Buffing out a dent in my new razor?

[Shaving Sailor]

Hey guys,

I got a brand new Merkur 38C Barber Pole in the post today.
I'm really impressed with it, it's heavy and solidly built. Looks cracking too.

But there's one thing that's niggling me, it has a small dent on the edge of the head of the razor.

I'd post a picture of it, but I'm unsure how to lol.

Anyways, could I buff or sand it out? I don't want to ruin that lovely chrome finish.

[Chester]

I'd not even bother. Either send it back (probably the best option), or keep it as it is.
With merkur plating having not-the-best-overall reputation, you'd only end up with it looking bad or worse once you were done sanding or buffing.
My $.02,
-- Chet

[KM-instructor]

Depends on the depth of the dent, personally I would not go to crazy with sanding or buffing, Merkur QC is a tad substandard, although nice razors the final finish is always lacking in comparison to some other makers, that seem to go the extra mile to make and sell something with a flawless finish.

GREAT razor though.

[life2short1971]

Nope. Sorry any attempt at repair will ruin the finish and it may already be the first spot on the razor to oxidize in the future as well.

[cooncatbob]

Under the chrome is nickel, under the nickel is copper and under the copper is Zamak a zinc alloy.
You can't buff out a dent, all you'll do is burn through the plating.

[Shaving Sailor]

I'll just have to live with it then haha

Thanks for the info guys

[bakerbarber]

Under the chrome is nickel, under the nickel is copper and under the copper is Zamak a zinc alloy.
You can't buff out a dent, all you'll do is burn through the plating.

Send it back unless you dented it.

From what everyone else says, and what I've seen- this ZAMAK stuff is like hard packed brown sugar that is grey in color. What I mean is, it will begin to dissolve or melt once exposed to water. The hard 'candy shell' keeps it solid and pretty.

Only problem is, you bought something that is going to get wet during normal use. I am baffled by the choice of materials. Seems very short sighted if they were trying to lower the price point. Burning customers by selling items that fall apart after a few years of normal use is bad business in the long run.

However, most people have good experience with Merkur if they get a bum item and ask for it to be replaced when they buy it.
I've heard of peopl having issues later and getting the cold shoulder though.

[bakerbarber]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak

A large problem with early zinc die casting materials was zinc pest, owing to impurities in the alloys.[3] Zamak avoided this by the use of 99.99% pure zinc metal, produced by New Jersey's use of a refluxer as part of the smelting process.
Zamak can be electroplated, wet painted, and chromate conversion coated well.[4]

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Wheels of a Märklin model railroad car 344.6 (H0, 1947..1949), affected by zinc pest



Two 1930s Dinky Toy liners of equal age and storage history, one badly affected, the other not.



Dinky Toy aircraft, completely fragmented by zinc pest


Zinc pest, (from German Zinkpest), is a destructive, intercrystalline corrosion process of zinc alloys containing lead impurities.[1] It was first discovered to be a problem in 1923.[1]
Zinc pest affects primarily die-cast zinc articles that were manufactured during the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. In Germany, articles made from Zamak during World War II and several years thereafter may be affected.[2] Purer alloys were not available to the manufacturers as they were used for the war effort, or were just not on the market after the war. While impurities of the alloy seem to be the cause of the problem, environmental conditions such as high humidity (greater than 65 %) may accelerate the process.[3] Also, significant temperature changes can be damaging.
Affected objects may show surface irregularities such as blisters or pitting. They expand, buckle, tear, and in the end, crumble. The irreversible process will eventually destroy the object. Due to the expansion process, attached normal material may be damaged secondarily. Zinc pest is different from a superficial white oxidation process ("Weissrost") that may affect some zinc articles.
Zinc pest is dreaded by collectors of old model trains, toys, or radios where the zinc die-cast process was used. Valuable items are rendered worthless but for their residual parts. Also parts of engines of older vehicles or airplanes and military medals may be affected.
Articles made after 1960 are generally considered free of the risk of zinc pest. Use of purer materials and more controlled manufacturing conditions make it unlikely that modern zinc articles will encounter degradation by zinc pest.[3] However, some model aircraft produced between 2001-2003 by certain brands have fallen victim to zinc pest.[citation needed]
Zinc pest is not related to tin pest.
[edit] References


Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zinc pest

• ^ a b prepared under the direction of the ASM International Handbook Committee ; Stephen D. Cramer and Bernard S. Covino, Jr., volume editors. (2005). ASM Handbook. 13B. ASM International. p. 37. ISBN 0871707071. http://books.google.com/?id=QV0sWU2qF5oC .
• ^ "viele Geschichten, eine Lösung" (in German). http://www.modellbahnwerkstatt.net/index.php?id=10. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
• ^ a b J.Koll. Koll’s Preiskatalog. Band 1. 2001 Verlag Joachim Koll. ISBN 3-922164-91-9

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest"
Categories: Zinc | Corrosion
Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from November 2009

[MacDaddy]

From what everyone else says, and what I've seen- this ZAMAK stuff is like hard packed brown sugar that is grey in color. What I mean is, it will begin to dissolve or melt once exposed to water. The hard 'candy shell' keeps it solid and pretty.

Yup, that's pretty much my experience with it, as well. Seems like it's a great material if you're in the business of making things out of it, but not such a good material if you're the one who has to live with it and use it. A drop to the floor that a Super Speed would have laughed off snapped the head off my EJ.

However, most people have good experience with Merkur if they get a bum item and ask for it to be replaced when they buy it.
I've heard of peopl having issues later and getting the cold shoulder though.

Yeah, they might just tell you that your water is so hard it dented the razor...