Putting some shine back into horn scales?

[johnmrson]

I'm going to start restoring an antique, unmarked 17/16's straight on the coming weekend. The original scales are dark horn and whilst not in brilliant condition, they are good enough to keep and I'd like to keep the package original if I can.
My question is, what do people use to put the shine back into horn scales? They look a bit dry and dull.

 

[mdunn]

neatsfoot oil them, and then sand up as high grit as you can go

 

[Nerdman]

neatsfoot oil them, and then sand up as high grit as you can go

+1, neatsfoot oil will work great, just let thek soak in it for a bit. Sand to high grit and then buff on your buffer, the white rouge will work good!

 

[honed]

Oil is a great start as wella s buffing.
You can also try to buff with beeswax.
It ads shine & protects the horn.

 

[nipper]

Neatsfoot oil is good. Linseed oil is also very good. Good preservative and water resistance. Use the "boiled" version though or it will take a long time to dry or "cure". It's also great on wood scales.

 

[Legion]

What about Renaissance wax? That buffs up pretty shiny.

 

[honed]

What about Renaissance wax? That buffs up pretty shiny.

Great stuff!
You really want to protect any natural scale-material with something.
Renaissance wax is a perfect choice.
But regular beeswax is also a good & much cheaper way to go.

 

[onimaru55]

+1 on the neatsfoot. Also Micro-mesh makes a liquid polish called Micro gloss which is water based & works great after polishing to 1500 -2000 grit. It contains 1 micron Al Ox particles

 

[Pete_T]

Slather them in neats foot oil for a few days, give it time to soak in. Then sand up to at least 1500 to 2000 grit. After that you can go after them with polishing compound, or if you happen to have micromesh sheets you can put a really nice gloss on. After all that give them another coat of neatsfoot for a day or so. Then sealing with ren wax wouldn't be a bad idea.