Thread: Brown Scales???

I've got a razor that I'm wondering about. It's a Walker and Gibson, made in Germany. The scales are celluloid (I think) and brown in color. I'm wondering if they were black and turned brown or were brown originally? Anyone ever seen brown scales?

If they were black and turned brown is there any way to get them back to black?

I'll post up a picture.

Thanks.

I have a Landers Frary and Clark that I ran under really hot water while disinfecting it, and the scales turned from a solid black to a mottled brownish green tint. Might have been a color change induced from heat or chemicals.

You've got yourself some old, discolored bakelite. I've noticed that scales in the condition you've just shown us are very brittle. I know for a fact that prolonged sunlight can turn bakelight into this color...and many times you will see the shape of a sticker on a set like this...sitting in an antique shop window for 20 years...

Originally Posted by Undream

You've got yourself some old, discolored bakelite. I've noticed that scales in the condition you've just shown us are very brittle. I know for a fact that prolonged sunlight can turn bakelight into this color...and many times you will see the shape of a sticker on a set like this...sitting in an antique shop window for 20 years...

I take it there's no way to undo the damage then?

Sometimes the discolouration is just surface oxidisation - hard rubber (which is quite unlike rubber!) can also do this. It may be so thin that a mild abrasive like Maas or brasso will remove it, if thicker fine steel wool, thicker still and you have to sand.

In the last two cases you will have to buff or polish back to a shine, but if you use a buffer you run the risk of the heat generated by it turning the surface brown again.

Regards,
Neil

I have several razors that are two-toned. One side is black and the other side is brown. It is probably from being exposed to sunlight. But I also have a razor with brown scales on both sides. I haven't tried restoring these yet, but I believe Neil is right about polishing the brown scales with a good metal polish to restore them to their original color. And if it doesn't work? Hey, you have beautifully polished set of brown scales!

Regards - Walt

I tried the polish and now I have shiny brown scales. They don't look too bad really, the color is even.

Originally Posted by Walt

I have several razors that are two-toned. One side is black and the other side is brown. It is probably from being exposed to sunlight. But I also have a razor with brown scales on both sides. I haven't tried restoring these yet, but I believe Neil is right about polishing the brown scales with a good metal polish to restore them to their original color. And if it doesn't work? Hey, you have beautifully polished set of brown scales!

Regards - Walt

Looks like exposure to UV from the sun...this is fairly common in vintage fountain pens made from hardened rubber. The fix is to buy some RIT fabric dye and let the scales sit in it to absorb as much as possible, dry them off, and buff them out....that should make them come right back to life.

It is possible that polishing will not remove enough scale material, but, as with many things, you may not be able to tell how deep you'll have to go to get past the staining. Dye sounds like a great option, but I assume you would have to depin the scales to get the razor and wedge out (unless anyone knows different from experience?). Personally, I would leave the scales as is, but that's just cause I don't really care about scales (so long as they aren't in-your-face-orange or something). If you want to try to get the original color back, I'd say give sanding a shot.