Putting the new into a NEW

[Tester28]

I got this Gillette NEW LC couple of months ago, and while it came in a shipper and was presented as unused, the looks of it were a bit grungy. I did a perfunctory clean and decided to live with it.

This is how it looked after I gave it a cursory clean...hot water soak, scrubbing bubbles and brushing.

Gillette NEW

Fast forward to a week or so ago when I got my charcoal goods level 2 in bright brass.
Since then I've been researching ways on how to preserve the finish on it. Read about applying acrylic lacquer, renaissance wax etc. But before I did anything to it I wanted to experiment on a guinea pig....the Gillette NEW would be perfect, in case anything went wrong.

So far everything has gone right.

Here are the steps I took to get the NEW to pop.

1. Mixed 4 cups of water with one tablespoon of baking soda and brought to a rolling boil.
Dropped the disassembled NEW in it and boiled for 15 minutes. End result: nothing.

2. Put the razor parts in a plastic container and covered it with acetone (small bottle of nail polish remover). Left it overnight. Next day, spotted loads of detritus floating in the liquid. The flakes of whatever it was looked pretty clear. Emptied the container, rinsed the razor thoroughly. This left a pretty large medium brown stain on the head

3. Hit the razor with scrubbing bubbs and brushed it down.

4. Soaked in hot water till the solution cooled.

5. Used Brasso and cotton pads to polish gently. Lots of elbow grease, slow patient, gentle applications. A lot of black stuff coated the cotton pads....wasn't sure where that came from. Went through at least 25-30 cotton pads.
Next I used microfibre cloth to buff the surfaces. This revealed a whole new razor that I never expected to see.

6. Coated the parts with thin layers of renaissance wax...waited 10 minutes and then buffed vigorously with microfibre.

Very happy with the results: the razor is much more shiny than the pictures represent, I think its because my camera is set on taking low res pics (640X480)
Every bit of it is now gleaming.

 

[Watson]

Wow, you did an incredible job with that. Thanks for sharing your process.

 

[dmshaver]

Wow, before & after pics really show the amazing job you've done. Great job! And I agree with @Watson, thank you for sharing the steps you took to achieve this great result!

 

[DCP]

Phenomenal job. I'm going to try this.

Sent from my Nokia 7.1 using Tapatalk

 

[tonich]

Now send it for replating!
The razor was never designed to appear "naked". RTFM!

 

[Tester28]

Thanks....I used a toothpick with tissue wrapped around it to go between the teeth....and it seems some paper bits have rubbed off in there. In a day or two I might give it a soapy hot water soak and brush between the teeth to get any remnants out.

I also considered using a liver of sulphur solution to force an antique patina on the razor, but it looks so good Im not sure I want to alter it so drastically. Maybe if I get bored with it somewhere down the line.

I have some clear, glossy, acrylic lacquer spray and safety equipment....now just wondering if I should give that a go to seal in the finish....but Im not sure if I will need to get the renaissance wax coating off, and if so, how to go about it.

 

[Scarry Knight]

I believe the black residue is some of the finish (it’s oxidation and some of the plating itself) that is being polished off. That happens.


A solution with Ammonia will strip wax if you choose to do that.

 

[EL SOFA]

A+++++
The black residue was just a reaction from the metal and the polish. It rubs right off and leaves a nice shine as evident in your photos. Nicely done!!!
I've done the same except didn't apply any wax or polyurethane coating, etc. It's bare brass baby, and just requites a re-shine every once in a while.
If you have luck sealing up the bare brass though, let us know because I've been curious about that as well.

 

[Tester28]

Brasso contains ammonia so maybe a re-polish will strip the wax.

Im in two minds about this acrylic lacquer spray method altho it seems easy.

Just need to get an empty cardboard box to create a housing within which to spray.

The only thing Im concerned about is over spraying and gunking up the finish with streaks and messing up the threads of the handle.

 

[EL SOFA]

I don't think the treads would be ruined. They are strong. But other experts can weight in. Here's what mine looks like after sanding it down and then polishing and buffing. Not as shiny as yours but maybe a bit more elbow grease would be the ticket.

