Cleaning Vintage Safety Razors: DO's and DON'T's

[Parallax]

Picture of my favorite ...

Thanks

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Thanks

I spray every razor I acquire with this stuff ... I just put the razors in an empty plastic Animal Crackers tub (yup, I have a 5 year old), spray the Scubbing Bubbles all over them till they’re covered, allow the bubbles to disolve on their own, then I give them a Dawn dishwashing soap and hot water bath. This, I find, provides all the cleaning and disinfecting I need.

 

[Parallax]

I spray every razor I acquire with this stuff ... I just put the razors in an empty plastic Animal Crackers tub (yup, I have a 5 year old), spray the Scubbing Bubbles all over them till they’re covered, allow the bubbles to disolve on their own, then I give them a Dawn dishwashing soap and hot water bath. This, I find, provides all the cleaning and disinfecting I need.

Will copy that technique as soon as I can get to the store and pick up a can. I have these razors that are all gummed up. Don't know if Scrubbing Bubbles and Dawn alone will be adequate but I'll start there.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Will copy that technique as soon as I can get to the store and pick up a can. I have these razors that are all gummed up. Don't know if Scrubbing Bubbles and Dawn alone will be adequate but I'll start there.

Really gummed up ones often require several Dawn/hot water baths. Keep ‘working’ them under the water ... it really works.

 

[Parallax]

Really gummed up ones often require several Dawn/hot water baths. Keep ‘working’ them under the water ... it really works.

Thanks!

 

[Nomad116]

Alright I'm hoping to bump this thread up as I need assistance in cleaning my razor.

It's a Gillette super 84 long adjustable and it's had a bit of use as it was used, but over time it got grimy and I want it restored to its former glory.

Now I've looked on the wiki and the forums here (although not every nook and cranny), and found different solutions. Some taking literal hours and hours just a few minutes. I plan to get the items listed below as they seem the most consitent in what was mentioned (scrubbing bubbles, Flit or brasso), but I forget who mentioned a black coating to put on the razor as I would be interested. I don't know the full material of the razor so if anyone can tell me I wpuld appreciate it and how to properly clean it. I also want to rid of the yellow like residue on the too of the razor as it bothers me and I think was there when I got it. It's been a great razor however I can't keep looking at it like this. I tried a toothbrush (should I get a brass brush?) to clean but I want a good feel clean, and then tips on maintenance.

I have read that proraso can make the products look like this so I would like to know what ingredients to avoid (I'll likely still use it). I took pics since people want to do a before and after and I feel ashamed showing the razor but I want this done, and I want it done right! I won't start until I'm 100% I have all the tools as well as the time to start cleaning.

 

[romsitsa]

Hello, the Super Adjustable is made of aluminum (handle) brass (everything else) a steel (in the bottom) and bronze (clicker) spring.
The black handle is anodized, afaik not possible to replicate.
For cleaning soak it in undilluted dishwashing liquid a leave it for ~an hour, then grab a toothbrush and brush away. Boil some water, submerge the razor, let the water cool down, brush again, repeat until all grime is removed.
For hard to reach spots use a pipe cleaner.
To polish up the nickel parts, use any metal polish of your preference, don’t polish the handle.
I’d avoid chemicals reacting with aluminum, and brass brushes.
The yellow stain is soap and grease/fat.

Adam

 

[ajkel64]

Hello, the Super Adjustable is made of aluminum (handle) brass (everything else) a steel (in the bottom) and bronze (clicker) spring.
The black handle is anodized, afaik not possible to replicate.
For cleaning soak it in undilluted dishwashing liquid a leave it for ~an hour, then grab a toothbrush and brush away. Boil some water, submerge the razor, let the water cool down, brush again, repeat until all grime is removed.
For hard to reach spots use a pipe cleaner.
To polish up the nickel parts, use any metal polish of your preference, don’t polish the handle.
I’d avoid chemicals reacting with aluminum, and brass brushes.
The yellow stain is soap and grease/fat.

Adam

Follow this and you won’t go wrong. Adam knows his stuff.

 

[Schnitzel52]

How does one disinfect a gold plated razor then if alcohol is not a good idea?

I recently tried Scrubbing Bubbles. It works well.

 

[Nomad116]

Hello, the Super Adjustable is made of aluminum (handle) brass (everything else) a steel (in the bottom) and bronze (clicker) spring.
The black handle is anodized, afaik not possible to replicate.
For cleaning soak it in undilluted dishwashing liquid a leave it for ~an hour, then grab a toothbrush and brush away. Boil some water, submerge the razor, let the water cool down, brush again, repeat until all grime is removed.
For hard to reach spots use a pipe cleaner.
To polish up the nickel parts, use any metal polish of your preference, don’t polish the handle.
I’d avoid chemicals reacting with aluminum, and brass brushes.
The yellow stain is soap and grease/fat.

Adam

Thank you so much! There any kind of coating at all I can put on the handle to give it that black finish?

