Thread: Camellia Oil Residue?

Originally Posted by Michael70

I have camellia oil that I use from time to time but have found I am increasingly using it less and using Ballistol primarily. Great stuff and never a issue.

Ballistol; my preferred choice as well.

It was designed to protect metal (and more) and I need not worry about the oil gumming up.


B.

I bought a bottle of Camellia oil from SRD years ago , get better results from using Vaseline petroleum jelly works great with no residue great for guns also!

I have used Dawn dishwashing soap in hot water and it removes any oil. It is safe for the blade and scales. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse the razor and try it. I used very light oil to lubricate electric razors and that works very well. There is a silicone stray used for metal moving parts that also works well.

Today I realized that the camellia oil got all dry and sticky, very hard to remove.

I tried several things: ethanol, WD40, gasoline, oranol (citrus pressed oils I use for diluting tung oil), Ballistol, warm water with dishes' detergent. Nothing really worked. Water and detergent actually corroded the blade (very lightly) within 15 mins, so I would not recommend it.

I gave Ballistol another try and let it sit on a blade for eg 15 minutes and it helped soften the residues of camellia oil. Do not expect wonders but I'd recommend Ballistol.
I used camellia oil on cca 30 blades and it took me 4 hrs to clean them. The funny thing is that I've always used Ballistol but thought camellia oil might be better so I gave it a try ...

Originally Posted by beluga

Ballistol; my preferred choice as well.

It was designed to protect metal (and more) and I need not worry about the oil gumming up.


B.

I love my Ballistol. It works great for about anything we do in razor restoration, making & what have you. It is my favorite for strop restoration & is a great cutting oil for drilling. The list goes on!

Slawman

I use 3M silicone spray which is wood and plastic neutral.

Another option for removing residual Camillia oil gunk and stickiness from blades or scales is Charlies Soap. Just spray it on or soak for a few minutes, scrub with a toothbrush, and the gunk is gone. I wouldn't let a blade soak for too long as it's water based. As others have said, brake cleaner works well too but should not go near scales.

This is yet another reason I don’t apply any oils to any of my blades, when I get razors in to hone I do apply a light coating of clipper oil and tell the owner to wipe and rinse clean before use, I am in the camp of not oiling blades and putting in storage

I'm with William, no oil for me except the silicone sleeves which live in an open Zip-Lock bag.

Everyday use razors in non-marine environments or in conditioned space generally don't need anything but to be clean and dry, though I seem to remember Oz (the person) being an exception.

For long-term storage, make sure that you clean and dry the razor with washed hands, no fingerprints, then slip them into a silicone sleeve.

Couple of cautions: the silicone in the sleeves may darken wooden scales, and given the scarcity of genuine ivory I'd probably avoid them for ivory, though I've had a test razor in one for a couple of years with no visible change. And if you paint anything, cars, furniture, cashew on your jnats, silicone contamination is a bad thing (it causes 'fisheyes') and is difficult to clean completely from a shop environment.

Cheers, Steve