DE Razor Polishing/Cleaning/Maintenance etc - Tips & Tricks - Products

[Furex]

Amazing post @Esox! If I may add a little something:

To clean that cap I used Bar Keepers Friend. It is mildly abrasive but you dont use it to scrub with. The powdered BKF when mixed with water creates Oxalic acid. That acid is what does the cleaning. Below, after 5 seconds of rubbing the cap with my wet thumb and a bit of BKF.

That looks like the kind of light staining you get on cutlery or cookware, too. Scrub all day and it'll still be there.

OTOH, some water and vinegar and off it goes.

I would say the less one can get away with, the best; dip briefly in little vinegar and some water, and increase dipping time if it's still there. It usually goes right away IME.

I'd personally favor vinegar since it's cheap and easy to source, and probably everybody has some in their kitchen, anyway.

 

[Sicilian]

When I was in the Navy we used Never Dull on brass but I never used it on anything else. Maybe chrome belt buckles? Such a long time ago.

Good for polishing the wheels on your car too.

 

[BigJ]

Soap, warm water and a soft toothbrush will do the job nicely after a brief soak in warm soapy water.

Caution: Gold is fragile, so be gentle and don't get carried away, or you will rue the day.

Silver also is fine with warm soapy water, but over time it does tarnish. It benefits from occasionally polishing (several times a year?) with silver polish, available at a hardware store.

I change a blade once per week, and blade change time is an ideal time for a light cleaning onceover. It's also easier at that time, rather than waiting for the razor to get truly dirty.

+1! Great description! This is pretty much what I do. Gentle is the key IMO!

 

[Esox]

looks like it did the trick mate

It looks better as bare Brass than it did tarnished gold and the scratches are gone. Good enough for me to shave with.

 

[Esox]

That looks like the kind of light staining you get on cutlery or cookware, too. Scrub all day and it'll still be there.

OTOH, some water and vinegar and off it goes.

I would say the less one can get away with, the best; dip briefly in little vinegar and some water, and increase dipping time if it's still there. It usually goes right away IME.

I'd personally favor vinegar since it's cheap and easy to source, and probably everybody has some in their kitchen, anyway.

I have a D2 Gillette SS that had some odd brown stains on it in places. I think it got tossed into a box and forgotten and something spilled and stained the Nickel but I have no idea what it might have been.

Before. Notice the brown stains, sort of hard to miss haha. Bear in mind these pictures are after two long soaks in hot water and Dawn with a good scrubbing between soaks.

I didnt try vinegar but it very well might have worked now you mention it. Below, after a quick scrub with BKF and a toothbrush.

Pages two and three of the thread below is where it got interesting. I still dont know what might stain Nickel but BKF worked.

Weird Tarnish - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/weird-tarnish.521944/

 

[skibik]

I have used an ultra sonic cleaner(Lyman, used for cleaning brass before reloading, even jewelry and watches) to no affect on a gold Gillette New OC(already had plating missing but never made the area larger) and on my re-plated in rose gold Slim, a SS, a Schick Krona, A Fatboy(which I am going to do again shortly) all to no affect on the razor. I used a case cleaning solution diluted with hot tap water to the amount needed for jewelry and have recently used just Dawn and hot tap water. I never use boiling water. My ultra sonic cleaner says to make sure parts don't touch tank which means I need to leave the basket in it when running and the razors just sit in the basket. Mine even came with a watch jig to clean watch bands, it holds the watch dial out of the cleaner so the band sits in the solution. You would not believe how much crud gets into a watch band but then I hadn't cleaned it in a few years. On razors I have yet to notice any plate loss or loss to paint on the numbers. This method of using the cleaner was mainly for used razors I picked up on the bay.

To maintain razor cleanliness I use regular Scrubbing Bubbles, spritz on the foam let it sit for a minute or so and grab an old toothbrush(soft bristle) and scrub around to get the soap scum off. Again I have not noticed any ill affect on any of my razors.

From an earlier experience, it was mentioned above, do not use a Dremel tool with a buffing wheel and polish. It does not work, at least it didn't work for me. I thought I would try doing a little light buffing on the handle to clean it up and it turned the plating dark in spots. I actually never thought of using toothpaste(I know it does work nicely as a silver polish though).

 

[saj]

can anyone suggest anything to get rid of stubborn bits or dirt, grime etc?

ive cleaned most of it up just two bits which are bugging me due to my ocd lol

 

[saj]

Just curious anyone used bar keepers friend on their razors?

