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Some useful tips to preserve and possibly polish the stencil without removing it?

Hi everyone, I tried to do a search but I didn't find what I was looking for. Can anyone tell me how to polish the stencil without removing it?

Thanks to those who want to answer.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I am simply interested in knowing what the stencil is; I have never heard of it and certainly don't know how to polish it. 👍
 
During the restoration of a blade face, I will put a piece of scotch tape over the etching and trim it to fit as close as possible before polishing the blade to preserve the etching. But if you put any kind of polish and elbow grease you will wear it off. It is what it is and it's not going to get better.
Now if it is deep in the face of the blade like a stamp then you can use rub-n-buff or felt tip marker to fill the letters or stamp. Then with a razor blade and 2500 grit paper and a hard backer for the paper, you can clean it up. This is about the only option I know.
Hope it helps.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Hi,I mean the golden writing on the blade :) I think I have the wrong term!
A better reference would be to call it the gold embossing on the blade's face.

The gold is probably not 24 carat (pure) gold. It is more likely about 18 carat. Eighteen carat is harder that 24 carat but being just a plating on the steel, it is very thin and easily worn away with any abrasion. @HazMat Shaver's suggestion of taping the gold is about the only thing you can do. Being gold, it should not tarnish and should not require polishing.

A pic would be of help.
 
During the restoration of a blade face, I will put a piece of scotch tape over the etching and trim it to fit as close as possible before polishing the blade to preserve the etching. But if you put any kind of polish and elbow grease you will wear it off. It is what it is and it's not going to get better.
Now if it is deep in the face of the blade like a stamp then you can use rub-n-buff or felt tip marker to fill the letters or stamp. Then with a razor blade and 2500 grit paper and a hard backer for the paper, you can clean it up. This is about the only option I know.
Hope it helps.
Thanks I know the method of preserving the golden writing with scotch tape, my question was more aimed at the possibility of being able to polish the golden part again. I will post a photo to make you better understand what I mean. Thanks for your answer:)
 
Thanks for your reply, I will post a photo as soon as possible to show you what I would like to achieve!
A better reference would be to call it the gold embossing on the blade's face.

The gold is probably not 24 carat (pure) gold. It is more likely about 18 carat. Eighteen carat is harder that 24 carat but being just a plating on the steel, it is very thin and easily worn away with any abrasion. @HazMat Shaver's suggestion of taping the gold is about the only thing you can do. Being gold, it should not tarnish and should not require polishing.

A pic would be of help.
 
Thanks for your reply, I will post a photo as soon as possible to show you what I would like to achieve!
A better reference would be to call it the gold embossing on the blade's face.

The gold is probably not 24 carat (pure) gold. It is more likely about 18 carat. Eighteen carat is harder that 24 carat but being just a plating on the steel, it is very thin and easily worn away with any abrasion. @HazMat Shaver's suggestion of taping the gold is about the only thing you can do. Being gold, it should not tarnish and should not require polishing.

A pic would be of help.

A better reference would be to call it the gold embossing on the blade's face.

The gold is probably not 24 carat (pure) gold. It is more likely about 18 carat. Eighteen carat is harder that 24 carat but being just a plating on the steel, it is very thin and easily worn away with any abrasion. @HazMat Shaver's suggestion of taping the gold is about the only thing you can do. Being gold, it should not tarnish and should not require polishing.

A pic would be of help.
Thanks for your reply, I will post a photo as soon as possible to show you what I would like to achieve!
 
So I have not tried it yet on a blade, but am planning on doing it tomorrow probably. I do hand tool restoration on commission and for myself. If you’ve ever seen an old handsaw (like a Disston/Simonds/etc) you probably know they have a “etching” on the blade face. Well old saws are usually rusted to hell so it’s very difficult to preserve whatever is left of an etching when restoring it. Some guys will go at the rust with a razor blade until it’s gone, but that doesn’t do Jack if there is roughness/pitting/etc…

So I methodically work through various abrasive products like wet/dry sandpaper/scotchbrite/steel wool/etc to get off all rust and get that clean “mirror” look without removing age signatures/patina. The saw in this photo was COMPLETELY rusted, so much that I didn’t even think an etch was still present. After 3 hours of careful work, it was smooth/clean. I then apply Bushnells Oxpho Blue bluing chemical to the entire face. It’s for blueing steel. This actually brings the etch back substantially. Then I remove the bluing with more careful abrasive work, except for on lettering. It works great.

This saw in the link is over 100 and was fully covered in rust.
I wanna try it in a faded razor. It won’t do for lost gold, but that’s ok.
 
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The only thing that will clean gold is alcohol and cotton, I use a Qtip. Gold wash is very thin and fragile. I usually remove it and polish the blade.

As said if it is in good condition, tape over it and sand and hand polish around the tape.

For etching like your saw plate on razors, I have had good luck with polishing film, etching on razors can be blued with cold blue and polished with film and hard backer, I use a synthetic cork.

For cold bluing clean the blade well and rinse with acetone, pour a bit of cold blue into a plastic sauce cup and use. Do not dip into the bottle, if you re-dip or pour used solution back into the bottle, you contaminate the solution.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
One thing to remember. Gold is pretty but gold don't shave, neither does pretty. Preserving it is optional, if you just want a great shaver more than you want jewelry. When it is your own razor, you can do what you want with it and set your priorities to suit you.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
The only thing that will clean gold is alcohol and cotton, I use a Qtip. Gold wash is very thin and fragile. I usually remove it and polish the blade.

As said if it is in good condition, tape over it and sand and hand polish around the tape.

For etching like your saw plate on razors, I have had good luck with polishing film, etching on razors can be blued with cold blue and polished with film and hard backer, I use a synthetic cork.

For cold bluing clean the blade well and rinse with acetone, pour a bit of cold blue into a plastic sauce cup and use. Do not dip into the bottle, if you re-dip or pour used solution back into the bottle, you contaminate the solution.

You can use a little JNat slurry on a soft cloth or lint-free paper towel (test your paper towels first, some will scratch steel), a trick that I learned from Alex Gilmore many years ago. You shouldn’t use pressure and try to polish gold wash with it, but it will clean it without damaging it. I use one of the little slurry cloths to clean soap residue off my razor after each shave, gold wash or not, and no problems yet. A little uchigumori or soft polishing kiita slurry works wonders. These can be used on fine jewelry, most all metals including your stainless appliances, lacquered fountain pens, etc.

57635846-1107-48D0-85A8-47C3F07A1D9F.jpeg


Jewelry polishing pads work well on razors and especially scales, one of the best ways to clean and polish dirty ivory, tortoise, and horn. And plastic too NOTE: These polishing pads ARE NOT SAFE on gold wash, light etching, bluing, skiddsmarke, or Gold Dollar ink. They work well if the etching is more like an engraving.

6BAC2726-C8CF-41CE-BA61-6D6CC54A5E01.jpeg
 

duke762

Rose to the occasion
Jewelry polishing pads work well on razors and especially scales,

Those are cool as canned beer! I've seen a jewelers cloth(quite spendy) but these are really great. Smaller size helps guard against cross contamination too! Those jewelers have some awful fine abrasives. this point was driven home by a co-worker making chrms for a bracelet out of sterling silver. To get a finish he used Brasso, .5 micron diamond and crocus cloth. Nothing came close to a jewelers cloth for finish....
 
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