Cleaning and polishing vintage razors?

Just wondering since I have accumulated a couple of vintage Gillettes now. What do you guys do to clean/disinfect a newly acquired razor? Also what to use to polish it up and make it look better? I've heard all sorts of things for non vintage razors such as scrubbing bubbles, barbacide, and rubbing alcohol. Is it safe to use those on a vintage razor or are there other options? Any help or suggestions would be awesome!

Thanks

Scrubbing bubbles is fine, avoid the one with bleach btw. Usually to clean, hot water, some dish soap and a soft toothbrush are enough.
To polish, gently, many people use MAAS. Avoid polishing gold plated razors.

Thanks for the reply. I've been thinking about purchasing some MAAS. Will have to give a try.

I soak the razor in some hot (not boiling!) water with plenty of Dove. This is especially useful if it's a TTO that may have gunk in the hollow handle. After a good soak I gently scrub with a toothbrush. You can dip it in alcohol or Hydrocide if you're really worried about germs. If there is patina or tarnish to remove, a gentle polish with Flitz works well. When the razor is all nice and shiny, I like to wax it with Paragon pipe wax to keep it nice.

How long do you leave it in the water to soak for? Then you just dip it in rubbing alcohol and let it air dry?

Marc J 13 said:

How long do you leave it in the water to soak for? Then you just dip it in rubbing alcohol and let it air dry?

Click to expand...

Depends on the razor. If you're trying to clean a Slim that has lots of gunk in its hollow handle, you may need to soak it several times until the gunk drains out. A simple 3-piece won't require anything like that. I put the razor in a pan, dump in plenty of Dawn, and pour very hot water over it from a tea kettle. After 30 minutes the water is lukewarm, and then I scrub a bit with a toothbrush. Usually this is enough.

Great thanks for your help. It's greatly appreciated! I'd probably just be cleaning TTOs since that's what my vintage razors are mainly.

Clean 'em up and post some photos!!

I used MAAS tonight for the first time on a 1961 Gillette SS. I am very happy with the results!

Very nice!

Great advice. I'm waiting on a '60 Fat boy to be delivered which I'll take to with these methods mentioned above. Can't wait for the result.

Marc J 13 said:

Great thanks for your help. It's greatly appreciated! I'd probably just be cleaning TTOs since that's what my vintage razors are mainly.

Click to expand...

If there's any feeling of grittiness or stickiness in the TTO, about every 10 minutes or so during the hot soapy water soak, work the tto all the way open and closed to get any soap scum off the threads inside the handle..

Great Advice above. I pretty much use the same techniques. Soap and warm water to get rid of the gunk. Then a 10 minutes soak in barbicide to sterilize, yes I'm a germ freak
Finish with mass polishing and they are back to life again!

nuclearblast said:

Scrubbing bubbles is fine, avoid the one with bleach btw. Usually to clean, hot water, some dish soap and a soft toothbrush are enough.
To polish, gently, many people use MAAS. Avoid polishing gold plated razors.

Click to expand...

Good advice, dat.

Simichrome also works very well, it comes in a tube.

All great advice

I recieved a 1965 Gillette Slim adjustable today and I cleaned it the following way:
10 minute bath in scrubbing bubbles
10 minutes in boiling water
Washed it again with Dawn dish soap
10 minute soak in Barbicide solution
Polished with Maas
Quick dunk into Barbicide solution
Some mineral oil, and quick polish with cloth.

Thanks for all the advice guys! I'll try a few and see which works best. Since this post I've acquired a couple more vintage Gillettes (pictures to come) so ill clean em up and post some pics!

I have had good results using Lysol multi-surface cleaner and warm water, and a tooth- or nail brush. The Lysol seems to do well with metal objects and takes care of any germs that might concern you.

Complete noob question, what is MAAS?