Thread: Ultrasonic Bath?

Hey I just wanted to hear some of your opinions. I don't really use DE razors, I rather my straight; but I fell across a fatboy at a garage sale for a lot less than it's worth so I had to buy it. I tried cleaning it with a toothbrush but I can't seem to get in all the little holes. My dad's a jeweler and has access to an ultrasonic bath. Has anyone ever used one to clear their razors? if yes, would it remove the paint in the numbers?

While I'm at it, has anyone ever used one one their straight razors? does it polish them up, or just clean them really well?

I have had experience using an ultrasonic cleaner for both art equipment (technical pens and brushes) as well as some small machine parts. Sorry, no experience using it for straight razors.

The big advantage of an ultrasonic cleaner is that the sonic cleaning 'waves' get down into even the absolutely tiniest crevices of the object being clean. When it is working properly, the dirt will literally 'boil' out from the part being cleaned in little clouds within the cleaning fluid. Of course, it sometimes takes rather a long soak to get things clean, especially if the dirt (or whatever) is old, dried out, thick, etc.

The action of an ultrasonic is fairly gentle and I, personally, have never encountered any damage to fine parts when using it. Just make sure you pick the right cleaning fluid for whatever you put into it. I assume your father will help you on that point.

We often use an ultrasonic to clean DE's and straights as well as any jewelry that may need a little cleaning up. I just use Hot water and a couple of drops of dish detergent. You do need to be careful with horn scales or celluloid as it can soften or leach the color out of them but they are very handy for cleaning the hard to get areas. Another trick for the DE's is to spray them down with scrubbing bubbles and let them sit for about 1/2 hour and them use the toothbrush to clean them up. Some people drop them in a pot of boiling water for about 10 min also. If you are going to use an ultrasonic of straights be very careful that the cleaning agent does not contain ammonia, it will literally eat away the scales.

Glad to hear it's an option commonly used! : )
My only fear it that it might remove the paint in the adjustment knob.

Originally Posted by narrez

Glad to hear it's an option commonly used! : )
My only fear it that it might remove the paint in the adjustment knob.

Hasn't happened to us yet

great! I'll be sending my razors with my dad to his office tmr. Hopefully will get some before and after pics up soon.
thanks again!, it's really reassuring!

I use an ultrasonic to clean my gear amongst other things. Mine is a heated unit and IMO does really help extract more for restoring. One thing that should be mentioned before you send them off, clean them with a brush first. The more debris you can remove by hand the better the ultrasonic will work.

Also, if you have the chance to use one or can afford one (at this point, I hope you have another reason for an ultrasonic so you get your monies worth) get an ultrasonic with the ability to change sound waves in cycles. These will clean more aggressively in one cycle and gentle (more detailed areas) in another. Some units, such as the one Jay Leno uses, has the ability to manually or auto set the sound waves.

Everything mentioned in this thread is excellent information.

For DEs and razors with no scales I use Aqua 2000. It cleans really well but just be ready to hit the polishers afterward. This chemical strips off buffing compounds.
Everyday cleaning I use the detergent Carrie has mentioned.
For razor pulled from the depths of the ocean I use other chemicals I won't mention so people won't get any bad ideas to use it and ruin a razor.
There are a vast amount of ways to mix solutions that work but be careful as some can damage the razor or DE.

When you are done, be sure to rinse well. If you use Aqua 2000 or any other buffing compound stripper be sure to rinse by hand and never use the ultrasonic with normal water for the rinse, if you do it will accelerate the rusting. Trust me, I saw it happen with one of my razors in just under a minute in the tank.

For the DE you have mentioned, I have a redtip that was run through the heated tank using Aqua 2000 solution and it never harmed the red paint.

I hope this helps you out.

Ultrasonics are fun!

What about gold plated razors and the clear coating on them.
Any prefered safe solutions?

Originally Posted by badboris

What about gold plated razors and the clear coating on them.
Any prefered safe solutions?

Windex is what I heard is the safest and most effective for gold plated DE razors. I have used ultra sonics to clean tattoo machine tubes for a couple of decades. Never occurred to me to use it for DEs.

For those who don't have access to an ultrasonic, I have had good luck with a container filled with Scrubbing Bubbles (pump not aerosol) . I put the razor in the container, covered with the Scrubbing Bubbles, and let it sit five minutes, and then scrub with a toothbrush. Rinse and if it is an adjustable do the mineral oil soak.