Cleaning Green Corrosion

[wrinkles2]

Does anyone know how to clean a vintage razor that has green corrosion on the handle, or other parts?
Also, how about rust?

[rxonmymind]

Very delicately. Green corrosion will give away to a redish color brassing usually. As for the rust it depends on the severity & how far it has gone into the metal but, a gentle soaking in a wee bit of CLR while checking on it every fifeteen minutes and scrubbing away at it with a tooth brush will do. It's a long process for sure. Let me find you the link on one of mine...
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-ICU?highlight=

Eventually this one was given away as a PIF with help from Krona replating it....
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...Hulk?highlight=

A long process for sure & not a light undertaking. Good luck and make sure you post pics of before & after

[dillon_b12]

I've never cleaned a razor in as bad a condition as the one posted above, but I've had good luck with Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush.

A brass brush also seems to take the green corrosion right off with no damage to the plating or the brass underneath. Rust is usually the product of a blade being left in the razor and comes off quite easily with the SB and toothbrush treatment.

[wrinkles2]

Thanks, and I will post pictures.
The reason I was asking is because I’m bidding on three razors (in separate auctions) and I’ll need to "clean" them before I use them.
Thanks again.

Very delicately. Green corrosion will give away to a redish color brassing usually. As for the rust it depends on the severity & how far it has gone into the metal but, a gentle soaking in a wee bit of CLR while checking on it every fifeteen minutes and scrubbing away at it with a tooth brush will do. It's a long process for sure. Let me find you the link on one of mine...
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-ICU?highlight=

Eventually this one was given away as a PIF with help from Krona replating it....
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...Hulk?highlight=

A long process for sure & not a light undertaking. Good luck and make sure you post pics of before & after

[celestino]

Very delicately. Green corrosion will give away to a redish color brassing usually. As for the rust it depends on the severity & how far it has gone into the metal but, a gentle soaking in a wee bit of CLR while checking on it every fifeteen minutes and scrubbing away at it with a tooth brush will do. It's a long process for sure. Let me find you the link on one of mine...
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-ICU?highlight=

Eventually this one was given away as a PIF with help from Krona replating it....
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...Hulk?highlight=

A long process for sure & not a light undertaking. Good luck and make sure you post pics of before & after

+1 Depending on how severe the build up and the rust are, you should be able to get them fairly clean. Good luck.

[cernel_joson]

Green corrosion means the plating is completely degraded in those spots. I find that very hot water, i.e. boiled water out of the microwave or off the stove, and baking soda make a soak that will dissolve heavy scum and corrosion.

[sychodelix]

Green corrosion means the plating is completely degraded in those spots. I find that very hot water, i.e. boiled water out of the microwave or off the stove, and baking soda make a soak that will dissolve heavy scum and corrosion.

+1

My Ever-Ready 1912 had some green corrosion in some hard to reach places. Enough water to cover it well and add a few tbsp of baking soda and boil for about 15 minutes. Note that it probably isn't a good idea for gold, silver and most TTOs.

[Ray Todd]

I use barbicide for everything. Seems to do well on green corrosion, rust stains, old shave soap goo, etc etc. I've never had any problems with damage to plating from it. Just soak in the mix prescribed on the bottle for about an hour for really dirty pieces and then scrub with a tooth brush.

Besides cleaning razors fresh from the Bay, I keep a small jar under the sink and give my razors a quick soak in it after each shave. It keeps soap scum from building up, and I rarely have to do any other cleaning.

[BBrad]

The green corrosion is from the brass underneath the plating. So, the appearance of green always indicates a breach in the plating, either by wear or damage. The corrosion will work its way under the plating and cause further damage. Physical removal, by cleaning with soap and hot water and polishing, is the best way to remove the corrosion without further harming the remaining plating or underlying brass.

The reddish color sometimes seen afterward is from the copper content of the brass, and will vary depending on the exact brass alloy used. Scrubbing Bubbles has been reported to "bring out the red" in the brass. A badly brassed razor is probably the only time I would use Brasso to polish since the plating is already shot anyway!

Rust is a different issue. It comes not from the razor, but rather from a blade left installed for a long period of time. It is a surface stain, and can be polished out. In softer material like gold or brass the rust is actually harder than the metal, so polishing will certainly remove some of the desirable metal . . . a real "catch 22" . . .

Bottom line - really ugly razors can be brought back to life with a little time and effort . . . sometimes the ugly duckling can become the belle of the ball!

[Wrangoleer]

I've had good results with a strong solution of Simple Green. I'd start with the most chemically gentle cleaning agents first though and Simple Green is one of the safest in my book.