| After reading this thread last week, and wishing all my horns had that scratch finish, I decided to try it. I have an old mostly raw brass Getzen cornet that I figured I could afford to mess up, so I gave it a try. The brass was all a very dark brown. Picture the typical horn found in the attic after 40 or 50 years, with some dings and bends. I used the heavy duty scotch brite pads from WalMart. The fine scotch brite pad with sponge on one side did not do the job. I found that as soon as I rubbed it with the scotch brite, it cleaned up to a beautiful scratched brass finish. It took me three evenings to get all the horn I could, and the area around and under the 2nd valve slide is not perfect, but the rest of the horn looks awesome! I may resort to some sort of bead blasting to get the rest. I found that after I got an area polished/scratched, I could easily go back and orient the grain however I wanted. I also tried the fine steel wool - it gave a more satin finish.
The end result is a horn I'm not embarassed to be seen with. The finish as of today is a mix of scratched and satin, and is beautiful. It unfortunately plays the same however, which is why I felt I could use it as an experiment. I don't think I have the nerve to try this with my good horns, although I would love then all to have this nice of a finish.
It does work and the results are beautiful - even the nickel reinforcing sleeves cleaned up nice.
Good luck if you decide to try it!
John |