Thread: non-abrasive way to remove patina?

I have several very old blades with heavy patina I'd like to reduce or remove the patina and/or black spots without using a heavy abrasive. Are there any non-abrasive methods for doing this, perhaps a chemical process?

I guess it depends on why you don't you want to use abrasives? Is there gold wash on it that you wish to preserve or an etching?

Not sure of chemical processes but as far as abrasive processes some people had good luck with Tumblers to remove patina and it didn't seem to affect etchings.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...mentation.html

there is the link to the old thread and there are some pictures showing the blade before and after on page 3 and 4. Not sure if anyone tried a gold wash in that setup though as it has been a while since I went through that thread.

Pretty much any chemical process I'm aware of will leave a patina of its own.

It has been my experience that the only way to remove patina is to remove the patined metal. Abrasives are the easiest way to do this, but anything you use will have the same effect - removing metal. The amount of metal you choose to remove is up to you; metal polish will remove just a little whereas something like sanding or buffing with greaseless compounds will remove a lot.

More options on the minimalist route are high "grit" steel wool (I like using MAAS and synthetic steel wool together) or high grit sandpaper (wet/dry with some oil seems to work very well). But, be aware that if the patina runs deeper than the metal you remove, you'll still have patina left behind. And if the patina is that really dark stuff we call Devil's Spit, it can run deeper than you expect and leave behind pitting.

Has anyone tried electrolytic rust removal? A small blade like a razor should go fairly quickly.

yes there are several threads on it

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...corrosion.html

Here are a few links in the last thread...

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

More options on the minimalist route are high "grit" steel wool (I like using MAAS and synthetic steel wool together)

Does this get good results? In what cases do you use this technique, heavy rust, light rust, etc.?

I've been considering using a "Brillo pad" but I've avoided it to this point because I haven't heard of anyone else using them haha

Originally Posted by ats200

Does this get good results? In what cases do you use this technique, heavy rust, light rust, etc.?

I've been considering using a "Brillo pad" but I've avoided it to this point because I haven't heard of anyone else using them haha

Well a brillo pad is steel wool. You can take 0000 wool (much finer than brillo) and a bit of Break Free and IME it will remove some of the patina/rust and won't scratch the polished finish. I can't imagine any method that won't involve abrasives unless that electrolytic thing would work.

Originally Posted by ats200

Does this get good results? In what cases do you use this technique, heavy rust, light rust, etc.?

I've been considering using a "Brillo pad" but I've avoided it to this point because I haven't heard of anyone else using them haha

It depends on how you define good. Any active rust will definitely be removed, but staining will be left behind. Pretty much, this method just takes off active rust and leaves the razor in a state where, if you care for it properly, things will not get any worse. An added benifit is that this won't leave visible scratch marks on the razor (unless you do it to something that is mirror or near mirror finished before you start, but then why would you be doing this anyway?).

As Jimmy said, Brillo is pretty much steel wool. In fact, the process of using steel wool on a razor is quite similar to using Brillo on a pot. You'll just take off the stuff stuck to the surface, but if you really go at it (or if the stuff you use is coarse/abrasive enough), you'll slowly take off metal. I really would recommend using graded steel wool so that you know exactly what you're rubbing against your razor.