Thread: Cleaning recently bought DEs

This may belong in another forum, but since it's DE related I thought I'd put it here.

I had been looking for a DE to use instead of my Fusion when I don't have 20 minutes or so to use my straight. I stopped by an antique shop today and bought two (I know, I was only looking for one) DE razors. One is a Gillette butterfly (adjustable?) and the other is the old screw off the head to replace the blade thing. Got 'em both for $9 US.

I was wondering what the best method would be to clean them up a bit, especially the old screw head one. I couldn't see the markings on the bottom of the butterfly head until I took a toothbrush and dish washing liquid water to it to scrub off some of the "scum" that was there, and it had a Gillette super blue blade still in it so it does have a tad bit of rust on the inside of the butterfly. Pics attached.

I have some Brasso but I thought that might be too aggressive...especially on the gold screw-off head one. I haven't found any Maas around here yet but haven't looked real hard either. The screw-off head one has some of the green gunk in spots.

Dad had one of the twist to open razors when I was a kid and that's what I learned to shave with. His dad was "with it" then and used a Norelco electric. My other Grandpa was still using a straight.

Thanks!!!!

Ideally, an ultrasonic cleaner is the best way to remove the crud, but in lieu of that, start with a few soaks in Scrubbing Bubbles, which should get rid of a vast majority of the gunk, and then scrub them with a soft toothbrush dipped in the Scrubbing Bubble liquid. If you can't find MAAS, look for another polish that is safe for all metals and apply it with Q-tips to get into all the nooks and crannies. I'm not too sure about Brasso, maybe too harsh? The three-piece was most likely gold plated at one time, but if you polish up the brass, it will look really nice and will function just fine. If there is some rust on the butterfly razor, it most likely came from the blade and is just on the surface, and the Scrubbing Bubbles will take care of that. For the dark spots in the handle, applying the metal polish with a toothbrush or even #0000 steel wool will shine up that knurling just fine.

By the way, the silver one is a Super Speed, and the three-piece is a ball handle Old Type. Nice finds, and good shavers!

+1 on the previous posts. Begin with the least aggressive method of cleaning and polishing your vintage DE razors.

In addition, you should look into getting some old-style 100% cotton diapers or some other pure cotton cloth to polish your razors with. The synthetic threads in more modern materials may scratch your razor.

BTW...You can order MAAS thru amazon.com.

+1 on the previous posts about Scrubbing Bubbles, it's some great stuff. Brasso, though, is another story -- really unpleasant to use. It's thin, runny, and it stinks....I don't mean performance-wise, I mean it smells bad. On top of that, it doesn't really work that well. Did I mention that I hate the smell?

Flitz, microfibre cloths, an old toothbrush, maybe a brass scratch-brush, all these things will help you spruce up these oldies. Brasso stinks.

As the other gentlemen said, Scrubbing Bubbles. I got a jug of the pump spray, opened it and poured the contents into a container that will just fit an average DE. I drop the whole thing in and leave it for five minutes.

Rinse and scrub with a soft toothbrush. For gold plate Windex won't take it off and will clean it. For either silver of gold a dip in mineral oil overnight is optional. On TTO (twist to open) or adjustables it sometimes helps the action.

Have access to a woman w/ a jewelry cleaner tub?

Just a few drops of white vinegar in a base of warm water and 1/2 hour of action does wonders to loosen all that green gunk that's so typically found on these.

If you've got gold plating on this razor, MAAS (and other similiar polishes) might remove it. It will certainly take gold wash off a straight razor.

As others have said, start with the least aggressive method.