way or another for a relacquer label. But I will note that among the gunk I did see some red that looks like buffing rouge in the Eb guard top foot, and near the Eb trill key guard. Even still, the factory would have buffed a sax too. So is this factory work or after build work? There was some over buffing on the "true tone" stamping on the rear body tube, but not the serial number. The bell engraving looks like the lacquer was after the cutting - even so! this early era was a time when the companies had to experiment when they would lacquer (before or after engraving stages).

Original lacquer: I vote YES!! I looked very close at this because I had not dated original lacquer use on a Buescher prior to 1934 (yet); of course there were rumors of Conn experimenting with lacquer in the 20s, but not formally on production. According to resources like Saxpics.com, the next model (New Aristocrat) was available in lacquer finish. If this is not "original", it must be the "first time lacquer"/Factory job and excellently done because I did not see any proof of poor quality work on it. I also like the deep color of the lacquer for research and personal preference.

Additional Note: These did have steel needle springs on this version (not gold Nortons), the added bis rocker arm on the F# key bridge, and removal of the pants-guard-bar along the B1 area(vs series III).

That is all for now!