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I feel like i have heard of collectors using Kotton Klenser to clean painted morning glory horns. Anyone know about this? Also, does Kotten Klenser go bad? I have some that was once the creamy white color and is now a clear amber color.

Thanks

I have not tried KK on horns. What KK is good at is dissolving old wax and oil. Since it is common to oil and/or wax a wooden case, KK works well to dissolve and remove the build of these materials. It is not usual to wax or oil the horns so one could surmise that KK would not be too effective on a horn. Having said that, what is likely on horns is finger oils and airborne grease and dust, so it may work well.

I have gone through several containers of KK that has turned amber and have not noticed any difference in performance. You should be fine to use it as is.

It's funny you mention this. Coincidentally I just tried KK on a horn a few days ago. I though it worked well. I used it on an Edison Home horn and like Brad mentioned, it looked like it had a thin layer of oil and grime that had somehow accumulated over the years. I didn't let it sit on the horn too long and when I removed it, I ended up with a very clean and attractive horn.

Has anyone else tried this?

I tried a tiny sample on my horn and it took the paint right off. The horn is an early Morning glory that is clearly painted by hand to make the throat gradient from yellow to blue. Its quite old. I am going to just wipe it down and get the mentioned microcrystaline wax.

The horn I have was probably not "baked" on like Edison and Victor horns seem to be.

I'd be very reluctant to use KK on a horn. I suppose it could work ok if you did it just right and got it off very quickly. left on very long at all I'm afraid it would soften the paint so much that you could take it off with a rag.

I've heard some stories of guys wiping the decals off of thier bedplates with KK sometime back so I think it's effect on a metal horn could be much the same.