paperarmytank

I've got an old horn that is pretty crappy. My dad and I want to try to relacquer this beast, just for fun. I want to do either a white/silver satin finish or a gold satin finish with polished tuning slides, etc. Does anyone have experience doing this sort of thing? How would we go about it?

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TopGun

I would go to Lowes and talk to them about the best stuff they have. You will not be able to get a like new product out of the house but I bet you can have some fun. Polish it up real good, make sure it and the air is clean, and start spraying.

Best of luck

jazzinbb

Remove the valves and corks, and strip the old lacquer with Krylon OFF (my local Ace Hardware had a can for 12.99). Buy a can of Brasso (Ace Hardware $4.99) and polish it up really good once the lacquer is gone.

Wash it down with a degreaser (I used Dawn) letting it dry overnight. Put on a pair of cotton gloves so you don't put grease/fingerprints on it, plug every possible opening with paper towels, and lightly rub a 3M green finish pad (mine had a sponge on the back because it was a pot scrubber) everywhere you want to "scratch". Go in the same direction and follow the contour of the horn. You'll quickly get the handle on how hard to scratch to get the desired look. When it's "scratched" to your satisfaction, spray it with a can of NIKOLAS 2105 SPRAY LACQUER - GOLD ($9.95 from VoTaw Tools see URL below).

[/url]http://www.votawtool.com/zcom.asp?pg=products&specific=jndmirknqhttp://<br /> <br /> I just relacq...<br /> <br />http://photobucket.com/albums/b101/jazzinBb/Refinished%20Contempora/[url]

It cost less than $50 and only took 1 weekend...

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paperarmytank

I do like how your horn looks, nice job. I am actually looking for more of a satin finish though. Do you think if I make smaller, closer together scratches and use that gold tint lacquer it would look satin?

__________________
Just blow, man. Just blow.

Solar Bell

You will not get a satin finish ny scratching the finish.
It will need to be bead blasted.

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

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Cornet1

Chuck is essentially correct about the 'scratch' finish not being a 'satin' one, However, it is perhaps worth pointing out that if you use an older, more used/worn abrasive pad the 'sctatch' will be much gentler.

The best way to 'age' the abrasive pad,..I use the green 3M pot scourer type,..is to lightly hammer the pad on a firm/hard surface....use a 2 lB ordinary ball-peen hammer.

Also the effect is much better if you use small circular movements with the pad. This combined with a much softened/aged pad used well moist, will in practice, give a very close resemblance of a 'satin' or 'beaded' finish.

paperarmytank

Any ideas how I would go about doing a real bead blast? I like the idea of the circular movements, etc. Thanks a lot for all the help so far!

__________________
Just blow, man. Just blow.

Tootsall

Go down to your local hardware store and buy a chunk of copper pipe. Practice on that. Be aware that brass is harder than copper so the effect will be more subtle on the horn than on the pipe.

Cornet1

That's a great idea from 'toots',.....if you want to practice on brass, most model shops in the Uk stock a selection of brass tube from a USA based distributor called, if i remember, 'K-S' These are short lengths about a foot long and are inexpensive to buy a couple to experiment with.

As for bead-blasting,...you can buy small sand blasting guns to use with small semi-domestic compressors,...they are not expensive to buy and are used a lot by the home motor restoration fraternity. They usually come with a selection of nozzles the larger of which could probably be used with 'beads'. You will ideally need to rig up an enclosed blast-box, if only to save and reuse the beads. some beads are made of glass and others are of softer materials,...take advice from the sellers......