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I just received a black male unicorn off ebay, but there is something off with his horn. I know gold can’t oxidize, but this unicorn horn looks like it has either oxidized, or the gold finish has worn off. It does not smell like smoke at all, so I’ve ruled out smoke/tar resin. It has a greenish-black cast to it, is somewhat rough to the touch and is not gold colored at all anymore – only at the tip and base of the horn is any of the original gold coloring left. Is there something I can use to clean the horn that would take all this gunk off? Or would it be best to try to pop the horn out, and request a new one?
Maybe they tried to remove the gold finish on the horn, if that’s the case I think you’ll need a new one.
well they are pewter…maybe it was bent at one point and some of the gold came off…
I know someone that got one like that…we repainted it with gold leaf… 😕
They might have tried to polish or clean it once during their ownership, and in doing so, used the wrong cleanser and it reacted adversely with the finish and gold plating.
My guess is that if this is at all the case, you cant undo that and cleaning it more would just shot yourself in the foot. But, you can get info here and try a few things.
I have always had, the black young unicorn for many years. Now that I have the male which was kept in perfect condition, as well as a PYO unicorn I painted black so I didnt have to hunt and spend a lot for the actual black (I never got the baby but we’ll see; Im more impressed with the larger statues but who knows? There may be some unicorn lovin’ in the air which I cant stop)! Putting them next to my old young black, it was very evident his horn was in need of punching up. I polished it with a jewelry cleaner rub which worked well. But in the end, I went over it with more gold and it worked out well. Just an option
PhoenixTears wrote:They might have tried to polish or clean it once during their ownership, and in doing so, used the wrong cleanser and it reacted adversely with the finish and gold plating.
My guess is that if this is at all the case, you cant undo that and cleaning it more would just shot yourself in the foot. But, you can get info here and try a few things.
I have always had, the black young unicorn for many years. Now that I have the male which was kept in perfect condition, as well as a PYO unicorn I painted black so I didnt have to hunt and spend a lot for the actual black (I never got the baby but we’ll see; Im more impressed with the larger statues but who knows? There may be some unicorn lovin’ in the air which I cant stop)! Putting them next to my old young black, it was very evident his horn was in need of punching up. I polished it with a jewelry cleaner rub which worked well. But in the end, I went over it with more gold and it worked out well. Just an option
After reading this, I took a good hard look at the horn again. The pattern certainly does jive with someone using the wrong type of cleaner or chemical on it. I don’t think painting over it is an option – the texture on the horn is shot as a result of whatever was used on it. The horn isn’t smooth where it is damaged.
So… I guess the question becomes can I get a new horn, and how do I go about popping the old one out?
EDIT: One more question… what color black was used on the unicorns? I have a few scuffs on this guy that need a little touching up. Thanks!
dark_zorse wrote:I just received a black male unicorn off ebay, but there is something off with his horn. I know gold can’t oxidize, but this unicorn horn looks like it has either oxidized, or the gold finish has worn off. It does not smell like smoke at all, so I’ve ruled out smoke/tar resin. It has a greenish-black cast to it, is somewhat rough to the touch and is not gold colored at all anymore – only at the tip and base of the horn is any of the original gold coloring left. Is there something I can use to clean the horn that would take all this gunk off? Or would it be best to try to pop the horn out, and request a new one?
I can’t imagine what could of happened to the horn. I don’t think a cleaner would hurt the horn, if you wanted to try, just keep harsh cleaners off of the unicorn himself, because some kinds will take the paint off.(Have a helper hold him upside down for you.)
Trying to get the horn out may ruin the unicorn. It is possible to break the head because there is a long “key” that sticks down into a deep socket in the forehead. The horn is epoxied in, and most likely is there to stay, but sometimes they can be worked loose.The unicorn can be touched up using carbon black paint mixed with burnt umber (dark brown) acrylic paints.
I recently tried removing a badly damaged horn from a gothic unicorn to repair him for Arlla, and it was a nightmare. The horn made a mess of the unicorn’s head, and worse yet, even though it was already loose– part of the key broke off inside the unicorn’s head and was impossible to remove, therefore preventing inserting a new horn. I finally Macgyver’d a fix for it, but it was a nightmare and I would definately recommend anyone against trying to remove a horn.
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.com😳 😳 😳 Thanks so much for your help with that, Nam!!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-J R R TolkienArlla wrote:😳 😳 😳 Thanks so much for your help with that, Nam!!
No worries!! It wasn’t your fault the first owner broke him 🙂
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comI don’t know enough about it to offer detailed help…but maybe if you could clean the horn, and strip it of whatever gold is left….maybe you could get some gold leaf and try re-guilding it. HEY, wait a minute….Nam did a gold leaf dragon! 🙂 Maybe she could offer some advice 😉 heehee
I got a white male unicorn in the mail once…and his horn had indeed come loose. It didn’t break, it just slipped right out of the socket 😯 So yes, I know what you mean by a deeeeeeppp set “key”. I never glued it back in, just set it back in place….I’ll try to take a picture later today if someone’s interested
I’d be interested in seeing how deep the key goes to be able to tell a broke horn from a loose horn.
Ettevy wrote:I’d be interested in seeing how deep the key goes to be able to tell a broke horn from a loose horn.
Its not too far. About 1/4″, if that.
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