Cleaning Experiment

[Mr. Scruffy]

I picked up a Dremel polishing kit at Lowes and thought I would try it out.

The Victim: 1940's style Super Speed Y2


Heavy oxidation and very light pitting on the doors

View attachment 90066


Also heavy oxidation on the handle

View attachment 90067


No relection at all from the king

View attachment 90068


Very heavy oxidation and some brassing on the baseplate

View attachment 90069

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Hmm ... are we just waiting for the after photos or does the after not yet exist?

 

[njpaddy]

I was thinking about getting a Dremel. I hope those aren't the "after" pics.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

The Culprits

View attachment 90075

Step 1 - Use the Dremel polishing compound and small felt polishing wheel on the doors. Use the small nylon cup brush on the handle's knurling and the really small nylon cup brush on the hard to reach places on the underside of the head and baseplate.

Step 2 - Buff the knurling on the handle with clean felt polishing wheel. Buff the doors with a cloth buffing wheel. Remove any excess compound by buffing with a soft cloth.

Step 3 - Polish using Maas. Buff with clean cloth buffing wheel and cotton balls.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

The Results:

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

And a surprise - I didn't expect the small brush and compound to remove the plating from the baseplate. Or maybe the oxidation was the only thing holding it on.

View attachment 90084

View attachment 90085


Your thoughts and comments are encouraged and appreciated.




.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Wow! That made a huge difference. I wonder if the plating is just thinner on the underside of the baseplate. Either way, it really shined up nicely.

 

[Pumpkin]

Nice clean up Harry! The small nylon cup brush might have been a bit harsh...the shorter "loft" probably made it too stiff for the job.

 

[cooncatbob]

Along with the Roto-zip the Dremel is one of the worlds most over rated tools.
I like the commercial where they use a cut off wheel to cut a nail, like grab a pair of dykes.
The only thing I use the dremel for is cleaning heads with a small wire wheel prior to replating.
As for buffing razors I use both a loose and a sewn 6 inch cotton wheels on my bench grinder with either white rouge or tripoli.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Nice clean up Harry! The small nylon cup brush might have been a bit harsh...the shorter "loft" probably made it too stiff for the job.

You're probably correct. Unfortunately the larger nylon cup couldn't get into the tight spaces under the head.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Along with the Roto-zip the Dremel is one of the worlds most over rated tools.I like the commercial where they use a cut off wheel to cut a nail, like grab a pair of dykes.
The only thing I use the dremel for is cleaning heads with a small wire wheel prior to replating.
As for buffing razors I use both a loose and a sewn 6 inch cotton wheels on my bench grinder with either white rouge or tripoli.

I'm sure you're right about this.

It did save me a lot of polishing time though, especially on the knurled handle. I find that the most tedious and time consuming part of cleaning a razor.

 

[Pumpkin]

You're probably correct. Unfortunately the larger nylon cup couldn't get into the tight spaces under the head.

Thanks for sharing the results. I'm expecting some razors that will probably need a good clean...will stick with a toothbrush for the undersides

 

[Oldguy]

Actually a Dremel polishing can't help a pitted razor. All you're doing is going from a dull pitted razor to a shiny pitted razor. I've been there and done that. Sorry.

Len

 

[DFrancis]

Nicely done Harry. It looks fantastic.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Actually a Dremel polishing can't help a pitted razor. All you're doing is going from a dull pitted razor to a shiny pitted razor. I've been there and done that. Sorry.

Len

Thanks, Len. I knew the pitting was not going to be removed by the Dremel. I really wanted to see what the Dremel "rouge" would do to the plating and if it could "soften" the damage caused by the pitting. It wasn't as abrasive as I thought it might be.

 

[cooncatbob]

If you've already got a dremel use it.
But I wouldn't buy one for use on cleaning old razors.
If you've got a compressor you can buy a small die grinder that you can use dremel tools on for a lot less the the cost of a dremel.

 

[Oldguy]

Thanks, Len. I knew the pitting was not going to be removed by the Dremel. I really wanted to see what the Dremel "rouge" would do to the plating and if it could "soften" the damage caused by the pitting. It wasn't as abrasive as I thought it might be.

Harry, the Dremel can do a beautiful job of polishing nickel plated razors. I know that some of the beautiful razors you see on ebay from the top sellers are polished that way. I have experimented with pitted razors and the Dremel and must admit the razors will look much better. The unfortunate thing is the heat generated from the Dremel doesn't soften the nickel enough to fill in the pits. But your experimentation is worthwhile.

Len

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Harry, the Dremel can do a beautiful job of polishing nickel plated razors. I know that some of the beautiful razors you see on ebay from the top sellers are polished that way. I have experimented with pitted razors and the Dremel and must admit the razors will look much better. The unfortunate thing is the heat generated from the Dremel doesn't soften the nickel enough to fill in the pits. But your experimentation is worthwhile.

Len

Oops! Poor choice of words on my part!!

I meant soften the appearance, not soften the metal itself!

 

[Pumpkin]

I really wanted to see what the Dremel "rouge" would do to the plating and if it could "soften" the damage caused by the pitting. It wasn't as abrasive as I thought it might be.

Harry, I've been cleaning up my two new Slims (that were very gunked up). Soaked in very hot water with anti-bacterial dish soap, toothbrush and a generic "whitening" toothpaste (not quite as abrasive as Arm and Hammer). Finished off with Silvo (made by same people as Brasso) and buffed with an old towel. Didn't bother with the Dremel as the doors aren't pitted and the plating is fully intact.
Seems to have worked pretty well (will post pics when I've got better light).

The Silvo is very slightly abrasive, but much less than Brasso. Usage directions specify Silver, Gold, Aluminium, Chrome and Electroplate. It certainly polished up better than when I used the "rouge" on a Tech.

 

[billc508]

Congrats, looks like it worked. The plating came off because the rpm on a dremel can be very high and if you bear down with it, then you have an electric stripper tool on your hands but if you are careful with a light touch and lower speeds, it can work. The pitting can be removed but you will have to use a sanding disc or a grinding wheel because you will have to actually "machine" or grind/sand the metal down to below where the depth of the pitting is. You have to remove metal in otherwords. I have done that on a razor to be re-plated in order to get a really smooth surface, it takes a little work but can't be helped, you just keep sanding it down with a heavy grit sandpaper until you see the pitting start to go away then you buff it out with a lighter grade of sandpaper and then an abrasive paste, you get the idea. The plating will likely go away and you will end up with a smoothly sanded brass surface but if you are re-plating which is the only way to restore a surface pitted that badly, then it's okay, the plater will treat with a chemical bath and then copper, nickel, plate over your smooth surface and voila, it will look new again. good luck, bc