DE razor cleaning

I have a few chrome vintage DE razors in my rotation and I notice they look pitted I clean an dry them after I use them but they seem to look crappy any ideas why and what I can do to shine them up

What I used to do when I collected vintage DEs .... if they came grungy.... was use Scrubbing Bubbles (pump spray bottle) and empty it into a rubbermaid container large enough to cover a couple of DEs. I'd let a DE soak in that for 5 or 10 minutes and then hit it with Q-tips, soft toothbrush and rinse in the sink. You can put the lid on the container and use it again and again.

On TTO (twist to open) I might give them a soak in another container filled with mineral oil. Finally, a metal polish such as Semichrome, Maas, Flitz or Wenol might get rid of some pitting but not if it is deep. It also might take plating if it is thin. On gold plated razors it will take it off. Windex is the thing for gold. That is for old grungy razors. For your every day razors a nail brush under running water and dry with a paper towel ought to help a lot. :gl:

pipe cleaners work really well for those hard to reach places.

+1 on JimmyHAD's toothbrush.

It works great for the nooks and crannies, especially on TTOs.

In all probability if you have cleaned them up and they still look crummy in all likelihood the plating is worn off or badly deteriorated and you can't do much for that except replate.

I use a soak in dish soap and hot water. Followed by scrubbing bubbles. After that it's more dish soap and an old toothbrush. That cleans gold really well and brings out the shine. I personally haven't tried polish on one yet but I am thinking about hitting a slim adjustable chrome that I got the other day with some to remove little spots. I'll post how it goes.

All good advice above, but most of the old Gillette razors are nickel plated not chrome. It is very easy to polish right off especially with something like Brasso.

Maas and just a little elbow grease should have them shining right up, but if you go deep enough to take out pits, you will be down to the brass.

Will N.

I have 6 DE razors and what i normally do is brush them with soap and at the end put some oil on them, such as ub40. Hope this helps.
K

I tend to go go warm soapy water and toothbrush followed by my ultrasonic cleaner, but it does remove paint, if there is any, so take that into consideration if you try one.

Routine cleaning on my Aristocrats and my Futur is a soft toothbrush under warm water. A couple time a year they all
go in the wife's ultrasonic jewlry cleaner and it works like a charm.

I just cleaned my razors today. A little warm water with a drop of vinegar will do the trick. Soak them for 20 minutes or so and then gently clean them with a toothbrush and some green soap. Rinse with cooked or distilled water and dry. I wanted to buy an ultrasonic cleaner but for the 80 bucks I rather buy a new razor ir some good soap!

Gentlemen,

A soft toothbrush and warm soapy water does it for me several times a year, plus a warm bath in Barbacide. I try to avoid vinegar, as many of my double edge razors have buffalo horn, wood or acrylic handles. Also, I remove the blade after every shave and thoroughly rinse and dry my razors before putting them in the rack. That also helps in their general maintenance.