Color change after cleaning -- any ideas?

[FreddieJaye]

See first pic: after soaking in soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush, the crud on the cap refused to budge. I used a bit of Barkeeper's Friend (liquid, for less abrasion) and the cap emerged with a definite pink cast overall (second pic).

Any ideas about what happened? I've seen plate loss before, and it's usually random and patchy, with yellowish brass showing in its place. Could I have actually stripped off all the gold just-like-that? I scrubbed for about 30 seconds only. And I've read that some brasses contain an abundance of copper and have a tendency to appear pink.

Further, I've read that a bit of Brasso might restore the yellowish cast (if I am, indeed, looking at bare brass). But now I kinda like the two-tone effect.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Copper vs brass

 

[Ridgeback]

The acid in the BKF probably changed the color...Use some Flitz

 

[Flintstone65]

So a couple of thoughts:

1. I've never used it, but I've been told that the Bar Keeper's friend will take off plating a razor faster than you can blink.
   
2. And @ouchyfoot beat to me the real punch....the underlying metal is copper. My understanding is that brass is an alloy made from copper and zinc. "Rose Brass" is really just more copper than zinc (zinc gives you the yellow hue)

As to the plating -- not sure if it was a gold wash or just some "brass" (zinc + copper) that was laid over the underlying copper. Beats me, but I've run into the same situation (and prefer the copper/rose coloring more than straight-up yellow brass). You are not going to get your brass color back, so I hope you truly like the coloring.

I'm sure a metallurgist or just some truly knowledgeable person will show up soon....listen to them, not me.

 

[Ridgeback]

And this with the flitz

 

[romsitsa]

Hello, the yellow spots near the short sides were gold. The plating on these was extremely thin, so there is no way to keep the gold and polish the copper.

 

[Ridgeback]

Copper plating is usually under the gold plating.

 

[Cal]

Gillette NEW SC down to the brass:

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

I love BKP. Handle and cap are copper, no biggie. Just enjoy using it, it looks so fresh, so clean, and so ready to go back to work

 

[Cal]

Handle and cap are copper, no biggie.

Nope, red brass. Check this OLD POST from brass aficionado TobyC.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Nope, red brass. Check this OLD POST from brass aficionado TobyC.

red brass.....copper.....still lots of RED in there, does it really matter what we call it?

 

[Cal]

red brass.....copper.....still lots of RED in there, does it really matter what we call it?

I was simply pointing out the strength/wear difference between red brass and copper as per the LINK to Toby's post. My apologies for not making that clear. I'm certainly no metallurgist, and unfortunately Toby is no longer a B&B member.

 

[Matux]

I had a "changing color" episode while cleaning one, it was a reaction to one of the cleaning chemicals, easily solved with steel wool.

It changed from bronze - yellow to copper - red, after using the steel wool it turned to a palid yellow hue.

 

[SCh5]

The zinc from the brass was removed and just left the copper part .
It's called dezincification.
Oxalic acid causes rapidly dezincification to brass.
Barkeepers Friend does contain
oxalic acid.
Good news is that in your case most probably only the surface is affected.

 

[Billski]

The zinc from the brass was removed and just left the copper part .
It's called dezincification.
Oxalic acid causes rapidly dezincification to brass.
Barkeepers Friend does contain
oxalic acid.
Good news is that in your case most probably only the surface is affected.

I go along with this man. We learned about this in a chemistry class.

 

[THall]

Taken down to brass. Not a huge deal. Two-tone does have it’s appeal. You have the options of polishing it periodically, putting a lacquer or Protectaclear over it to keep it protected or have it replated. I like the look of yours but some may want to pursue a new finish. YMMV.

Discoloration from polishes, not plate loss can remove some zinc and cause some color change but more often than not, the zinc count in vintage brass razors vary from part to part. This can be seen with completely stripped down vintage razors all the time. More zinc, more yellow hues, higher count of copper, more reddish hues.

Still a beauty, I’d just keep polishing it myself.

 

[blantyre]

It looks great. Based on Bosc’s picture, I’d go the full polished route it looks even better. Gillette’s gold plate never seemed to last long - that top cap was shot anyway so the b did the best thing Imo.

 

[FreddieJaye]

Thanks to all for the input -- much more than I expected in such a short time!

I've since noticed that the handle is showing some pinkish undertones as well. Now I might go all-in with BKF and "copperize" the whole thing. Certainly a distinctive look!

 

[BigJ]

Copper vs brass

+1! This ^

 

[BigJ]

Gillette NEW SC down to the brass:
View attachment 1183469

View attachment 1183470 View attachment 1183471

LOVELY!!