Thanks so much! Show pieces are often sprayed with a high gloss lacquer, or they can be polished just prior to display. Unless adequately coated with some sort of protection, copper will always tarnish and form a patina, and even then the protection just delays the inevitable. Without knowing what equipment you have available, it’s hard to offer advice, but the process I’ve been using lately for a near-mirror finish is to first sand to 600, pickle in salt/vinegar, neutralize in baking soda water, rinse with clean water, then buff as follows - white compound on a denim wheel, followed with red compound on a muslin wheel, then blue compound on a muslin wheel, and finally green(zam) compound on a soft, loose cotton wheel. Lately, I’ve moved away from applying any sort of protective coating unless a customer specifically requests it.

I would like to know too. He said you could if you would like to

It’s a standard red rouge, commonly found at any jewelers or knife supply site. Possibly big box hardware stores or hobby supply places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby may carry it as well.

Missed the question about the wheel, my apologies. I think it’s muslin, but I’m not sure. Nothing is labeled where I buy them, and they’re just sold as buffing wheels.

use the drill

makes can be great.

Yes, they just require more elbow grease ;-) you can experiment with higher grit papers or pads - the highest I’ve been able to find here is 1200grit wet/dry. Above that highest grit, you can use commercially available buffing/polishing compounds on a cloth and rub by hand, or experiment with making your own compounds. You can use things like baking soda, toothpaste, diatomaceous earth, silica, or any other fine powder. The powders may need to mixed in some sort of carrier, like wax or grease. Beeswax mixed with turpentine or mineral spirits to a paste consistency would work for this, or even tallow. Alternatively, once it’s sanded to a high grit, you can try burnishing with wood shavings, or using a wood rod or piece of bone.

@@ericoberholtzer1949 thanks, your knowledge on this is awesome. currently i`m dealing with my first set of horns, I never did this before, I have two issues though. I have put them in bleach for 5 / 6 hours to eradicate the smell, afterwards I read that it can destroy them over time and they will decompose. I have changed the water few times now they are just in soap water but I am concerned I may have damaged them permanently. Do you think they are still ok ? the second concern is that the smell is not gone, it smells like dead animal and I don`t know how to get the smell off, any piece of advice ? thanks lots !!

Happy to share what I’ve learned so far! I’m certainly no expert. I don’t use bleach for processes like these, it tends to lead to brittleness in the long term. It may be wise to manage your expectations with this set :-) they may be ok, maybe not, it depends on a lot of things. As for the dead animal smell - you’ve likely still got some flesh and blood bits deep down in the horn that’s still decomposing. You’ll need to get that out before continuing. The process can be sped up by manually removing as much tissue as you can. What I usually do after cutting the horns off the skull(I get fresh heads from my butcher) is just toss them outside by an anthill and let nature do it’s thing for a few months. If the smell is bothersome they can loosely buried as well, the bugs have no trouble finding it(remember to mark the site!) check on it every few weeks to make sure the bugs aren’t eating the horn itself. Once they’re cleaned out, I throw them uncovered on the roof of my shop for a few more months to fully dry anything out, then manually clean out the little bit left. The trade off here is lots of time. Hope that helps! In any case, if I were in your shoes, I’d continue like normal(maybe with a vinegar soak to help neutralize the bleach -do it outside and don’t breathe it in, you’re making chlorine gas). You might end up losing these anyway, but they’re valuable for the experience. You’ll be able to try out different methods of finishing to see what works without worrying about messing them up.

@@ericoberholtzer1949 thank you, awesome insight

@@ericoberholtzer1949 they are just fine after one week, some of them are a bit softer but drinkable and polishable with no problem. So I ask : I wanna make them shine like the sun. Currently cleaned them , cured, removed excess skin. Even if some skin always remains on exterior, it's hard as damn to take all off What is the best way to make them super shine ? I see on youtube different opinions, dry sanding, beeswax, polishing machine, polishing pink paste rubbed with a soft cloth, baby oil - ykes, and wet big grit sanding with water on the sand paper. Which one is the best ? Regards