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Gillette Red Tip Refinish... Cerakote

Not sure where else to post this... recently grabbed a red tip and blue tip from a great seller in the classifieds.

They were “shaver” quality and I used them for a bit... Recently stumbled upon a thread talking about “cerakote” to refinish these things. Well... long story short, I broke the Red Tip T-Bar due to how much gunk was in it and trying to take it apart... the Blue tip was also a PIA to get apart however I did get it apart with no issue.

I decided to see if the Blue tip T-Bar and Red tip were the same... looks like they are... So I just fixed the Red Tip with the Blue tip parts.

I am posting this to get a quick pulse check/opinion from the forum. Should I cerakote the body and head Black, or a greyish...Or like a bronze, maybe distressed? Also.. Thoughts on changing the “Tip” color?

This is just an experiment so it can always be changed if I decide I want to ... Stick with the original Red or make it something else?

Thoughts or suggestions on what you all would like to see... this is happening tomorrow at 10am, so I’ll update the thread with pics once it’s back together!!
 
R

romsitsa

Hello, don’t know how the T-bar broke, for future reference, after removing the screw in the bottom, fold down the two little tabs at the bottom of the T-bar. These lock the bar and base plate. After reassembly leave the tabs as they tend to break down if folded back.
Changing Cerakote needs sandblasting, so it’s not that easy, imho.
The original finish being nickel, whatever color you pick, just give it a go, it won’t be original anymore.

Adam
 
Hello, don’t know how the T-bar broke, for future reference, after removing the screw in the bottom, fold down the two little tabs at the bottom of the T-bar. These lock the bar and base plate. After reassembly leave the tabs as they tend to break down if folded back.
Changing Cerakote needs sandblasting, so it’s not that easy, imho.
The original finish being nickel, whatever color you pick, just give it a go, it won’t be original anymore.

Adam

Thanks for the tip on the T Bar. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly how I broke it... regardless, it’s broke. I need one as well as the bottom screw (if anyone has one:).

As far as cerakote goes, I’m very experienced with it. I am a applicator for a local gun shop... I have access to sandblaster, proper air compressor, spray gun, and a nice cerakote oven which is not something that most people have.

I’ll be spraying today and as mentioned, I’ll post pics late when I get home.
 
Changing the colors is a personal decision. Some prefer traditional or “classic” looks while others are very creative. If you’d like to experiment I say go for it!
 
R

romsitsa

Nice, looking forward for your design.
Is it always necessary to remove nickel before before applying the "paint"?

Adam
 
Nice, looking forward for your design.
Is it always necessary to remove nickel before before applying the "paint"?

Adam

That’s a good question, I’m going to say no. I’m blasting the finish and coating. We will see what happens.
 
R

romsitsa

Thanks, I'm not really familiar with cerakote, thought it needs a "rough" surface to stick to it.
If it sticks to nickel, then it theory it could be stripped by stripping the nickel under it?

Adam
 
I actually almost left me like this...
More pics later..
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88DDF4EC-2E99-45FC-9D11-BAF779570662.jpeg
 

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Thanks for the tip on the T Bar. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly how I broke it... regardless, it’s broke. I need one as well as the bottom screw (if anyone has one:).

As far as cerakote goes, I’m very experienced with it. I am a applicator for a local gun shop... I have access to sandblaster, proper air compressor, spray gun, and a nice cerakote oven which is not something that most people have.

I’ll be spraying today and as mentioned, I’ll post pics late when I get home.

I’ve found that anyone who has experience with gun finishes does terrific work with razors.

If shops knew how much money could be made with razors on the side, I think they’d do both. We need more vendors for the non plate finishers.
 
One thing is for sure, I need to really understand how these doors go back onto the razor. After an amazing refinish and when I was putting them doors on, I scratched a small part on the side. Not a big deal, but it pissed me off so bad:)

Let me know what you all think.

@dmshaver here is a pic of that old Red Tip.

IMG_0155.jpg
 
Wow! Nice work!

What do you have planned for the blue tip?

the blue tip is done in a very similar color combo. I broke the T Bar when I was disassembling it (I’m an idiot). So I need to find another superspeed that’s in bad shape to fix it.
 
It certainly isn't a Red Tip anymore!! Why change it to blue? Not that it doesn't look nice, just curious was all...

I’ve been asked this several times by people. The honest answer is The colors were already mixed for another project and instead of wasting the cerakote I just repurposed it here:).

This was the first razor I’ve ever done so, I wasn’t sure how it would even turn out.

I knew the colorcombo looked good together as well so Irolled with it. Now that I know how these come apart, I may just redo it in a totally different scheme and reincorporate the original red color! I do really like it though so, I’ll likely leave it like this for a while.
 
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