Horn safe paint remover?

[Jason Jablonski]

Greetings,

Figured I'd ask the experienced here before I make a mistake. I was recently gifted an older powder horn that needs some work. It appears someone painted it to mimic a buffalo horn. My question is what would you recommend to remove the paint without harming the horn? I tried a test spot with nail polish remover and q-tips. It took some paint off, but not enough to get a peak at the actual horn surface. Any suggestions would be greatly in appreciated.

Thank you,
Jason

 

[jdw276]

Greetings,

Figured I'd ask the experienced here before I make a mistake. I was recently gifted an older powder horn that needs some work. It appears someone painted it to mimic a buffalo horn. My question is what would you recommend to remove the paint without harming the horn? I tried a test spot with nail polish remover and q-tips. It took some paint off, but not enough to get a peak at the actual horn surface. Any suggestions would be greatly in appreciated.

Thank you,
Jason

Scrape and refinish?

 

[Eutycus]

Sandpaper?

 

[sawyer04]

I use a broken glass bottle with the side in the hand taped. Have scraped horns and wood using this method.

 

[Shooter1]

No piece of glass............Ha you beat me to the post button

 

[Ames]

Take a blade meant for a utility knife, hold it 90 degrees to the horn, and scrape the paint off. Just like using a cabinet scraper. After, rub it down with OOOO steel wool. Its easy.

 

[Jason Jablonski]

Thanks everyone. I ended up scraping and buffing it. Looks like it is a bison horn as it is dark. A before pic and two after pics. Now I can work on a new end and start refining it.

 

[Ames]

Looks like water buffalo.

 

[Jason Jablonski]

Looks like water buffalo.

Ok, after googling for pics (I'm new to this hobby), I think you're right.

 

[Eutycus]

Curious, you stated you can now work on a new end, which end needs the work? They both look pretty good.

 

[toot]

when the old timers made a powder horn, they would use a piece of broken glass / window pane to scrape and shop it.. my grand father also used this method to make AXE & HAMMER HANCLES from OAK & HICKORY. give it a try. tilt it on an angle, abs it will rely make a lot of horn shavings come off.

 

[Jason Jablonski]

Curious, you stated you can now work on a new end, which end needs the work? They both look pretty good.

The plug isn't fit very well. It looks like someone used putty to fill and smooth it. Spout seems fine, just need to get the stopper down to size.

 

[RB POWELL]

It looks good to me as is. Do you have an idea how old it is?

 

[user 48679]

The plug isn't fit very well. It looks like someone used putty to fill and smooth it.

I like older horns that look less than perfect (aka: rustic), so if the butt plug's airtight, I'd either leave it be, or refinish the surface.

 

[Jason Jablonski]

It looks good to me as is. Do you have an idea how old it is?

It's got an eyelet for the rear strap attachment, so mid-late 20th century is my guess.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The plug isn't fit very well. It looks like someone used putty to fill and smooth it. Spout seems fine, just need to get the stopper down to size.

One of life's first rules is: "prettier your powder horn plus is, the quicker you will lose it". DAMHIK. I simply whittle a hunk of a branch for my plug and hold in my teeth while pouring the powder. That way I can't forget to replace it in horn.

 

[Pete G]

my grand father also used this method to make AXE & HAMMER HANCLES from OAK & HICKORY.

WTH is an axe HANCLE??? Handle perhaps

 

[Ames]

Hancle. It hangs just under the butt of the axe.

 

[Dale Lilly]

A broken hacksaw blade is a great scraper. Grind the teeth off at an angle leaving a sharp edge. Advantage??? You can bend it around curved surfaces. Polecat

 

[Flinty Scot]

The afters look great. The slight double curve should let it fit well.
Rework it to suit your own taste; carry it w/ pride.