Thread: How to remove paste from linen

I wish I could have delurked with a slightly less embarrassing question, but here goes:

I only just realised that applying Dovo green paste to the linen side of my strop (as recommended by my local dealer) was probably a suboptimal idea.

Is it possible to remove the paste from the linen? And if so, how?

Just for the record: I switched from DE shaving to straights only five months ago, and have been getting OK (or rather, so-so) shaves ever since. I own four straights that were honed by said dealer, am waiting for my fifth, own Lynn's DVD (thanks for patiently supporting a Linux hippie with a permissions problem, Lynn), and absolutely love this forum.

Many experienced shavers use paste on the Linen side so that might not be as bad of an idea as you think. As far as removing it goes, I am not really sure how you would go about it. If I remember correctly, I think that MParker said that he used carberator cleaner to remove the paste on the leather side of his strop. I do not know if this would work on the linen. Maybe Tony Miller could give you some advice, but I have a feeling the it will be fairly difficult to get everything off.

One option would be to wash the linen.

Soak it in some warm water then lay on a flat surface. Sprinkle (or pour if liquid) laundry soap on then scrub with a bristle brush. If there are any stains on it, pre-treat with Shout (or whatever). Repeat as necessary....

Rinse it out really well (several times) and let it dry well, laid flat. Some use books and such to press it flat while drying but I really don't think you gain much.

After it dries, run a hot iron over it. If it comes out too "limp" for your liking or you would like a little more draw to it, you can run a plain white candle over it (to pick up a little wax) then warm iron again but use sheets of plain white paper between the strop and iron. This will gently melt the wax into the strop and smooth/fiirm the strop up.

YMMV


v/r

Allen

You probably do want to get that Dovo green out of there, as it is a pretty aggressive paste (6 micron, I believe, which is like 4000 grit).

Try washing it, as already suggested. You haven't got much to lose, at this point. Washing probably isn't a problem at all, I would think that you need to be careful when drying it, though.

Just something to think about as you attempt cleaning it, and I don't mean to take this too off topic, but I think it is important to think about, even if it doesn't change your life :

As far as I know from my chemistry experience, chromium compounds are highly toxic in the environment, especially in aquatic environments, especially in the long term. Now I don't know how much chromium is in the average amount of paste / how much paste is used (or how many people in your area have been washing it down their drains over time). Just something to think about I suppose. Water carries things a long way, and "they" keep finding higher concentrations of new things in it nowadays and it's frightening.

Back on topic though, good luck cleaning that out, hopefully something works for you. Maybe you should say something to your dealer? Or ask if they have any advice, since they got you into this situation?

Well you can scrub and scrub and scrub with a hard brush and detergent but remember the stuff is an abrasive and it will embed itself into the linen so personally I don't think you can ever get it all out so its a matter of just how much comes off and if your satisfied with that.

Thanks a lot for all your answers. I'll try to get a cheap linen strop somewhere.

check e bite i got a very old, looks unused, scotish linen strop there for 9.99, it has embedded dust in it i wonder if it would benefit from washing like the others said to

Flip the linen over.

The pasted side can be written off.