Im a resto resto-newb! i'm gonna be, a resto-newb!

Hi guys, i'm a resto-newb!
Just got 6 resto projects from a chappy on here, for a very reasonable price.

A few are quite severly rusty, but most are not too bad.

Where do i start? i've started with some high grit sandpaper but a lot of the discolouring and pitting isn't coming out, and i'm creating a lot of scratches.

How careful should i be in order not to remove/sand away the markings on the blade? some of them are really faint, and i'm worried even the lightest sanding will make them vanish...

I'll try and post pictures tomorrow.

Cheers in advance!
Tink.

Im Not a restorer by any means (well hopeing to be ......one day :rolleyes: )
but Im sure you would probaly want to start out with a low grit
sandpaper like ,180,200 then progress from there with stepping into higher grits . There are many people on here and check the wiki section
but im sure someone will post the proper way .

I always start at 400 just to see what's what with pitting/staining....

Some times you must go lower to get it all... and that doesn't even start to mention belts, and compounds... we are still just talking sandpaper here.

Whatever goes deeper in the metal determines what is left showing...

Murphy's law with razors however states explicitly that the stains/pitting will be deeper than the etching :D

Restoration is sometimes a balancing act between looks / stains / steel integrity

I also have the same question. If you are trying to restore a blade that has gold plating or shallow etching, how do you keep from removing these while still cleaning the blade and making it look presentable? :shrug:

The gold wash or etching will usually be history. Sorry!:cry: