I managed to remove the bulk of the old tarnish, but am having difficulty in some crevices. Any suggestions?
Cleaning Gold Plated Razors...
- Thread starter unstereotyped
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Wooden tooth pick. Larger format brush.
There is no real tarnish on a gold plated razor. Gold does not oxidize. What you have removed is likely to be soap scum and other materials on the surface of the plating. You may also have removed all or some of the protective lacquer which was applied to gold plated razors to protect the, very thin, gold plating from wearing off.
All you really should do to a gold plated razor, if the plating is still reasonably intact, is to clean it to remove the soap scum etc. one of the tried an proven methods of doing this is with Scrubbing Bubbles, a product sold for the purpose of removing soap scum from bathroom surfaces such as tubs and basins. It works in just a few minutes and then simply rinse it off and dry the razor. You may need to use a old soft toothbrush with the Scrubbing Bubbles to help get into some of the deep crevices, especially on the handle.
Just remember, any metal polish can and will remove the lacquer finish and then the gold plating will wear off very easily.
Regards,
Tom
All you really should do to a gold plated razor, if the plating is still reasonably intact, is to clean it to remove the soap scum etc. one of the tried an proven methods of doing this is with Scrubbing Bubbles, a product sold for the purpose of removing soap scum from bathroom surfaces such as tubs and basins. It works in just a few minutes and then simply rinse it off and dry the razor. You may need to use a old soft toothbrush with the Scrubbing Bubbles to help get into some of the deep crevices, especially on the handle.
Just remember, any metal polish can and will remove the lacquer finish and then the gold plating will wear off very easily.
Regards,
Tom
is soaking gold plated razors in barbicide a bad idea?
I soak all my newly aquired razors in Barbacide after I clean them. It has never hurt anything on any razor I've used it on, including gold plated ones.
Regards,
Tom
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that's good to know. I don't want to potentially ruin my gold razors so i've avoided using abrasives on them. i'm assuming a good soak in steaming hot water, a light scrubbing with a toothbrush/soapy water and a soak in barbicide should be fine then?
I don't recomend water that is close to boiling. It may affect the lacquer.
Hot water yes, boiling no. Toothbrush/soapy water/Barbicide yes.
From my personal experience I say avoid soaking gold razors in ANYTHING for extended (1 hour +) periods of time. You will remove the laquer and the gold plate. I know this because the gold razors I had are now copper.
I've been heating the kettle and waiting til before the water reaches boiling point before soaking my razors for 10 minutes or so. I guess I won't do that anymore if it means it'll ruin them
Thanks for this thread, perfect timing. Had a 40's Aristocrat show up today. To my surprise, it looks better in person than it did in the eBay pics. I'll be cleaning it up tomorrow or Saturday. Really want to clean it as best I can without hurting the plating and whatever lacquer is left.
A note, while scrubbing bubbles does in deed contain the same anti-pathogen as Barbicide, it also has other chemicals and should not be used to soak (no one suggested it here, but I recall a recent thread where someone accidentally stripped their nickel plated razors
). And from what I've read, anything more than 10 minutes in Barbicide is really overkill (and redundant if you're using Scrubbing Bubbles IMHO, though I understand doing it anyway).
I'll be using hot tap water for a 5-10 minute soak to loosen (unless you folks think it'll be too hard on the lacquer), then the scrubbing bubbles and toothbrush to hopefully finish it.
I've got a bit more of a challenge coming in a 30's Aristocrat due in any time, and a Big Fellow that was in today's lot. Hopefully, I can clean them up without doing damage!
A note, while scrubbing bubbles does in deed contain the same anti-pathogen as Barbicide, it also has other chemicals and should not be used to soak (no one suggested it here, but I recall a recent thread where someone accidentally stripped their nickel plated razors
). And from what I've read, anything more than 10 minutes in Barbicide is really overkill (and redundant if you're using Scrubbing Bubbles IMHO, though I understand doing it anyway).I'll be using hot tap water for a 5-10 minute soak to loosen (unless you folks think it'll be too hard on the lacquer), then the scrubbing bubbles and toothbrush to hopefully finish it.
I've got a bit more of a challenge coming in a 30's Aristocrat due in any time, and a Big Fellow that was in today's lot. Hopefully, I can clean them up without doing damage!
i've got a Gold fat handled Tech on the way that's supposed to be in mint condition. i'd like to keep it that way without ruining it, so it's good for me to know the do's and don'ts of cleaning razors
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- #12
Out of curiosity, is there a way/suggestion to re-lacquer the razor if the original has been removed
Google "Stay Brite Lacquer" formulated for use on metal.
Thanks for the tip on the Staybrite!
BTW, here is a tip NOT to use on Gold plated razors. I began on my Aristocrat yesterday (the '40's model, the 30's model isn't here yet). A couple of difficult areas prompted me to grab some Never Dull. But after barely starting, it occurred to me to check the label on the can. Says NOT to use on lacquered surfaces. Dodged a bullet there as it doesn't look like I did any real damage.
The old girl is not in horrible shape. I've done what I can with the scrubbing bubbles, simple green and a tooth brush. I may now leave it as is, or I may try with some other methods once I'm certain of what's safe. I def. don't want to make it worse!
Maybe we can keep this thread going a while longer and get more advice. Seems to be a demand here, and seems to be less definitive information on what works and what does not than for non-gold plated razors.
BTW, here is a tip NOT to use on Gold plated razors. I began on my Aristocrat yesterday (the '40's model, the 30's model isn't here yet). A couple of difficult areas prompted me to grab some Never Dull. But after barely starting, it occurred to me to check the label on the can. Says NOT to use on lacquered surfaces. Dodged a bullet there as it doesn't look like I did any real damage.
The old girl is not in horrible shape. I've done what I can with the scrubbing bubbles, simple green and a tooth brush. I may now leave it as is, or I may try with some other methods once I'm certain of what's safe. I def. don't want to make it worse!
Maybe we can keep this thread going a while longer and get more advice. Seems to be a demand here, and seems to be less definitive information on what works and what does not than for non-gold plated razors.
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Scrubbing Bubbles with clean white towel and sometimes a toothbrush, Barbacide and then Scrubbing Bubbles is my routine for cleaning a razor. Works really well.
Thanks for the heads up on the never dull. It tends to be the first thing that I reach for when starting to clean anything metal. I'll be getting some bubbles tomorrow.
Found a nice gold plated tech set with case and blade box today for $20.
I was going to start cleaning on them tomorrow, so this thread has just saved me a lot of pain and heartache!!!
John
Found a nice gold plated tech set with case and blade box today for $20.
I was going to start cleaning on them tomorrow, so this thread has just saved me a lot of pain and heartache!!!
John
I've noticed with my gold, ball ended techs, Scrubbing Bubbles pulls some of the gold plate off.
Jeweler's polishing compound works well with a felt pad or Q tip, toothbrushes can be problematic because they can leave small scratches. Gold is a funny thing to clean and unless it is a really old razor, then you are dealing with the lacquer and elements that will clean a gold finish will also sometimes remove the lacquer, so felt tip type pads are better, bc
Are you sure that what you see flaking off is gold and not some of the lacquer which was loose anyway? There is nothing in the Scrubbing Bubbles that should attack gold. The only things that will attack gold are aqua-regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid) and mechanical wear, such as when using an abrasive polish. The lacquer coating on some of these old razors is getting a little tenuous with age. Also the lacquer does tend to discolor which leaves it a sort of orange color.
Regards,
Tom
Thanks for all the info, guys.
Just one question: bathing a gold plated razor in vinegar for a few minutes before adding some hot water... is it bad? Can it damage the plating?
Just one question: bathing a gold plated razor in vinegar for a few minutes before adding some hot water... is it bad? Can it damage the plating?
