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I am restoring a George Butler & Co razor. I am concerned about damaging the etching on the blade...and yet there is more discolouration and patina to remove. There's no rust or scaling...any advice? Will sanding with 600, 800, 1000, 2000 dig into the etch? Sorry for poor pic quality.
Attachment 238023
Etching looks pretty strong. I would work slow and try to avoid most of the blade etch. You should be OK on the shank. Do hand sanding so you have more control of metal removal. Good luck.
If it were mine I'd get rid of any active rust and leave those beautiful age marks. Just me though.
New to site how do I post a question or start a thread about razor restoration . Thanks Immy
That looks like a good candidate for steel wool and WD-40. Finish it with mothers polish and all should be well.
Saving an etch is delicate work, yours looks pretty deep though.
Lapping film works exceptionally well. For the blade start with 1k or higher with a stiff backer. Small pieces of wet & dry or film and a pencil on the tip of the eraser works well to sand around the etch, take your time.
Micro Mesh sanding pads and paper work well for cleaning up around the etch when used carefully, but use lapping film over the etch for maximum performance.
I buy my film from Thor Labs, but you can buy single sheets from some woodworking and carving supplies. Diamond lapping film is 10 times the cost, but do not produce 10 times the performance, Silicone and Aluminum Oxides
Here is an excellent post by Geezer on darkening bluing and high grit sanding, (Revealing Etchings). The trick to cold bluing is scrupulously clean surface and a bit of heat from a hair dryer or heat gun.
000 and 0000 steel wool works well for clean up as said. Start with WD40 then dry the razor and use the steel wool dry, with liquid Chrome Oxide, Diamond Paste or Liquid or a good metal polish.
Take a couple of wooden stir stick glue them together with CA glue, to double the thickness and clip the end square with a pair of side cutters. Clipping a single stick works well for cleaning between the scales with steel wool or a WD40 soaked paper towel, I like the Blue Shop Towels for cleaning razors, buy them by the case at Sam’s and Costco.
Wrap the tip with steel wool to get into tight spots, the shoulders of stabilizers and the tang near the pivot pin.
The stamping on the tang are generally deeper and you can use Wet & Dry in place of film to clean and polish the tangs. Cold blue works great to make stamps pop.
I tend to agree...though I feel I should be trying to bring it back to its "old self". Hard to decide...I really like the vintage look.Quote:
Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY
Should I use a circular motion or linear motion with the sandpaper?Quote:
Originally Posted by Euclid440
I've had great luck preserving etching by covering it with a thick layer of colored fingernail polish. The color makes it easy too see when you need to recoat during sanding". It comes pretty easy with polish remover once you're done sanding the blade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Immy
QUICK HIGHJACK:
Immy - your profile says that you have started 6 posts already, beginning in January??
In case you have forgotten. No Need To Reply.
Attachment 238064
You always will have better and quicker results cross direction sanding, unless you are laying down a satin type directional finish. Because you lay down a stria pattern then remove it cross directionally, then lay down another and remove it.
I hand sand 10 – 20 strokes in one direction, then sand 90 degrees to the stria you just laid down, when you can. Circles will leave circular scratches that are hard to remove, and I feel I have better control directionally.
Once you remove all you staining, rust or pitting, then you want to lay an even stria pattern that will be removed by the next grit. You can feel when the paper stops cutting, replace it. Paper is cheap.
Often folks think a shiny 1k finish is stria free, but look at it at 100 or 400X and you will see the scratches, even high grit polish leaves stria.
Two questions:
1. How do you address the issue of the difference in appearance between the area you have covered in some fashion to preserve the etching...and the rest of the blade that now has a much "newer", cleaned up appearance?
2. Does steel wool just clean or would it eat into the etching? I suppose I could do an experiment, but I am hoping someone may have the answer.
An etch like the one in the OP will be fine with steel wool. The ones with frosting or goldfish are the ones that steel wool will eat up pretty quick. One of the things that happens with steel wool is it will polish into the etch, removing the black that makes it stand out so well. This can be put back with bluing or black paint. There are a few techniques that will re-color the etch.
Sorry if this question has been addressed elsewhere...but would 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper eat into the etch?Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
All sandpaper will eat into the etch, however the higher the grit the longer that takes. 2K grit would take a long time to make any difference in a deep etch. You can also get micro polishing pads from Lee Valley Tools that go to much higher grits.
I am hoping a 2k sandpaper will help to even out some of the discolouration but not damage the etch on this razor. Then lots of polish and elbow grease! I will probably put some tape over the etch to preserve it as much as I can. I really like the feel of this razor.Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
If you use a hard backer like a wine cork or a pink eraser. The 2k wet and dry will ride on the top and not cut into the etch as much, but you are still removing material.
Shape a cheap pink or white eraser, with some 60 or 80 grit sand paper to the shape of you razor to make a custom backer for a particular razor. I buy them by the pack from the Dollar Store, I think there are 6 in a pack, about 2 in long and ¾ inch wide. Synthetic wine corks also work well, they too can be re-shaped.
Lapping film works very well when trying to polish around and in an etch, it is much finer than wet and dry 5um is about 4k, 3um/8k and 1um/16K. it is very aggressive. Thor Labs for Aluminum Oxide lapping film.
Soft backers or steel wool will flex and dig into the etch, not ride over it, like a high grit paper with a hard backer.
