Cleaning razors

Eric62 · May 16, 2012

I have just started collecting DE Razors and have been looking at some of the collections on here. One thing I have noticed they all look new and shiny how do you get them looking like that ? surly you don't get them all new? ( some look over 40 years old ) and look brand new. Is there a special paste, polish that you use if so can you please tell me where you get it from. I do know there are places that you can get it done where they take it back to the bare metal and re coat the razor I just want to clean some of mine up a bit.Thanks

mdunn · May 16, 2012

Which razor?

Some need different methods (I'm looking at you, gold-plating). Generally toothpaste and a toothbrush will make a world of difference

HoosierTrooper · May 16, 2012

oldspiceboy · May 16, 2012

Heres what I use.

Small plastic tub.
Brass bristle brush. A small one.
Old tooth brush.
A nail brush.
Bristle pipe cleaners. Really good for cleaning in between the pieces that make up an adjustable razors head. Like Slims and fatboys.
Dawn dish washing liquid.
Scrubbing Bubbles.
Maas metal polish.
Soft Polishing rag. Like a jewelers cleaning cloth.
Cotton swabs. For helping get any polishing compound out of the knurling on the handles.

The first thing I do is put the razor in the tub. I then spray it down with scrubbing bubbles. I let that soak about fifteen minutes to a half hour. I then give it a light scrubbing with the brass brush. I give it a good rinse and then put it back down in the tub with some dish washing liquid. Then I'll get a cup of water and heat it up real hot in the microwave and pour that in the tub with razor and dish washing liquid. I'll let that soak for about an hour. After that I'll take it from the water and start scrubbing it with the tooth brush and nail brush. In really hard to reach areas in the head and in between the knurling I'll use toothpicks to scrub away any soap scum. And areas that can not be reached by those I run a bristle pipe cleaner through. Once all the cleaning and scrubbing is done I'll give it one last rinse with hot water and let it air dry.
I then polish it with maas and a clean cloth until I can get it to a good shine. Results will vary with each razor according to the condition its in.

Special considerations must be taken for gold razors. No scrubbing bubbles or brass brush is used in cleaning them.

Here's another little tip. Dont shy away from razors that look yellow. I've bought a Fatboy and a Star razor that both looked like the plating was completely gone and the brass was showing through. Only to find out after cleaning that it was actually a very heavy buildup of soap scum. Both cleaned up beautifully.

Any questions feel free to ask.

chuckr9 · May 16, 2012

Scrubbing Bubbles and a tooth brush a good place to start - then check the forum for other cleaning and preservation tips.

Clovis Man · May 16, 2012

I recently asked the same thing. I got all the above answers, and someone told me to simply take a small bowl, set your razor in it, cover it with dishwashing detergent (like Dawn), then pour HOT! water over it. I tried it, and my 50-year-old FatBoy now looks like it's 50 MINUTES old. I'd suggest you start there, and if you need more, then go with the Scrubbing Bubbles, etc.

My original question concerned the mechanism inside my razor, but the side effect is GREAT. See http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/291734-Cleaning-the-MECHANISM-in-a-FatBoy?

Eric62 · May 16, 2012

Wow thanks Guys can you get this Scrubbing bubbles & Mass Metal polish in the UK if not is there anything equivalent that I can buy here . Thanks

dpmtherrien · May 16, 2012

I've found that for a general cleaning just scrubbing bubbles works great. But for a good polishing clean I'll use the toothpaste and old toothbrush.

darkxshiki · May 16, 2012

Eric62 said:
Wow thanks Guys can you get this Scrubbing bubbles & Mass Metal polish in the UK if not is there anything equivalent that I can buy here . Thanks

im sure you should be able to find scrubbing bubbles locally to you. not too sure about maas since i never looked for polish.

Search

Cleaning razors

Eric62

mdunn

HoosierTrooper

oldspiceboy

chuckr9

Clovis Man

Eric62

dpmtherrien

darkxshiki

Similar threads