What Not to Do When Cleaning Up a New Find

I have two "Y" vintage 40's Super Speeds but I've been on the look out for a 4th Quarter version. (Birth year and quarter razor.)
I successfully got one off ebay for under $6 and it came in on Tuesday. I put off cleaning it up until the weekend as it was really grungy.
So, I started with boiling water Friday night when I got home from work. Yesterday I let in soak in dish soap and hot water and scrubbed it down with a tooth brush off-and-on through the day and it ended up looking much better.
The knurling has some discolored spots on it but they started coming clean with the scrubbing. I hit it a couple times with Scrubbing Bubbles and the toothbrush and except for one tiny spot I had all the knurling looking good.
I had some silver polish I tried polishing the doors with as had/have a nice matte finish now, (I assume from use) without much success. Maybe a little less dull, but still no brassing so I wasn't going to worry about it at this time. I figured I'd pick up some Maas later and try polishing them up then.

Then I did it.

The wife was harping about sterilizing it so like an idiot I actually listened to her (my mistake) and let it soak in bleach for about an hour.
When I got back to it the bleach was filled with black floatees and looked really murky. The nickel (chrome?) finish had started breaking down and I now have big brass spots showing through. The two side pieces above the end caps are now yellow-ish orange colored with an emphasis on the 'orange'.

Well, it was going to be a user anyway, so I rinsed it down really well, hit it with Scrubbing Bubbles and the toothbrush one more time, rinsed it really well again, loaded up a fresh Feather and took it for it's maiden shave.

I'm a little bummed I ruined the finish on it, but it shaved just as well as the other two.

Ah well, live and learn. Now I'm on the hunt for another Y4. No bleach next time, I'll pick up the Barbicide.

Scrubbing Bubbles sterilizes the razor. Don't believe me? Check the label.

Bleach is death on many razor finishes (don't ask me how I know.... I'll give you a hint.... same way you found out).

If you feel the need to sterilize, use properly diluted barbicide and soak for 10 minutes. Don't soak for a long time as it will also do in things like numbers on Gillette adjustables (again, don't ask me how I know this..... hint..... it is the same answer as above).

10 minutes submerged in Barbicide will kill everything from HIV on down and will not bother any finish of any type (you CAN ask me how I know this one)

I always cringe when I see these posts.

We have such great advice in the Wiki.

That is a sad tale indeed, but it's good to remind us how good intentions can screw things up at times. Good luck on finding your replacement razor!

On the bright side - you now have a travel DE. I have a '40s SS with brassing on the handle, and that's what I take with me. Shaves just as well, and if it gets lost, I can live with that.

Sorry to hear about your loss . . .

After boiling water, a hot water soak with dish soap, scrubbing bubbles, and a chemical polish I doubt there was anything left on the razor that needed to be killed with bleach!

The original "Scrubbing Bubbles" bathroom cleaner product contains the same anti-bacterial agent as Barbicide. It is as effective as bleach to SANITIZE the razor's surface . . . but even bleach doesn't STERILIZE anything. Sterilization requires high heat and time. Once removed from a sterile package, the item is no longer sterile anyway. New razors from the factory were not sterilized, either.

The polishes that I have had the best results from are MAAS and Simichrome. Anything harsher in chemistry or grit (like Brasso) will harm the plating.

We've all had a few nice razors turn bad in the process of restoration - it is how we learn what works and what doesn't. Good luck on future projects - be sure to share your results with pictures so others can learn and be encouraged!

Three things you must never do again:
1. Boil a razor.
2. Use bleach on a razor.
3. Listen to anything your wife says about a razor.

Five minutes' soak in Scrubbing Bubbles will kill anything. And there was probably nothing living on that razor in the first place.

turtle said:

10 minutes submerged in Barbicide will kill everything from HIV on down and will not bother any finish of any type (you CAN ask me how I know this one)

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10 minutes is all it takes ... even with Barbicide, you don't want to let it soak for much longer than that.

If you had given it just a 10 minute bath in bleach, you probably would have been safe.

I ruined a couple of my grandfather's hand-clippers by soaking them overnight in Barbicide ... sure, they were sterile, but the finish was ruined.

Sometimes, we just have to learn things the hard way ...

dgilman said:

Three things you must never do again:
1. Boil a razor.
2. Use bleach on a razor.
3. Listen to anything your wife says about a razor.

Five minutes' soak in Scrubbing Bubbles will kill anything. And there was probably nothing living on that razor in the first place.

Click to expand...

I thought I'd checked the wiki enough to have a good idea on what to do and what not to do. I did NOT boil the razor, I poured boiling water over it in a Glad/Ziplock/tupperware container. I do not recall seeing anything in the wiki about bleach, but believe me when I say bleach and razors are not going to come together in this household again!

The "boil a razor" thing is about having a razor sitting on a searing hot piece of metal (the bottom of a hot pot) and not about 212 degree water.

turtle said:

HIV on down and will not bother any finish of any type (you CAN ask me how I know this one)

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I was under the impression that HIV couldn't be spread "environmentally" unless you use the same blade with fresh blood on it you can't catch it? Or is this not true

If you already boiled it, it was probably as sterile as it was going to get. (unless you wanted to steam it for several days, but not even bleach I don't think would get it that germ free)

Poop happens.

Also NEVER even soak a numbered dialed anything and leave it for 24hr. The paint WILL come off even in something as neutral as water. Water will soften paint left to soak. I know. I did it with a Toggle.

Moondancer said:

I thought I'd checked the wiki enough to have a good idea on what to do and what not to do. I did NOT boil the razor, I poured boiling water over it in a Glad/Ziplock/tupperware container. I do not recall seeing anything in the wiki about bleach, but believe me when I say bleach and razors are not going to come together in this household again!

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Ah, my apologies. I thought you made the same boneheaded move that I made, when I killed my first DE razor.

rxonmymind said:

Also NEVER even soak a numbered dialed anything and leave it for 24hr. The paint WILL come off even in something as neutral as water. Water will soften paint left to soak. I know. I did it with a Toggle.

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OP, look on the bright side: it could have been worse. Be very glad you didn't do this to a Toggle. (And my sympathies to rxonmymind for that!)

dgilman said:

Three things you must never do again:
1. Boil a razor.
2. Use bleach on a razor.
3. Listen to anything your wife says about a razor.

Five minutes' soak in Scrubbing Bubbles will kill anything. And there was probably nothing living on that razor in the first place.

Click to expand...

this x 10