Thread: Cleaning vintage safety razors

I recently aquirred 2 vintage safety razors. one a gillette super speed black tip and the other a 1959 gillette fat boy. they both have some light rust and green coloring around and inside the doors. My only guess is to soak them in some CLR (calcium, lime and rust) solution for a bit, scrub them with a toothbrush the best i can and rinse really well. If this is a big MISTAKE then please let me know. Or any other better ideas are certainly welcome.. Happy Shaving!!

I've done well soaking them in simple green for a day.

Stick with what maddafinga said.
I would NOT use CLR, I use it a lot on household appliances & I have seen very different reactions to metals & finishes; even the ones that are O.K.'d on the directions.

I think Simple Green for an hour, might get the job done, I use a ton of Simple Green on everything. But if maddafinga has soaked for a day, then try it.

I also use Colgate toothpaste & a toothbrush to keep my metals shining.

A homemade paste of baking soda & a toothbrush can work on that green too.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Stick with what maddafinga said.
I would NOT use CLR, I use it a lot on household appliances & I have seen very different reactions to metals & finishes; even the ones that are O.K.'d on the directions.

I think Simple Green for an hour, might get the job done, I use a ton of Simple Green on everything. But if maddafinga has soaked for a day, then try it.

I also use Colgate toothpaste & a toothbrush to keep my metals shining.

I like that Colgate suggestion. I've never tried that! I wonder if it's the mild abrasives or the mild bleach that makes it effective?

Simple Green seems to leave a sticky film on everything I've every tried to use it on. I guess the key is to wash everything thoroughly afterward?

I've had really good luck with Scrubbing Bubbles for cleaning and Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish or Brasso.

I feel its the mild abrasive. I have used it to clean all types of metal, since I was a young military man. It also works great on canvas straps, tennis shoe rubber, & teeth.

Simple Green can be diluted & still clean great. Just don't let dry on it & rinse it off well.

If they are gummed up with old soap and such you can boil them for a few minutes and it will not hurt them and will help with the adjusting mechanism on the Fat Boy. Scrubbing bubbles a couple of times and a soft tooth brush will work wonders after that and Bon Ami or Bartender's Friend will not harm them either.

Do NOT use brasso as it will take the nickel right off down to the brass! Mother's or Maas polish to get the shine back.

Oh Yeah. Never scrub on a gold plated Gillette razor with anything. It will not be gold anymore as the plate is very thin and coated in laquer.

Will N.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I feel its the mild abrasive. I have used it to clean all types of metal, since I was a young military man. It also works great on canvas straps, tennis shoe rubber, & teeth.

Simple Green can be diluted & still clean great. Just don't let dry on it & rinse it off well.

Yeah I used it half and half with hot water. Pulled them out every few hours and rinsed them off really well then put them back in. All told it was probably a ten hour soak. The only result was that they came to look brand new.

Both of those razors should be taken apart if you are serious about using them. This can be tricky! If you screw up one tiny fraction you will not get the razors apart/back together.

I took apart my Fatboy for cleaning and replating = Looks Flawless! I highly recommend the company I used..not only are they family friends, but they were the only company willing to plate such a small job. Most other places are contract or volume only...and all of them were rude as can be when I inquired.

Here is the link to my post, http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...g-project.html