Today at a shop in TN I picked up what appears to be a Gillette Sheraton. The plating appears to be intact. My understanding is that the plating was covered by a lacquer. How would I go about cleaning this without doing any damage?
Cleaning up a Sheraton
- Thread starter 2whluge
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #2
Missed the pic...
Sheraton razors' plating are almost always compromised. You may have really lucked out, waiting for the pic!
Be super conservative as these may have had the thinnest gold wash ever. Soak and don't scrub with anything ... toothpaste, cleaners, anything abrasive ... you get the idea.
Congrats!
Be super conservative as these may have had the thinnest gold wash ever. Soak and don't scrub with anything ... toothpaste, cleaners, anything abrasive ... you get the idea.
Congrats!
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Hot water and Dawn soap for a quick bath. Congrats on landing one of the smoothest TTO’s ever made.
- Thread starter
- #5
Could be the plating is already gone, I’m seeing some green brass on the edges
Gillette used a nitrocellulose lacquer that is imperviou to any water-basedcleaners, so Scrubbing bubbles wouldn't hurt.
My Sheraton looked like ¢rap and was cheap, so I sent it off to Chris at Backroads Gold. He did a flawless job with replating and it is a real showpiece that shaves really well.
Sorry, but I'm away from my photo base so I can't post anything, but Backroadsgold.com may show it in their Gallery.
My Sheraton looked like ¢rap and was cheap, so I sent it off to Chris at Backroads Gold. He did a flawless job with replating and it is a real showpiece that shaves really well.
Sorry, but I'm away from my photo base so I can't post anything, but Backroadsgold.com may show it in their Gallery.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Appears to be bereft of any gold plating - not uncommon with the Sheraton. It should still provide a great shave, and the two-toned brass is simply bad-***.
It looks okay to me. When you give it a clean and get a chance to use it let us know what you think.
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Beautiful - I would certainly not replate that, right now it has fantastic character and is not far enough gone to need it. If replated, for me, something intangible would be lost; whatever you decide it is a great find 
That looks like bare brass on the head, neck and TTO knob. If the plating and lacquer were intact, the whole razor would be the same orangey color as the handle. I'll take a picture of mine (or try to find one) when I get back home so you can see what a NOS sheraton looks like.
Edit: unfortunately I haven't taken any good pictures since I stopped using photobucket, but this will give you an idea:
Last edited:
Here's one of mine with most of the original plating --- wrong case. of course.
Nice razor, although I agree there is probably a bit of plating loss.
- Thread starter
- #14
We’re on the road, but when it get home I will try the cleaning suggestions and see how it shaves. I haven’t had good luck with open combs for some reason. Thanks for all the advice!
- Thread starter
- #15
PS...I got the case along with it, but it’s a mess. Any suggestions for improving this so it shows better in my case?
Soft dry toothbrush for the interior velvet. Not much you can do for the exterior.
R
romsitsa
Depending on how far the case is gone,you can strip the interior and reline in with the proper velvet, or clean the original fabric with dry toothbrush.
For the outside, if the material is worn, but still present, you can touch it up with acrylic paint.
For the outside, if the material is worn, but still present, you can touch it up with acrylic paint.
The case is faux shagreen on the bottom, and faux marble on top, both covered in fabric. A person that specializes in vintage book restoration could probably re-cover your case. The interior is black velvet.
Finally got around to taking a current picture. Apologies, my camera sucks.
Finally got around to taking a current picture. Apologies, my camera sucks.
R
romsitsa
Problem is, these lovely leather like pressed papers are not available anymore. I have a few samples from old brochures/books, but they are rare as hens teeth and cost a pretty penny.
As much as I hate to say it, vintage books are probably the best source of "new" replacement material.
