Advice on 2 horns

[kirtley2012]

i have 2 questions about 2 horns i am considering buying, the brass one is a definate, the other is a possibility.
the 26" brass horn i am buying is heavily tarnished, what is the best way to get it down to shiny brass again?

the second is a large morning glory horn, what is the cheapest company to ship it from california to the UK?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhuVc5ge9TA
thanks!

[Bruce]

Hello,

I have taken on a brass horn like this one and it took hours of polishing with an electric bench polishing wheel and polishing compound. The final polish used is a Ruby Rouge and gives the horn a fine finish like musical instruments. You will likely need an extension arm on the polisher to reach inside the horn.

Oh by the way it is noisy and creates lots of polishing compound spread everywhere(a black waxy dust) - so if you do not have a separate corner in a workshop you are likely to be sitting in the dog house if you try it in your family home.

As for the second horn. I have shipped from the USA to Canada with great success with US Postal Service. But they do not ship containers big enough for the horn you are looking at. You will likely end up paying far to much to ship this horn and from the video it is not worth the effort. Hang in there you will come across a nicer horn closer to home. Besides the Europeans seem to have made and sold much nicer horns than in North America.

[gramophoneshane]

I use a liquid rust coverter containing phosphoric acid. Small objects are better submerged in the liquid for 5 minutes & then rinsed, but for large items like a horn, you need to brush it on (with a paint brush), then let it stand for 5 mins then rinse. Brass with heavy tarnish/verdigris will probably need to be painted & rinsed 2 or 3 times to completely remove the crud.
Im not sure what's available in the UK, but here, you can also get the same sort of stuff in a thick gel. If you could get some of this, you can apply the gel & let it sit for ½ hr & then rinse it off, and normal a single application of gel will strip the heaviest tarnish.
The good thing about rust coverters containing phosphoric acid is that it only attacks the tarnish & not the metal itself. You'll be left with a clean brass horn that can easily be polished by hand with brasso or some other metal polish that will shine it to a mirror finish.