I just bought the crown jewel to my collection, a 46/47 Gillette Aristocrat...wondering now how do I clean the razor without harming the gold plating. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Don't use any abrasive compound, it will remove the gold plating. Your best bet would be a classic cleaning, drop the razor in hot water with dish soap, let it soak for a few hours, clean it with a tooth brush.
Yup what previously said on the cleaning. I use Dawn and hot water. Soak overnight. Reapply hot water and Dawn and go at with a soft bristle tooth brush. Gold razors require a delicate touch
No polishing at all is what I recommend just a toothbrush & dawn dish liquid. Anything stronger will take the finish off. It is gold wash not gold plate. Gold is a very soft malleable metal anyway and it is much so on your razor. Great find by the way!
Here are some more pictures....thank you for all the help on how to clean this...I did not receive the razor yet and I am anxious to get it in the mail. It was such a good deal for the price I couldn't pass it up, sometimes you find good things on ebay.
Trust me I will post pictures after it is cleaned, should be in my hands the latest, Tuesday. I only plan on using this one for special occasions, I have my slims and fatboys for everyday shaves. I always thought the aristocrat was just gold plating on a regular razor but a little research and I found that its the top of the line. Its balanced better and from what I gathered the geometry of the head makes finding the shave angle easier. I will experiment a little between all 3 and see how I like it. I purchased the whole thing for 60 bucks, hope I didnt overpay.
Ok here it is all cleaned up and shiney. I have to say I didnt expect it to clean up as well as it did, there is minimal plate loss on the handle and no plate loss on the head. You guys tell me from the pics.