The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just got a pretty nice cygnet horn I plan on adding to my Edison Home with a model D repeater. I’ve always wanted a cygnet horn and this is a 19 panel is great shape. The paint is original and looks pretty good. Somewhere I heard (I think) of people putting “wax” on these horns, but can’t be sure of where I heard this. Is this something people actually do? What is the point? Do they look better or are they better preserves? If so, I’m what situations would one recommend doing this?

Thank you for any and all advice!

Maguire's makes a nice spray on auto wax that work quite well

I've used car polish on horns. To get the best results, you need to start with a horn that's got a really decent finish to begin with. Something that's very dirty or has a light film of oxidized paint is the best candidate. Any finish that's gotten very dull/rough or has a lot of rust spots, will not be improved with wax. In fact, it can look terrible. If you do have some rust spots in an otherwise decent finish, try to avoid applying wax/polish in those areas.