I have some old razors I want to clean up. Can anyone give me any tips on tools to use and where I could get some good buffing and Polish compounds?
Newbie restoration tips
- Thread starter therock40359
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- #2
Thanks
Avoid power tools, just use sandpaper and elbow grease.
For polishing compounds go to a place that sells car care stuff. The metal polish I use is German, and it is called Autosol.
For polishing compounds go to a place that sells car care stuff. The metal polish I use is German, and it is called Autosol.
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- #4
I don't need a benchtop buffer?
Not to start out. You have to be careful not to heat up the blade. It will lose temper. You can tell if you did this by the metal turning blue or brown- once that happens it won't hold an edge.
Wet sandpaper first then rubbing compound. Once you get pretty good results you can maybe try buffing wheels on a drill with compounds (red, white). Best to take it slow
Go slowly. You can always do more, but if you remove too much material or overheat a blade using power tools, you can't turn back the clock. Patience is a virtue. Search the forum and you'll find threads with tips, tricks, and techniques.
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- #7
What's a good brand of sand paper and compound?
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- #8
I was actually gonna start out by buffing and polishing some old wrenches
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I like the red sandpaper that Home Depot sells. Dont remember the brand. The adhesive gum is very persistent and holds the grit really well. The paper is slow to break down. It has good cutting action. The 80 grit cuts faster than most other 60 grit paper. Lasts way longer too.
I agree with others... polish by hand your first razor or two. So it takes a month or so... who cares? Labor of love, right? Later, consider getting a Dremel so you can buff with felt or cloth wheels, and diamond paste. You will want to work on a totally expendable razor the first time you use power tools. Ask me why LOL! If you insist on jumping in with both feet, at least (1) wear proper personal protective equipment. Both goggles and a face shield is NOT overkill! And (2) remember which way the tool is rotating, so you don't catch an edge and fling your work piece across the room or right at you, or shatter the blade. Keep each attack with the tool down to no more than 20 seconds or so. You can seriously pull the temper while trying to make it purty. Once a razor is ground to final thinness, you CANNOT give it another heat treat and quench, so certainly you can't retemper, either. Once it is ground, that's it. Ruin the temper, ruin the razor. You won't realize you are getting close until you have ruined the razor. No warnings, no second chances.
I agree with others... polish by hand your first razor or two. So it takes a month or so... who cares? Labor of love, right? Later, consider getting a Dremel so you can buff with felt or cloth wheels, and diamond paste. You will want to work on a totally expendable razor the first time you use power tools. Ask me why LOL! If you insist on jumping in with both feet, at least (1) wear proper personal protective equipment. Both goggles and a face shield is NOT overkill! And (2) remember which way the tool is rotating, so you don't catch an edge and fling your work piece across the room or right at you, or shatter the blade. Keep each attack with the tool down to no more than 20 seconds or so. You can seriously pull the temper while trying to make it purty. Once a razor is ground to final thinness, you CANNOT give it another heat treat and quench, so certainly you can't retemper, either. Once it is ground, that's it. Ruin the temper, ruin the razor. You won't realize you are getting close until you have ruined the razor. No warnings, no second chances.
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- #10
60 and 80 grit is pretty rough that's like gravel glued to paper
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Hah practically, yeah. Nevertheless sometimes that is what I start with. Always, when making a real razor out of a Gold Dollar. Often, with vintage razors that need a lot of steel to go away. More typically I would start a restore of a badly pitted razor or one that is misshapen from generations of bad honing at about 120-150 grit but I will break out the big guns if necessary. If the situation calls for 600 or 1k, then that's what I start with. But my point was that the red paper from Home Depot cuts as fast as a coarser grade of most other brands, not necessarily that a restoration requires 60 or 80 grit.
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- #12
What rubbing compound?
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Me, I only use diamond paste, a progression from 3u to .1u usually. Other guys just use green and red paste, and just for cleanup some guys use Mother's, and there are many others. I don't know if auto body rubbing compounds are aggressive enough on steel. Maybe they are, and maybe someone uses them, but diamond paste will definitely gitter done.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Why?
Just because.
When a Dremel grabs the edge of a razor, it happens amazingly fast with zero warning. SURPRISE! Your razor is shattered, or is bouncing off a wall or off your face shield. Unless you aren't wearing one. Overheating can happen nearly as suddenly. When you are working on the thin parts of the blade, you can only safely sand or buff with power tools for a couple of seconds at a time. But the difference between not overheating the edge and overheating the edge is a very small fraction of a second. I highly recommend that you take a junk razor and intentioonally overheat it several times in several places just to get an idea of how quick this actully happens. When you see the steel turn blue, it is waaaaaay beyond the point where the temper is pulled. If you have a good eye for color you will be able to observe shades of yellow before the blues and browns.
Tempering (metallurgy) - Wikipedia
for a good explanation of tempering
Steel Temper Color and Hardness Chart
for a good tempering color chart
Razors are only tempered to faint yellow, usually at around 350f. It is very hard to see. No, you can't see it on your razor now because those oxides have been polished off or decomposed chemically.
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- #16
3u to .1u? Is that micron? I'm trying to find it on amazon
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Yup. We usually use "u" here instead of the greek mu character because it is right there on the keyboard.
The finer grits, especially the .1u, are good for pasted balsa stropping. If done correctly, it can totally replace maintenance/refresh honing. I never have to re-hone a razor. And the pastes are also useful in many gunsmithing applications. For instance, refinishing vintage firearms, or completing a kit gun such as the excellent black powder revolver kits from Pietta or Uberti. No need to go beyond about .5u for a finish on most blued firearms, though. Brass, Stainless or Nickel is another matter.
The finer grits, especially the .1u, are good for pasted balsa stropping. If done correctly, it can totally replace maintenance/refresh honing. I never have to re-hone a razor. And the pastes are also useful in many gunsmithing applications. For instance, refinishing vintage firearms, or completing a kit gun such as the excellent black powder revolver kits from Pietta or Uberti. No need to go beyond about .5u for a finish on most blued firearms, though. Brass, Stainless or Nickel is another matter.
Read this twice. A lot of us have killed good razors with both a Dremel and a grinder/buffer at least once. I have a shorty that I love, but it shouldn't have ever been a shorty except for that damn Dremel.
Higher grit wet/dry sandpaper can be found at auto parts stores if you can't find it at the home improvement stores. It can be a pain to sand by hand, but it is worth it in the end.
I use a dremel for polishing, but with a cork lined block of wood. The wood is a backer to keep you and the razor safe. Lay the bevel against the cork when you polish. Works really good.
I used buffing compounds. The black emory followed by the diamond white. I feel that I have not achieved results with rue to make it worth the effort.
I used buffing compounds. The black emory followed by the diamond white. I feel that I have not achieved results with rue to make it worth the effort.
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