The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Any Idea on how to make the Edison horns that look like there are faded or duel back to life? I have one that look's new and others not. Like to gets then back to new or close. Any help would help. Jerry

Without photo's of the horn(s)in question.....it is impossible to answer such a question.Good,clear photo's will help assess if a horn should be altered or restored. Generally, an original horn that is 100+ years will show some age,etc... Looking new is not necessarily a "good" thing... .

phonocookie wrote:Any Idea on how to make the Edison horns that look like there are faded or duel back to life? I have one that look's new and others not. Like to gets then back to new or close. Any help would help. Jerry

I've had good luck with one or the other of these methods. Sometimes I've tried both to get the results I wanted...

1) Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0, then a coat or Johnson's wax (NOT car wax - just the old-fashioned floor stuff in the yellow can).

2) Turtle Wax One Step Colorback.

I tend to go with #1 when the paint is quite dry/faded. For healthier finishes, I tend to start with #2, but sometimes I'm fooled. One or the other should work as long as there's something to work with.

Good luck!

George

Thank you George I will try the Meguiar's scratch X.

phonocookie wrote:Thank you George I will try the Meguiar's scratch X.

Okay - - just don't panic when you remove the Meguiar's... On a couple of occasions, the paint looked much worse than it did when I started! But the application of wax and the buffing brought up a nice shine which has never dulled.

On another occasion, the improvement wasn't as much as I had hoped, so I tried the Turtle Wax over it (there's a very mild abrasive in the Turtle Wax so the Johnson's Wax was removed), and either the new application or the combination of applications resulted in a very marked improvement.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:

phonocookie wrote:Thank you George I will try the Meguiar's scratch X.

Okay - - just don't panic when you remove the Meguiar's... On a couple of occasions, the paint looked much worse than it did when I started! But the application of wax and the buffing brought up a nice shine which has never dulled.

On another occasion, the improvement wasn't as much as I had hoped, so I tried the Turtle Wax over it (there's a very mild abrasive in the Turtle Wax so the Johnson's Wax was removed), and either the new application or the combination of applications resulted in a very marked improvement.

George P.

And do any of these compounds affect the decals...??.

I

gramophone78 wrote: And do any of these compounds affect the decals...??.

I've had no problems with decals, pinstriping on bedplates or horns, or any other decorations. Of course, I follow the directions, work by hand (no power tools), and do everything as gently as possible.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:

gramophone78 wrote: And do any of these compounds affect the decals...??.

I've had no problems with decals, pinstriping on bedplates or horns, or any other decorations. Of course, I follow the directions, work by hand (no power tools), and do everything as gently as possible.

George P.

It only affects the decals if you get too carried away with your polishing. Some of the compounds spoken of above, like Turtle Wax Color Back, contain a very fine abrasive that removes dead layers of paint & dirt. I rub very carefully and sparingly over decals when using such polishes, taking note if the decal is changing after each stroke of the polishing rag.