Razor maintenance question

[RevenantActual]

I just got a '61 Gillette Super Speed from my grandfather. As it used to be his, it is quite clean, however it has some lost plating and pitting on the doors and the safety bar from use. First, this will not harm the razor's performance, correct? Second, is there anything I should do to preserve the plating left, and the bare metal areas? Third, if I were to have it replated, about how much would it cost?

 

[Greybeard]

Welcome to B&B.
Congratulations on getting a razor from your grandfather. I wish I had one from mine. The plate loss and pitting will not affect the shave. There's not much you can do to preserve the remaining plating other than not to use abrasives on the razor. If you have any exposed brass on the razor, it will oxidize. This will also not affect the shave, just the cosmetics

Re-plating would cost you approximately $25. It will cover the pitting and stabilize it but will not fill in the pits.



- Peter

 

[billc508]

I have had several razors replated including super speeds and such. One of them was a little pitted so I sanded it out with some heavier grit paper, like maybe 120 or something, then a finer grade and a finer one after that and finally some abrasive paste or jeweler's rouge. The deal is this, you have to sand away enough of the surface of the metal to get down below the pit. So you sand away on it until you see the pits disappear, sand it down over a wide enough area so that you are not just gouging into the pit. You will likely sand down to the bare metal, that's okay because you are going to replate anyway in this case. Once you have it all worked down nice and smooth then take it to the plater, they will prep it the rest of the way from there and it will come back nice and shiny and smooth. good luck bc