 

[Esox]

can anyone suggest anything to get rid of stubborn bits or dirt, grime etc?

ive cleaned most of it up just two bits which are bugging me due to my ocd lol

Soaking in hot water and dish soap will clean most anything. It comes down to time because it works slowly and gently.

Just curious anyone used bar keepers friend on their razors?

BKF works well but you need to be careful with it. It is mildly abrasive but the abrasive in it isnt what does the cleaning. When you add water to the powdered BKF is creates Oxalic acid. Its the acid that does the cleaning. It works great on Stainless steel and doesnt seem to touch Nickel.

A post war Tech below. It was stained with something I couldnt get off without using a polishing compound. I couldnt fully clean it without risking taking the frosted finish off with it. The first picture is after polishing with AutoSol and a scrub with dish soap and a toothbrush. It should be clean, right?

This, after a light sprinkle with BKF and rubbing with my thumb for a few seconds then rinsing in running water.

Do not use BKF on gold.

My Gillette Regent Tech after two thorough soakings and scrubbing with dish soap and a toothbrush.

After, literally, a 5 second scrub with BKF and a toothbrush.

The BKF dissolved the gold wash on that razor so quickly there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was in such rough shape that I wasnt worried about it but the point is clear. If you use BKF on gold, it will damage it.

That razor ended up in pretty nice shape. Its not perfect but either am I.

I learned a lot cleaning and working on that razor. You can read about the entire process here.

Opinions Wanted on Restoration - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/opinions-wanted-on-restoration.525927/

 

[saj]

finally got around to using the peek polish on my gillette slim,
looks better i'd say more shiny and got rid of a few marks here and there,
i only used a microfibre cloth and thats all

i was wondering is there anything i can use to apply the peek polish to improve my results?

like i say got a nice shiny and sheen look to it but i think i could improve on what i did tbf

 

[steveclarkus]

hello people, so what do you use to polish, clean and maintain your de razor?

i've only ever had cheapo de razors so never been too fussed about polishing so long as cleanliness was taken care off

anyways getting more into the hobby ive been getting vintage razors, so ive got to a point wher ei'd like to know more about this aspect of wet shaving

someone on another forum mentioned this stuff peek polish to polish up de razors etc,
saw it on amazon and ordered it, got it delivered today but still obviously havent used it yet but the seemed to get good reviews on amazon

so im thinking something along the lines of cleaning with washing powder/soap, toothbrush and water,
the leaving it to soak in baking soda and water, once thats done, clean it again either with toothbrush or microfibre cloth,
then soak in mix of apple cider vinegar diluted with water (if you know acv you know its some strong potent stuff lol!)
and then from there again use toothbrush or microfibre cloth then use the polish to finish up

am i doing it wrong? or should i add something else to that or is it near enough covered? what do you think people? thanks

View attachment 1196514

I got my first razor, a slim adjustable,
in 1965 and it never occurred to me to clean it and I used it for many years and it worked fine. Odd eh!

 

[Whilliam]

I give 'em an ultrasonic bath once in a while; and I polish up my brass Hone Type 15 with Brasso.

 

[HDSledge]

My general rules, learned the hard way:

1. Polishing with toothpaste or polish of any kind: Don't use it on vintage gold wash (thin gold plate) Gillette's or other makes. The plating will definitely be damaged. Toothpaste will remove thin gold plate and you won't notice until the damage is done. Can be used on silver plate but GENTLY. Brass razors can handle anything except abrasive polishes which will dull the finish. Brasso is good for brass. Go figure. General rule on polishes: Don't use them unless you can deal with possible damage. If the label says non-abrasive, don't believe it.

2. Cleaning: No harsh chemical cleaners under any circumstances. Only use mild dish soap such as Dawn which is good for little oil covered wildlife like baby ducks and for razors too.

3. Vintage razors hardly ever arrive clean unless valuable and even then the sellers efforts to clean them often results in damage. Mine get a day long soak in Dawn solution, one good cleaning using Dawn with a soft toothbrush, cotton rag, then no regular cleaning after that. If you rinse well and dry thoroughly razors don't need to be cleaned separately since shaving soap will carry away any hair or dirt when you rinse.

 

[saj]

I give 'em an ultrasonic bath once in a while; and I polish up my brass Hone Type 15 with Brasso.

what do you put in the ultrasonic cleaner? just water or water with like washing up liquid?