Did I ruin two eBay razors today? - Photos -
Hi folks,
As a newbie and in the "acquisition" phase, I bought several razors off of eBay. Well, some of them arrived in the mail today and I was going to work on polishing them up tonight. So, to disinfect them, I put some isopropyl alcohol in the bottom of a cake pan and set two of the razors in the pan to let them soak in the alcohol.
I came back in a couple of hours and the metal part of both razors were completely brown. It looked like rust. Some of it would come off by rubbing but it looks like the alcohol totally rusted the blades. I took them out of the alcohol and rinsed them off with water but the rust was still there. After dinner, I'm going to take some Simichrome polish and see if I can get some of the rust off. If not, then it's two eBay razors ruined. Others beware. Don't soak your razors in alcohol.
Here's some photos:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...A44/razor3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...A44/razor2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...A44/razor1.jpg
Steel can't rust in alcohol....
I've been thinking the most convenient way to keep my razor from rusting is to store it in alcohol (instead of oiling it after each use). I've read about this being done with double-edged razor blades. Of course, coming across this subject of alcohol causing rust is bothering me.
I think the best information I've found is here: Is Rubbing Alcohol and Steel a good idea?
"The reason the metal in question rusted after an alcohol bath is because it had just been cleaned (i.e., whatever water-repellent oil may have been present has now been removed), and moisture clung to the bare steel. Alcohol will not 'cause' metals to rust."
They also mention the possibility that the alcohol evaporated away leaving only water.