I turned my tech black :(

[johnf7478]

Hi all,
I recieved my 54' Superspeed today, and it wasn't exactly as clean and shiny as I expected, so I went looking for those soap bubbles that everyone talks about, couldn't find them anywhere so I bought some "Vim" powder, which is meant to clean anything and everything, and a bottle of "Silvo", a silver/chrome cleaner lotion.

Before I got to use the silvo, I put some tin foil in a pot and put in a few tablespoons of Vim and some salt and some washing up liquid and let it boil for about 5 minutes then left it to soak for an hour. WHen I emptied out the concoction, the Superspeed came out "kind of" ok, but my Tech, which was actually quite shiny when i started out, came out almost black. I then packed them both with whitening toothpaste and gave them a scrub,( which helped a bit) before doing the silvo polishing.

The superspeed came out well enough, not blinding bright shiny, although ok, but the tech!! while it did improve, is no-were near as shiny as it was before I started. Had a shave with the superspeed though, one of the best shaves I ever had, with my lovely new TOBS sandlewood, so the night was not a total loss, but I am dissapointed about my tech :(

I was thinking as a last resort of bringing them to a jewellers to be cleaned, but would rather try it myself first. I think the tech may be a different material than the ss.

Any advice greatly appreciated guys, thanks

[KcHighLife]

Well this might be hindsight but boiling for a 5 minute period (as you now know) is way too long! Even though I use boiling water to clean and soak mine on occasion, I ADVISE AGAINST IT! Especially if you are new to restoring razors. You'll soon find yourself looking for another razor to replace the one you just fried in a lot of cases.
However, if you think you must...bring water in an old pan to a boil, add dishwashing liquid and remove from the heat. Then add the razors and let them soak. I personally do not add anything but dish liquid and I do not boil them. I still advise against this until you have done more research.
With all of that said, even though your Tech doesn't look great, I believe it's ok to shave with. I'm really not sure about any chance you might have to restoring it's original color at this point but, others might know more than I.
I will try to find the cleaning and restoring in the Wiki for you but, I don't usually go by it...might be a good starting point for you.

[_JP_]

It seems that everything you tossed into the caused a chemical reaction. Where did you get the idea to use that stuff in the pot?

Shining a razor is as simple as using a towel. Add a little metal polish if needed

[KcHighLife]

Go here to start your research http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Razor...nd_restoration. Pictures would be nice to help you further.

[luvmysuper]

It sounds as though you "plated" the Tech with metal from the aluminum foil. This can happen easier than many people think.
My suggestions;

1. Don't boil razors
2. Don't use aluminum foil for anything other than the "baking soda and aluminum foil cleaning method for silver plated razors"
3. DON'T mix cleaning chemicals. The fumes produced (especially if heated) can be deadly in some cases.

Lastly -

I have cleaned some razors that got carry over from other razors by dipping them in Tarn-x.
Dip for about 10 seconds, remove and rinse with plenty of clean water. Repeat a few times if necessary to clean it up.

Not a sure thing, but it has worked for me in the past.

DON'T MIX THE TARN-X WITH ANYTHING.

tarn-x.jpg

[Vickers]

You're gonna have to mix up a big batch of brake fluid, moonshine, and JP-4 to bring that Tech back to life.

[LouBarraza]

this happened to me with a vintage SE Razor.I dipped it in CLR and It turned black.But I was able to use my mild metal polishing compound and a small buffing polishing wheel on a dremel tool and brought it back to a shine.

[johnf7478]

Thanks guys, I suppose I feel kind of lucky I didn't ruin the both of them, I shall just keep on polishing it until it comes back to something resembling its old self. You live and learn :)

When I read Luvmysupers post I felt lucky I didn't cause my own untimely death by some bizarre poisening, knowing me, that will probably be the kind of thing that will kill me off in the end, my own stupidity,lol

I will take a snap of it before I attempt to reshine it, and then a photo after the reshine attempt and let you guys see how it went :)

Enjoy your weekends

[maxman]

No worries. Live and learn.
I left a SS in barbicide once and totally forgot about it. It turned grey and was just horrible.
To be honest I can't even remember what I did with it.

You've got some great advice there. There isn't anything I can add.
I hope it all works out for you.