My first vintage safety razor.

So i just got in a K4 gillette slim. 4th quarter of 65 i think?

Anyway the head was gray, like, very gray. I scrubbed it with hot soapy water and a tooth brush, soaked it in hot hot water that was scolding hot and near boiling. Then i picked up some blue magic metal polish cream from the automotive dept at the mart of walls, and polished it twice. Then discovered the adjuster plate sticks a little bit, and the adjuster dial seems to stick a little bit around the number 7. So then i soaked it in that scolding hot water twice. Probably gonna polish it again.

So any advice here about the sticky plate or adjuster knob?

Is wd-40 ok to use as lube (I'm a redneck sky pilot with a shaved head and nothing to lose. Have mineral oil but would prefer the wd) ?

And of course i took a few pics after i cleaned it but found some from the person who shipped it to me before i cleaned it. I'll share em. The whole darn razor was gray. I thought the head only had a couple spots of the plating left but after a polish discovered i was wrong.

I am a big fan of Gillette's adjustable razors. Congrats on the new Slim. I have heard that mineral oil is best if the razor needs a bit of lubrication.

Sent via mobile - Chris

Lightcs1776 said:

I am a big fan of Gillette's adjustable razors. Congrats on the new Slim. I have heard that mineral oil is best if the razor needs a bit of lubrication.

Sent via mobile - Chris

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Lol i hate to admit this but i have 2 slims. I won two auctions that night. This was the cheaper one i acquired for 24.50. The other came spotless, no brassing, or plating loss. Looked as though it was maybe 10 yrs old, and i got it for 40.00 flat, shipped. I still don't know if i overpaid for it. In my opinion i didn't. But now I'm wondering just how much the slims go for usually? I think i got a good deal on both.

Dawn and hot water soaks. Do it for a few days. Don't be afraid to let it soak the whole time. I like to freshen up the water by changing it out a few times a day.

I'm not familiar with blue magic. I use mothers, but some guys use flitz to polish. Be careful with the doors and endcaps. The plating is usually thin there. I'll use a soft toothbrush and just a hint of mothers with dawn added and polish lightly. I'll then wash it with dawn til the mothers is gone and then lightly buff with a soft cloth.

The silo doors will cloud over time. it's a sign of plating compromise. I'm not sure if that is the grey your referring to. I can't quite tell from the photos.

Kindly,
Adam

KeenDogg said:

Dawn and hot water soaks. Do it for a few days. Don't be afraid to let it soak the whole time. I like to freshen up the water by changing it out a few times a day.

I'm not familiar with blue magic. I use mothers, but some guys use flitz to polish. Be careful with the doors and endcaps. The plating is usually thin there. I'll use a soft toothbrush and just a hint of mothers with dawn added and polish lightly. I'll then wash it with dawn til the mothers is gone and then lightly buff with a soft cloth.

The silo doors will cloud over time. it's a sign of plating compromise. I'm not sure if that is the grey your referring to. I can't quite tell from the photos.

Kindly,
Adam

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Thanks Adam. The gray i think was just years of neglect. In the shot of the barn doors it looks wonderfully polished. I'll try the soap and water soaks the rest of the night and part of tomorrow. If that don't work I'll polish her up one last time and lube her up like danny zucko's hair in grease then it's into my bag till i get home sunday or monday.

I was looking up flitz, maas, and other low abrassive polishes. The stuff i found came highly recommended. It's about 7 bucks for a 7oz jar. It's blue and creamy. From everything i read it's more mild than mothers and is recommended for the most delicate of jobs (will post a picture)

You just rub a thin layer on and in and when the metal dims out you start polishing with a paper towel or microfiber wash cloth and voila. Takes no time. With i had a buffing wheel on a grinder though lol. That'd make her sparkle.

Plenty of people use and recommend the blue. I have some. Works well.

