That's the big drawback with these 'raw' finishes.
Back the days of yore, when saxes came in either silver plate or plain brass, those players who'd opted for plain brass were given to much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
"Why oh why is there not some way of keeping our horns looking clean and shiny?" they cried. And lo, lacquer was invented and duly applied - and there was much rejoicing.
Skip forward a good few years and it seems that the hive memory has failed, and folk are wondering why their new bare brass horns are going green.
Here's the deal then. Plain bare brass will start to tarnish the moment it comes into contact with air. However, if it tarnishes in the right way it will form an oxidised layer on the surface which can be quite resistant to further tarnishing. This takes time though, so chemicals are often applied to speed this process up.
By the carefully addition of selected chemicals it's possible to tweak the colour of the finished patina - hence the advent of (let's face it) brown saxes.
Don't be fooled into thinking this kind of finish is anything like a plated or a lacquered finish - there are some things you can do to it, and some things you can't.
If you abrade it you'll go through the finish to the bare brass - if you use the wrong sort of chemical on it you'll strip the patina away. So - metal polishes and weak acids (vinegar etc.) are out.
From time to time a spot of corrossion will take hold - there will always be tiny gaps in the finish, and if a drop of moisture gets in it will start off a reaction that will lead to the formation of verdigris (green stuff). If left to its own devices it might just sit there, staring at you - or it might decide to breed and spread.
Thing is, the best way to deal with it is to attack it with a weak acid...and this is exactly what you'd do with a plated or lacquered horn...but if you do so on a raw finish you'll lose the patina.
So, as Teebone suggested, the best means of dealing with it is to scrape as much of it off as you can with a soft tool. You can also have at it with soapy water, followed by cigarette lighter fluid - neither of which will harm the surrounding patina.
Once you've cleaned it up you have to decide how to protect the horn from further corrossion. I don't think there's much point in putting lacquer on it...I mean, if you wanted a lacquered horn you should have bought one - and as the patina will continue to develop over the years you might find you'll end up with a lots of little odd-looking patches where you've applied the lacquer.
Worse still, you might not have removed all the corrossion - and it will sit beneath the lacquer and wreak havoc...nicely protected by the lacquer.
What the manufacturers do is wax the horn - and that's all you need to do.
As for what type of wax to use - well, you want something that can withstand the rigours of being handled and showered with gob...and a car wax will be about as tough a wax as you'll get. Pop a dob on, work it in and buff it off with a soft cloth - and the job, as they say, is a good 'un.
Regards,
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