Restoring a Vintage 1957 Gillette Super Speed

I just purchased my first vintage gillette super speed. It's a 1957 model that is in good working order, but it needs a very good cleaning. I've never cleaned one of these up before so I'm looking for suggestions. I'm thinking of just using a dishwashing liquid and a toothbrush, then polishing it with a car wax. Will this work? I want to get it as close to new as I can get a 50+ old razor.

When in doubt, always check the wiki!

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Safety_Razor_Maintenance

chadb97 said:

I just purchased my first vintage gillette super speed. It's a 1957 model that is in good working order, but it needs a very good cleaning. I've never cleaned one of these up before so I'm looking for suggestions. I'm thinking of just using a dishwashing liquid and a toothbrush, then polishing it with a car wax. Will this work? I want to get it as close to new as I can get a 50+ old razor.

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Car wax does not polish. Get a good metal polish like Maas or Mothers.
I boiled my Super Speeds in water with a little dishwashing soap. Then used scrubbing bubles with a toothbrush. I then polished with Maas. Here's my results.

I to have a 57 Gillette SS. My unit is in good shape but no level of polishing mine will help it much. Mine is dull and needs replating. I am not sure about the condition of your, just be cafeful not to clean to too much with harsh abraisives because you can scratch/remove the plating. I cleaned mine with Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush. I tried a low speed buffing wheel and jewlers rudge and it nothing for my shaver.

I have a 1951 superspeed and I took it to a jeweler I know and had it reginished

Matchgrade said:

Car wax does not polish. Get a good metal polish like Maas or Mothers.
I boiled my Super Speeds in water with a little dishwashing soap. Then used scrubbing bubles with a toothbrush. I then polished with Maas. Here's my results.

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Whenever I hear talk of boiling razors, I get very nervous.

Car wax could gum up the works. I've read here that boiling can remove any paint, so that may not be the best choice. You can soak it overnight in water with Dawn dishwashing soap, then rinse and scrub with a toothbrush. Repeat as necessary. I use Flitz metal polish with great results. Enjoy your razor, great year, IMHO.

I restored a gift 1953 GSS using the scrubbing bubbles, and metal polish. For scrubbing, I used Q-Tips an an old SOFT tooth brush. I needed several repetitions of the cleaning to get the old boy looking presentable. The razor, which belonged to the father of a Habitat For Humanity teammate's dad, had not been used for 15 - 20 years, and had been sitting idle in the garage.
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I've had great luck with scrubbing bubbles (soft tooth brush) to do the initial cleaning and to sanitize then very hot water (no boil) and Dawn with a soft tooth brush. Then follow with a Dawn and hot water soak for 2-3 hours (over nite is ok) to loosen up that aged soap gunk on the inside. Then a hot water rinse and soak and it should cycle ok and be ready to roll. I use a jewelry cloth to polish and shine.

Chad B; Another way to clean your '57- start with Scrubbuing Bubbles and an old toothbrush. Chris Evatt taught me to apply some Mother's Polish to that old toothbrush, then gently brush over the entire surface until the razor is black. Do this in your kitchen sink, as the residue will splatter. Apply some Dawn dish Detergent onto the same toothbrush-no need to rinse- and go over it a couple of times with Dawn and it should look really nice. Buff it with a soft cotton cloth such as a makeup round, and it should shine. If you have an ultrasonic cleaner- do give it some time in that as well to remove any remaining shaving detritus from inside the handle. I like to also apply a couple of coats of Turtle Wax to the head and gently buff. This will give it some additional shine as well as some plating protection. Do this with a Q-Tip, in a very thin coat on the flat head surfaces and blade silo doors-not the hinges as Graybeard states, so not to get wax into them. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

ReapersBlade said:

I've always had luck using Bar Keeper's Friend Liquid Cleanser and a tooth brush followed by Mothers Polish.

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How abrasive is Bar Keepers? I've used Mothers which is pretty mild.

imatabor said:

How abrasive is Bar Keepers? I've used Mothers which is pretty mild.

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I use Bar Keepers Friend on my SS cookware and smooth surface cooktop on a regular basis. As far as abrasiveness goes it's pretty mild. It uses oxalic acid as its primary active ingredient. I'm always amazed at how easily it cleans and restores my SS cookware to looking new. This stuff should be a staple in everybody's home.

AlphaFrank75 said:

I use Bar Keepers Friend on my SS cookware and smooth surface cooktop on a regular basis. As far as abrasiveness goes it's pretty mild. It uses oxalic acid as its primary active ingredient. I'm always amazed at how easily it cleans and restores my SS cookware to looking new. This stuff should be a staple in everybody's home.

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Thanks, good to know. I was always afraid it would remove the nickle off the vintage razors.

I would do a test on an inside surface just to be sure. I doubt it would have any affect on the nickle but it's better to be safe.