 

[ajkel64]

It polished up nicely. Good job.

 

[RobDoffrey]

You can clean the wax with isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) and then apply acrylic lacquer spray in layers. Minimum 3, maybe 4 or 5 short sprays with time in between to dry up (4-5 minutes). You need to rotate it when spraying to cover the entire surface. Don't apply just 1 or 2 heavy coats.

The results are awesome. If you do something wrong or simply don't like it the process is reversible.

 

[airmech]

WOW, great job! I am going to have to try that on my SC. Thanks for letting us in our your project!!!

Tom

 

[preidy]

I got this Gillette NEW LC couple of months ago, and while it came in a shipper and was presented as unused, the looks of it were a bit grungy. I did a perfunctory clean and decided to live with it.

This is how it looked after I gave it a cursory clean...hot water soak, scrubbing bubbles and brushing.

Gillette NEW

Fast forward to a week or so ago when I got my charcoal goods level 2 in bright brass.
Since then I've been researching ways on how to preserve the finish on it. Read about applying acrylic lacquer, renaissance wax etc. But before I did anything to it I wanted to experiment on a guinea pig....the Gillette NEW would be perfect, in case anything went wrong.

So far everything has gone right.

Here are the steps I took to get the NEW to pop.

1. Mixed 4 cups of water with one tablespoon of baking soda and brought to a rolling boil.
Dropped the disassembled NEW in it and boiled for 15 minutes. End result: nothing.

2. Put the razor parts in a plastic container and covered it with acetone (small bottle of nail polish remover). Left it overnight. Next day, spotted loads of detritus floating in the liquid. The flakes of whatever it was looked pretty clear. Emptied the container, rinsed the razor thoroughly. This left a pretty large medium brown stain on the head

3. Hit the razor with scrubbing bubbs and brushed it down.

4. Soaked in hot water till the solution cooled.

5. Used Brasso and cotton pads to polish gently. Lots of elbow grease, slow patient, gentle applications. A lot of black stuff coated the cotton pads....wasn't sure where that came from. Went through at least 25-30 cotton pads.
Next I used microfibre cloth to buff the surfaces. This revealed a whole new razor that I never expected to see.

6. Coated the parts with thin layers of renaissance wax...waited 10 minutes and then buffed vigorously with microfibre.

Very happy with the results: the razor is much more shiny than the pictures represent, I think its because my camera is set on taking low res pics (640X480)
Every bit of it is now gleaming.

View attachment 941158 View attachment 941159 View attachment 941160 View attachment 941161 View attachment 941162 View attachment 941163 View attachment 941164 View attachment 941165

BRAVO! A nice save and what a beauty.

 

[BigJ]

WOW!!!

That really looks brand NEW!!

 

[EL SOFA]

You can clean the wax with isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) and then apply acrylic lacquer spray in layers. Minimum 3, maybe 4 or 5 short sprays with time in between to dry up (4-5 minutes). You need to rotate it when spraying to cover the entire surface. Don't apply just 1 or 2 heavy coats.

The results are awesome. If you do something wrong or simply don't like it the process is reversible.

Great tips, thanks! How long do you think the lacquer would remain applied? Does it hold up to the morning shaves? (Or is this meant for preservation as collectors item, etc)?

 

[THall]

Try Protectaclear instead of just lacquer. Jewelers have pretty much gone to using it now. Wears better, thinner etc.

I have used RW for my antique firearms for years now, great stuff. The application works best in small amounts. You want to rub it in and buff as you go. Much better wear and shine if you don’t let it sit to be buffed off later.

 

[RobDoffrey]

Great tips, thanks! How long do you think the lacquer would remain applied? Does it hold up to the morning shaves? (Or is this meant for preservation as collectors item, etc)?

It will last for years with proper use. With 'normal' shaving and the right angle for particular razor. it will hold up to all morning shaves. If someone rides the cap all the time might be a different story.

 

[jmudrick]

I would do this in a heartbeat but my US Short Comb is red brass and this boy don't want a two color razor.

 

[nemo]

Never understand why on earth folks decide to boil razors.

Anyway, it came out looking shiny.