Thread: Razor Emporium's re-plating work

Gentlemen:

Have you used Razor Emporium's re-plating service for your razor and what are your thoughts on the results? I am curious. I have a Gillette Fatboy I am considering re-plating. It's in great shape already, but I still want to put a glittering shine on it. Thanks.

Regards,

Obie

The purests scoff at it but is no big deal,fatboys are pretty common.
have had two aristocrats and a FB Rhodium plated for a friend,they look fantastic.

I have not sent them a razor to re-plate, but have purchased a razor from them that they have already done. It has a really nice finish on it. They do nice work.

I'm probably a little late, but if it's just a fresh, 'glittery' finish you're looking for, you might want to just send it to them and have the cleaning process done. I believe it includes a trip in the vibrating tumbler with walnut media. Better yet, some in SRP might be willing to do it for you. I just got my tumbler in and put a fatboy through it for 24 hrs and man! It looks great! I did not take it apart prior to the tumbler, however, and spent some time washing it out and working the TTO and adjuster knob back and forth under the tap for a while before getting full movement back. After a little oil, it works fantastic. Sorry if I'm too late, and sorry I'm not offering you my tumbler either! I'm still hesitant to take on that responsibility.

You need to be very careful with polishing media. The plate depth is like a few microns and can be taken off very easily. Really if some good metal polish or a quick rub with a Cape Cod Cloth doesn't do the trick I wouldn't go much further. More aggressive means might look good but you might have removed a good amount of the plate too.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You need to be very careful with polishing media. The plate depth is like a few microns and can be taken off very easily. Really if some good metal polish or a quick rub with a Cape Cod Cloth doesn't do the trick I wouldn't go much further. More aggressive means might look good but you might have removed a good amount of the plate too.

Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is "the plate"?

Thanks

Originally Posted by zepplin

Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is "the plate"?

Thanks

We're talking about the nickel, or gold, electroplate coating that covers most vintage Gillette safety razors that are primarily brass.

I just took three Ebay Fatboys through a bit of a cleanup and polish last night. I got them in "as-found" condition and they were grungy and the TTO and adjustment were both very tight. First I boiled them for about 15 minutes in water with baking soda, which was thoroughly disgusting by the end. After that, I gave them each a very thorough scrubbing with an old toothbrush and some toothpaste. That cleaned them up fairly well. My final step was to polish them a bit with my micromesh pads, 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000. The plating withstood that just fine and they shined up nicely, though I was very careful and conservative with the time and pressure of polishing.

They are clean and have a gleam to them, though they aren't the prettiest Fatboys. They are user grade and the action works nicely now, without any stiffness, which is fine with me. I am contemplating sending one of them down for the full restoration service to see how it looks, but that's a lot of money (more than I paid for the razor), so I'm hesitant.