So I'll stick with a tooth brush instead off a brass brush. I'll just get the soap then and polish. Thank you so much again, and I hope I can do this right and show you the aftermath when finished.

 

[romsitsa]

You could ask Nortshore razors ( is there anyone else using gunkote/cerakote?) or a local business doing anodizing.
"Regular" paint will wear down from the handle after a few uses, tried it.
A proper replate/repaint will require disassembly.

Adam

 

[Njguy1977]

Any kind of heavy duty cleaners like scrubbing bubbles has a chemical similar to or is barbasol. Barbasol will strip the gold finish from your razor in NO TIME. I would advise staying away from these chemicals if you want to preserve your gold finish. Best thing and only thing to do is soak in Dawn Antibacterial soap, hot water, and clean with a soft tooth brush lightly. That should be more then adequate to clean.

Larry

 

[Nomad116]

You could ask Nortshore razors ( is there anyone else using gunkote/cerakote?) or a local business doing anodizing.
"Regular" paint will wear down from the handle after a few uses, tried it.
A proper replate/repaint will require disassembly.

Adam

I see the website for North Shore and they seem reasonable. Maybe while cleaning it I can give it a custom look? Should I just deliver it for then to clean or just clean it myself and send to them to work on the handle?

 

[Nomad116]

Any kind of heavy duty cleaners like scrubbing bubbles has a chemical similar to or is barbasol. Barbasol will strip the gold finish from your razor in NO TIME. I would advise staying away from these chemicals if you want to preserve your gold finish. Best thing and only thing to do is soak in Dawn Antibacterial soap, hot water, and clean with a soft tooth brush lightly. That should be more then adequate to clean.

Larry

My razor no Gold so I should be fine. I'll start with dish soap for now. I just hope Dawn is enough or regular dish soap from the dollar store.

 

[Njguy1977]

My razor no Gold so I should be fine. I'll start with dish soap for now. I just hope Dawn is enough or regular dish soap from the dollar store.

When I use a lot of Proraso and I have the white film, hot water and Dawn with a tooth brush works quite well. I’ve tried other soaps and it doesn’t work as well as Dawn does.

 

[Nomad116]

When I use a lot of Proraso and I have the white film, hot water and Dawn with a tooth brush works quite well. I’ve tried other soaps and it doesn’t work as well as Dawn does.

Alright Dawn it is. So I soak up to the head in Dawn?

 

[Njguy1977]

Alright Dawn it is. So I soak up to the head in Dawn?

I use a tupperware tub that the whole razor will fit in, fill with hotwater and soap, then soak the whole razor for 30 min. Scrub with a tooth brush after 30 min, then do a hot water rinse. Let air dry and finish with a polish or leave alone. Not much else to it.

 

[ks6c]

I use a heavier-duty ultrasonic cleaner at 50C, not the jewelry cleaning kind because I find they don't really do much.

For TTOs, it's important to place them in the bath head down because TTOs generally don't let the gunk run out the handle if they're placed handle-down. It is amazing what will come out with a 10 min bath!

Nickel, rhodium, stainless, cobalt, and later gold (think gen2, and later, Aristocrats) get a short squirt of Dawn.

Gold wash (1930s and earlier Gillettes), silver plate, and brass/bronze (like Karve) will lose the patina with Dawn, so don't! Aluminum and especially anodized aluminum will dissolve in Dawn, so really, really don't! Just run the u/s without Dawn...

If using Scrubbing Bubbles, the chlorine kind will attack the brass - use the non-chlorine kind.

 

[Nomad116]

I use a tupperware tub that the whole razor will fit in, fill with hotwater and soap, then soak the whole razor for 30 min. Scrub with a tooth brush after 30 min, then do a hot water rinse. Let air dry and finish with a polish or leave alone. Not much else to it.

I'll get to it, thank you! I'm guessing I should avoid proraso since it'll make it look get all white?

 

[Nomad116]

I use a heavier-duty ultrasonic cleaner at 50C, not the jewelry cleaning kind because I find they don't really do much.

For TTOs, it's important to place them in the bath head down because TTOs generally don't let the gunk run out the handle if they're placed handle-down. It is amazing what will come out with a 10 min bath!

Nickel, rhodium, stainless, cobalt, and later gold (think gen2, and later, Aristocrats) get a short squirt of Dawn.

Gold wash (1930s and earlier Gillettes), silver plate, and brass/bronze (like Karve) will lose the patina with Dawn, so don't! Aluminum and especially anodized aluminum will dissolve in Dawn, so really, really don't! Just run the u/s without Dawn...

If using Scrubbing Bubbles, the chlorine kind will attack the brass - use the non-chlorine kind.

Wait now you're saying something different right? So I shouldn't soak it in Dawn? It'll only be the head of the soap if anything for about 30 minutes but you're saying 10?

I'm sorry, I just want a concise answer so I can clean it right.