The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have a Columbia disk B&B horn with dull clack paint. It was very dirty so I cleaned the crud using GOJO. The horn was shiny when I applied to GOJO. After I wiped off the GOJO, the horn was dull again. How do I retain the shine to the original paint?
Harvey Kravitz

There are a number of possible solutions:

. You could try using a paste wax on the paint and carefully buffing that. This has the advantage of not harming the original paint, and is also easily removed if necessary.

. You could try rubbing compound (often used to polish up dull auto paint): just go carefully, and stop before the paint gets too thin.

. you could go over the paint with a little shellac, somewhat like a French polish: if you tint the shellac with nigrosene, you can cover any thin spots.

I'd recommend trying the wax first.

Bill

Did you use GOJO with or without pumice? Pumice will dull your finish. Try a bit of automotive wax on a small area.

I used GOJO with out the pumice. A lot of dirt and crud came off. Evidently a coat of shellac was applied to the horn decades before. It was dull and alligatored. Here is what I did: I used 0000 steel wool with rubbing alcohol. I tried a small area. It worked and that area shined. I did the horn and I was able to save the original paint. It was a slow, laborious process, but it worked The dull, alligatored shellac really threw me off. Now it looks good. Thanks for the tips.
Harvey Kravitz