Ugly Duckling becomes ... [How to clean a crudy eBay razor]

Mark1966

Canberra dwelling Happy Clapping Bean Counter
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"Vintage Gillette Razor. In good condition. See pics for closer details or message with any questions" said the eBay listing. The pictures from the listing showing the razor "in good condition" are shown below -



(Click on links for larger images)

This could be a good Christmas project I thought!

Watch this space for more ...
 
All of us living in glass houses surrounded by soap, razors, blades, brushes and aftershave don’t know what you are talking about.

@Mark1966 doesn't so much live in a glass house as one made of 224,682 Gillette DE razors. Visitors to Canberra assume it is the armour plated residence of the Prime Minister nope simply our own Mr Gillette's obsession made good.
 
OK, so did an initial clean tonight - total time about 30 minutes

Remember - this is what we have to start with (Click on links for larger images) ...





... they almost always have a blade! Take note of the date code (O3, so third quarter 1969) and discard SAFELY.



What I'll be using tonight -

snfnPJ9l.jpg
 
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First the razor gets soaked with the cleaner -



Then the container is filled with boiling water -



Note the bits that have already floated off -



Now spray the case -



Note the mess that came off on the kitchen bench -



Will also use some of this on the razor -

 
Basically once the water cools I scrub the razor with the toothbrush and then, once the soap scum is gone as far as you can see, squirt some toothpaste around and scrub again - before rinsing under a tap while still scrubbing . The result -



yM61i9Kl.jpg
 
So clearly not perfect, and those green areas in the original pics do mean that the plating is compromised. It is missing the paint in the numbers (so I can safely throw in the ultrasonic as well, but seems to adjust and open and close fine.





Born in the forth quarter of 1962 (H4) this 58 year old razor still has some years in it yet ...
 
So clearly not perfect, and those green areas in the original pics do mean that the plating is compromised. It is missing the paint in the numbers (so I can safely throw in the ultrasonic as well, but seems to adjust and open and close fine.





Born in the forth quarter of 1962 (H4) this 58 year old razor still has some years in it yet ...
Wow, that was worth the effort! I wasn't expecting it to come up quite so shiny.
 
Thanks guys, yes @Holiday only basic household kits will address a lot of the issues when the main problem is soap scrum. Given the blade in this is 1969 this has likely been sitting unused for around 50 years, a lot of basic dirt and grime accumulates in that time.

Cheap toothpaste is a simple, mild, polish @rhodes96 - so my first choice. It is also fairly water soluble so rinsing as you scrub tends to ensure that you don't leave residue behind. The toothbrush is a cheap medium or firm one too. I know some people who swear by Denture Brushes which are probably very similar.

Well @Pbgoose the lighting at night does help. Looking at it now in the daylight you can see all the flaws.

There are some fine scratches on the plastic cover - hoping that Plastx will help get them out.

In the adjustment mechanism under the head you can see scum and detritus. As the paint is already gone from the number the ultrasonic will help sort that out.

With the soap scum out of the way the spots of verdigris on the handle are more obvious. There are lots of home remedies for removal and even simply soaking overnight in Coke (acidic) is known to work - but it can also compromise more of the plating. Ammonia (or other high alkaline products) are as bad if not worse!

I tend to stick with the Victoria and Albert Museum approach - less is more.

I will ultrasonic the razor next and then see how it is looking. At the same time I will use Plastx on the case.

More to come!
 
Outstanding work from the General!
 
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