Thread: Revealing Etchings

Revealing etching, a quick process to see if the etchings are worth saving before major restoration work.
( Total time including photos ~ a half hour or less!)
Her are a couple razors from the "2do" bin One fair and the other ???:

After a thorough wash with a citrus cleaner and then dried.
Washed well with acetone and dried.
Then a Qtip with instant gun blue:

Washed and neutralized with citrus cleaner and scrubbed lightly.
Then a few minutes work with .3 micron lapping film.
Not complete but ready for the next steps of renewal:


Answers:
The razors were not selected for any reason but possibilities.

The long streaks on the blade are reflections of my ceiling fan

It would have gone faster if I used a coarser lapping film like .5 micron.

Again the reason for using a lapping film is that the grit stays on the Mylar and does not go into the etch. the Film does not deform so it stay upon the surface of the razor.

Some razors are too far gone for this to work but it is always worth the try.

And...they do look better in person under a good light to get the reflections correct.

For the deeply etched, some folks recommend thinned nail polish or lacquer be painted into the etch to preserve it while doing the regular renewal methods.

Have fun!
~Richard

The bluing was recommended by my local old time gunsmith. yours may suggest another brand with good results.

Very nice. I recently purchased some bluing solution and now I have something else to try it out.

Super info ........ thanks Richard ! ........

That's awesome Richard. Thank you very very much. Can't wait to try it out!

VERY COOL!
THANKS...

Again, I will say go at it slowly and carefully! A faint etch can disappear in a heart beat. Film only and I would recommend no more than a 1 micron to get started. The.3 took a while but left the blade ready to hone.
Enjoy the journey!
~Richard

Genius idea...gotta snag myself some.

Again, Lapping Film, not abrasive wet/ dry paper!
~Richard

Well I had a few minutes after putting the kids to bed a tried this on three razors.

These are the test subjects. These have gone through some time in my brass tumblers and a bit of oil for rust prevention.







After degreasing, and my degreasing method. Soap and water scrub, rinse, citrus cleaner (great tip Geezer, worked great), dip in isopropyl alcohol.





Blueing applied. Used a q-tip and waited 30 seconds. Rinsed well in cold water and scrubbed with a wet rag.





Final results after using 0.3 micron lapping film with a wine cork for backing.






Thoughts and impressions: I think this is a great method and will be trying it again. I put some blueing on the tang stamps and was pleased with the results. You can still see some shadowing from the blueing application that needs some work. I don't think 0.3 micron film will cut it for the initial clean up. I think I will pick up some 0.5 and 1.0 micron lapping film and give that a go first, them work to 0.3 micron. BTW, the lapping film works MUCH better with a little water. Took me 10 minutes to figure that out

Hey geezer. I'm going to give this a try. I'm not at all familiar with lapping films and I don't want to order more then I need. The vendor I'm looking to purchase from carries 0.3 and 1 micron film(they don't have .5). In your opinion would this work or do I need .5 film? I assume 1 micron wouldn't really leave a scratch pattern, just a slightly duller shine.