I've been seeing a lot more members asking about polishing and restorations in general. A lot of times some newer members may feel like they need to send it out to someone and sometimes with good reason but a lot of times you don't.
I personally really enjoy polishing razors but I use two methods. The first one being the most popular for major restoration is with greaseless compounds on buffers. Quite honestly I ONLY do it if I have to, it is dangerous even with quite a few blades that I've done I don't fully feel comfortable and have even had blades shoot out of my hands and scare the bejesus out of me. So I only use buffers if the blade is pitted heavily and completely needs a clean up.
This next method is my favorite and want to share how I do it and of course you don't have to do it like I do but it works, it's easy and anyone can restore and polish a blade.
(I have never used the polishing compound it comes with so I have no idea how it works)
A few attachments
I use the smaller felt wheels for 5/8 and below but I was running low on the larger wheels for 6/8 and above.
Rouges
I use Dico buffing compounds that can be found at ACE Hardware and probably any other hardware store.
There are other items that Dico carries that are in between but I've never used them an figured if I was going to use all of those I may as well use greaseless on buffers.
A few other necessities are cloth and most importantly SAFETY EQUIPMENT!!!. You will be covered in the rouges and this stuff flies everywhere.
This razor was a nice snag for me off the bay and will be a piece of cake to polish to a brilliant mirror finish. There is no pitting, just staining but not too bad but beyond what MAAS can do. This is a 6/8 Syracuse Barber Supply Razor with great bolsters and great plastic scales. I am not going to give up these scales, they are just perfect.
Edit: Use the wire wheel to remove and loosen oxidation and rust.
Before loading the wheel I like to clean off any rouges that are on there already and of course this is only if the wheels are not new. I use 80 or 100 grit sand paper and just lightly turn the Dremel on and rough the wheel up a bit.
Load the wheel with the Dremel on and it's as easy as letting it spin in the rouge to load.
I keep the Dremel at the #2 position and never higher on it.
Always Always Always.....keep the wheels rotating from the spine to the edge. It is very easy for blades to crack and send shrapnel flying. I like to use side to side motion.
After you completely buff the entire buffing area use a cloth to wipe the razor down. The grey will clean the major grime off the razor and this is usually where I spend the most time doing.
The red is where you should notice a huge improvement.
Then follows the white
Then the chromium oxide. Just drop the cloth wheel in the baggy and mix it up in there to cover the entire wheel. This will be extremely messy and dusty, you will have green fingers afterwards but it cleans up easily. You must use a respiratory device here, the excess will shoot up right at you. This is a really light touch, if you use a heavy hand you will leave scratches in the blade and you will have to do the entire process from the beginning again.
Tada
I hope this helps folks that thought they couldn't do some minor polishing. Don't be afraid to try your own restorations and also most importantly don't be afraid to ask for help. I from time to time send my razors out if I feel the work is too much restoration or if I don't have enough time.
These scales look perfect but were uneven and would not stand up on its back. So I've been experimenting on fixing scales lately by fixing warped scales and in this situation I actually cut the scale on the back side. and fused it back after I straightened them out. Because of the bolsters and inlay I didn't want to try and rescale. It came out perfectly!! I'm going to wait a bit to see how they last but I've done it on scrap pieces and it holds up pretty good but only on acrylic. Not 100% but pretty darn close. I'll get a tutorial up on this later along with straightening warped scales.
My biggest goal from this tutorial is to hopefully have other members who have an area they feel comfortable doing to share that with others and expand the knowledge of the members. Maybe a pinning tutorial, honing, unpinning, etc.
I personally really enjoy polishing razors but I use two methods. The first one being the most popular for major restoration is with greaseless compounds on buffers. Quite honestly I ONLY do it if I have to, it is dangerous even with quite a few blades that I've done I don't fully feel comfortable and have even had blades shoot out of my hands and scare the bejesus out of me. So I only use buffers if the blade is pitted heavily and completely needs a clean up.
This next method is my favorite and want to share how I do it and of course you don't have to do it like I do but it works, it's easy and anyone can restore and polish a blade.
This polishing kit from Dremel is one of the main tools I use and quite honestly you don't have to buy the kit but because of the price point of buying it by piece and in a kit it makes sense. About ~$15
(I have never used the polishing compound it comes with so I have no idea how it works)
- Any Dremel will work. I personally like a battery one for restorations because you don't have to worry about cords. Also I've never drained a battery completely during a polish.
A few attachments
I use the smaller felt wheels for 5/8 and below but I was running low on the larger wheels for 6/8 and above.
- Wheel attachment
- A cloth wheel for the final buff
- A wire wheel brush for removing grime and loose items in corners and this works excellent to run on jimps.
Rouges
I use Dico buffing compounds that can be found at ACE Hardware and probably any other hardware store.
- E5 (Grey)
- CR1 (Red)
- WR1 (White)
There are other items that Dico carries that are in between but I've never used them an figured if I was going to use all of those I may as well use greaseless on buffers.
- Chromium Oxide
A few other necessities are cloth and most importantly SAFETY EQUIPMENT!!!. You will be covered in the rouges and this stuff flies everywhere.
- Eye protection
- Some kind of respiratory protection
This razor was a nice snag for me off the bay and will be a piece of cake to polish to a brilliant mirror finish. There is no pitting, just staining but not too bad but beyond what MAAS can do. This is a 6/8 Syracuse Barber Supply Razor with great bolsters and great plastic scales. I am not going to give up these scales, they are just perfect.
Edit: Use the wire wheel to remove and loosen oxidation and rust.
Before loading the wheel I like to clean off any rouges that are on there already and of course this is only if the wheels are not new. I use 80 or 100 grit sand paper and just lightly turn the Dremel on and rough the wheel up a bit.
I keep the Dremel at the #2 position and never higher on it.
Always Always Always.....keep the wheels rotating from the spine to the edge. It is very easy for blades to crack and send shrapnel flying. I like to use side to side motion.
After you completely buff the entire buffing area use a cloth to wipe the razor down. The grey will clean the major grime off the razor and this is usually where I spend the most time doing.
The red is where you should notice a huge improvement.
Then follows the white
Then the chromium oxide. Just drop the cloth wheel in the baggy and mix it up in there to cover the entire wheel. This will be extremely messy and dusty, you will have green fingers afterwards but it cleans up easily. You must use a respiratory device here, the excess will shoot up right at you. This is a really light touch, if you use a heavy hand you will leave scratches in the blade and you will have to do the entire process from the beginning again.
Tada
I hope this helps folks that thought they couldn't do some minor polishing. Don't be afraid to try your own restorations and also most importantly don't be afraid to ask for help. I from time to time send my razors out if I feel the work is too much restoration or if I don't have enough time.
These scales look perfect but were uneven and would not stand up on its back. So I've been experimenting on fixing scales lately by fixing warped scales and in this situation I actually cut the scale on the back side. and fused it back after I straightened them out. Because of the bolsters and inlay I didn't want to try and rescale. It came out perfectly!! I'm going to wait a bit to see how they last but I've done it on scrap pieces and it holds up pretty good but only on acrylic. Not 100% but pretty darn close. I'll get a tutorial up on this later along with straightening warped scales.
My biggest goal from this tutorial is to hopefully have other members who have an area they feel comfortable doing to share that with others and expand the knowledge of the members. Maybe a pinning tutorial, honing, unpinning, etc.
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