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I am definetly an as found type collector but i recently saved a Columbia nickel horn. It is covered in mold and with algeries and such it just sits in the attic, away from everyone.
Can it be polished by hand or will it need a pro to get that great shine i see from time to time. Perhaps just remove the mold and leave it dull?

The mold makes me think the horn is coated with shellac. You can try alcohol or ammonia to dissolve it. - bill

Just basic rubbing alcohol?

I cleaned one awhile back and tried just rubbing alcohol, with no results. Ammonia is a better choice, but still might not cut it. You might try Acetone, but Xylene finally removed it for me... The nickel horns are coated, like musical instruments to protect the finish, and years of crud attaches to the coating making it extremely difficult to remove.

On a side note, the title of your thread is: "Polish Columbia Nickel Horn"

Just wondering... how did you determine that it was from Poland?

Tough to keep a solvent wet on a big item like that. You can't just let it soak in a coffee cup overnight. There's a product called Ready Strip at Home Despot that was recommended to me to strip some wretched window frames I've been fighting with. I was amazed that 24 hours after application the job was still wet and the paint slid right off with a putty knife. Also it has no methyl chloride so it's odorless and doesn't bore holes in your skin. Water clean up. If you like I can try it on nickel plate to see if it's "safe". Mind you, I don't have any Polish nickel around....-bill

I can respond to Bill's comment about using stripper on your horn. As it happens, I just finished using Home Depot stripper on a Columbia nickel plated horn which had been painted. A few seconds after brushing on the stripper, the paint came off with a garden hose and the nickel looked brand-new. I applied stripper several more times to get into cracks and such with no impact at all to the nickel. Unfortunately my horn has some light rust on some of the pedals which now looks rather dark compared to the nice nickel. I will have to decide if I want to keep the original nickel and just clean up the non-plated spots the best I can--always decisions to make in this hobby.

The mold came right off with never dull. I then used brasso and the horn cleaned up exceptionaly well. There is however a light brownish hugh on the horn that i feel is laquer????. It looks amazing as is so i will leave the original finish alone.