Thread: Difference between pitting and nicks / chips?

So what is pitting and is it easy to get rid of?

Thanks
Ivo

Best regards to most... and happy trails. Time to migrate. I may start something on my own site.

Bill,

thank you for the response. I was trying to understand if I should buy a specific razor and then restore it. Decided to pass - for now - because of the "extensive work" needed to deal with pitting. I might go for this later.

Cheers
Ivo

Originally Posted by urleebird

• Tarnish is discoloration that can be easily removed with a cleaning paste like Maas or Flitz
• Surface Rust is oxidation of the steel that can be removed with less aggressive sandpapers and does not encroach very far into the steel.
• Pitting is when oxidation has penetrated into the steel at depths that require more aggressive abrasives. It can be speckled or all in one spot. Sometimes, very large spots.

Pitting requires extensive work with a variety of abrasives to eliminate it entirely.

Pitting will cause no further harm to the blade if the active oxidation has been removed and has been neutralized. The full depth of the pitting does not have to be removed to be effective. So, you can have pitting, as long as it has been stabilized...

Bill,

What exactly is involved when you say "active oxidation .... has been neutralized"
and "you can have pitting, as long as it has been stabilized"?

I'm not sure if you mean just the removal of active rust, or is there something
specific in the way of cleaners/ chemicals that must be used.

Best regards to most... and happy trails. Time to migrate. I may start something on my own site.

Those flap-wheels I've been raving about are great for removing rust and surface pitting quickly and easily. You can use them to get your mirror sanded down to a satin finish and no pitting, with very little effort. After that you can use Jason's method of making sanding drums to get it fairly close to mirror before resorting to polishes.

Thanks Bill,

That's pretty much what I had thought in the past, but when you said
"as long as it has been stabilized", I just went stupid.

The tip about the "alkaline cleaner" was new to me though....Thanks!

Originally Posted by izlat

So what is pitting and is it easy to get rid of?

It's rust that has left pits in the metal. Very easy to get rid of, just list it on ebay as "mint".