Brian,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Guido's method also include table salt in the solution?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Guido's method also include table salt in the solution?
Good question, Harry. I can't remember. I don't think it did. I don't know anything about chemistry, but I would assume that the salt would only facilitate a more rapid boiling of the water. But I'll try to find that post that is long buried to see if it mentions anything.
Brian,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Guido's method also include table salt in the solution?
Very interesting. Thanks for the information. So, would a combination of salt and baking soda produce better results?
Silver Razors
Tarnish can be removed from silver plated razors as follows:
- Put the razors in an old pot/pan lined with aluminum foil
- Mix about 2 TBs of powdered Borax and about a teaspoon of salt in almost-boiling water
- pour the very-hot water over the razors, completely submerging them, and let soak for about 30-45 mins. Once the water gets somewhat warm you can go to work with an old toothbrush to get a lot of surface junk off, then put back in the water to finish the soak
- rinse the razors and work each one over with the old toothbrush and Barkeepers Friend, preferably the liquid version b/c it's possibly gentler on metals than the powdered form, however I've used the powdered kind with no ill effects
- rinse the razors in hot water
- place back in the pan and repeat the hot water / Borax / salt treatment for another 30 minutes
- dry them off
The process described above should work pretty well for chrome and nickel plated razors as well for razors with real silver in them, you shouldn't need a whole lot of scrubbing because the borax/salt solution actually makes the molecules in the silver tarnish want to move off the silver and onto the aluminum foil.
Gents
I used this method on my Tuckaway this morning.
Even though it was in pretty good shape beforehand there was a marked improvement after giving it two baths.
However, when I gave it a polish after the baths there was still some black coming off on my polishing cloth suggesting that some tarnish still remains.
Is this normal or do I need to keep using this method until no black appears on my polishing cloth?
Thanks
Paul
It wasn't Guido who mentioned salt, it was this article in the wiki I now remember reading some time ago. And it calls for the use of borax instead of baking soda in solution.
Any chemists out there who can compare/contrast the two methods?
I had most of this information posted before, but the linked photos were to a personal album on the site, which was deleted in one of the upgrades. So, I decided I'd repost a new thread as I can't edit the old one to reinsert the new photos. Plus, some good information came out of the discussion in the old thread and I thought it would be good to include in the new one.
I’ve posted before about the wonders of the baking soda and aluminum foil trick for restoring tarnished silver razors, but I thought it might be helpful to have a photo tutorial. I first read of the idea in a post by AsylumGuido in a thread long buried. In more recent threads, Len (Oldguy) and T Rick wrote more about it. This thread is an attempt to distill some of the wisdom put forth by them accompanied by some photos. The material and information isn’t new, but I thought a photo tutorial might be helpful. And if not, there are some good before/after photos of my new Bulldog.
DISCLAIMER: This process work greats for restoring your tarnished silver razors. But I wouldn’t recommend it for razors with more ornate and intricate designs such as the American Button Company (ABC) Empire, Floral, or Scroll design. On razors with ornate designs like these, I think it looks best to only polish the intricate design that sits higher than the rest of the razor and leave the tarnish in the recessed areas. If you are trying to achieve this look, don’t use this process. It will remove tarnish everywhere the water touches, which given the nature of water, is the entire razor, including the recessed portions. But if you want to remove every last little bit of tarnish, this is the process for you.
Onto the process itself…
What You Will Need:
-A silver razor that is tarnished, which you want to restore. For the process to work, it needs to be a razor plated in silver. It will not work as intended on nickel plated razors. Also, it is probably a good idea to clean up the razor as much as possible with regular dish soap and scrubbing bubbles before beginning the process.
-A watertight container big enough to hold the razor and that can withstand boiling water
-A pot or pan to boil water in
-Aluminum foil
-Baking soda
-Water
The Process Itself:
2) While you are waiting for the water to boil:
(a) Line the container that you have chosen with aluminum foil
(b) Place the razor inside of the container that has now been lined with aluminum foil.
If there is any information that you think should be added, then let me know and I'll edit the post.