I think you didn't get hurt on either razor. I didn't have the patience you apparently have though. I found my birth year Slim and rather than screw around I sent it to Cap. I don't recall what he charged me, but it wasn't much and the razor is as good as it will ever be again without replating it.

sky pilot 83 said:

Thanks Adam. The gray i think was just years of neglect. In the shot of the barn doors it looks wonderfully polished. I'll try the soap and water soaks the rest of the night and part of tomorrow. If that don't work I'll polish her up one last time and lube her up like danny zucko's hair in grease then it's into my bag till i get home sunday or monday.

I was looking up flitz, maas, and other low abrassive polishes. The stuff i found came highly recommended. It's about 7 bucks for a 7oz jar. It's blue and creamy. From everything i read it's more mild than mothers and is recommended for the most delicate of jobs (will post a picture)

You just rub a thin layer on and in and when the metal dims out you start polishing with a paper towel or microfiber wash cloth and voila. Takes no time. With i had a buffing wheel on a grinder though lol. That'd make her sparkle.

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Danny Zucko!!!! Bwaahhahhahaahaa!!!

You know, now that I see the tub, it looks familiar. Let us know how it goes, ok?

sky pilot 83 said:

Lol i hate to admit this but i have 2 slims. I won two auctions that night. This was the cheaper one i acquired for 24.50. The other came spotless, no brassing, or plating loss. Looked as though it was maybe 10 yrs old, and i got it for 40.00 flat, shipped. I still don't know if i overpaid for it. In my opinion i didn't. But now I'm wondering just how much the slims go for usually? I think i got a good deal on both.

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I can't address how much they usually go for, due to forum rules (at least that is my understanding). However, I paid more than that for the one I purchased for my son for Christmas. It was in great shape, so much so that he left the Merkur 34C at home. I will be purchasing another one for my youngest, who will be shaving soon as he is 14.

Sent via mobile - Chris

I may just spend 25 bucks on an ultrasonic cleaner and use it on all my razors. I'll need to get ahold of cap and see how much to have him do both razors. However i get a feeling the more expensive one was ultrasonically cleaned. It works like a german watch.

Congratulations! The slim is a favorite of mine.

+1 I think it was my first vintage also!

BigJ said:

Congratulations! The slim is a favorite of mine.

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Hot water soaking is always the first step. The ultrasonic works great but be aware that it will remove the number's paint. Easy to repaint but just so that you know. I picked up my ultrasonic cleaner from Goodwill for like $5.

I use Mothers mag polish very sparingly and lightly on vintage razors. It will take the plating off and paint off if used too liberally. I like to use silver polish (got at ht grocery store), its not abrasive and cleans up nice.

A soak in Dawn and hot water then mineral oil to lube.

KeenDogg said:

Danny Zucko!!!! Bwaahhahhahaahaa!!!

You know, now that I see the tub, it looks familiar. Let us know how it goes, ok?

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That stuff is the BOMB!!!!! it had a smell of ammonia but aside from that i rubbed on a thin layer all over the razor, waited a minute or two then rubbed it in, then started rubbing it off. Once it was all off i began buffing with a microfiber baby's wash cloth and it was gleaming!!!!

imatabor said:

Hot water soaking is always the first step. The ultrasonic works great but be aware that it will remove the number's paint. Easy to repaint but just so that you know. I picked up my ultrasonic cleaner from Goodwill for like $5.

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I figured it would. My sister ordered one from the bay last night and it arrived during church this morning! Yeah it stripped the paint. [emoji52] [emoji52] [emoji52] [emoji53] [emoji53] [emoji53] [emoji363] (closest thing to a lightbulb in the imoji list)[emoji57] [emoji57] [emoji57] [emoji57] [emoji57]

So i went to wally world, picked up some supplies and now here is the before and after of the razor. Now we need to find a name for it... I'm thinking.... Brittany?

Yeah a green tip and green numbers... What y'all think?

Nice work, it came out very clean.
Another good method for cleaning is scrubbing bubbles or kaboom, shines stuff up quick and takes out gunk.

+1 on the mineral oil for lube, very effective stuff and safe on your skin

How about a fine Irish name, laddie?

KeenDogg said:

How about a fine Irish name, laddie?

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Well i was thinking of a strong scottish name like patrick. Irish have strange names like columba. I was really leaning strong toward brittany because my friend brittany loves green lol.