DE Razor Polishing/Cleaning/Maintenance etc - Tips & Tricks - Products

D

Deleted member 12673

Guest
hello people, so what do you use to polish, clean and maintain your de razor?

i've only ever had cheapo de razors so never been too fussed about polishing so long as cleanliness was taken care off

anyways getting more into the hobby ive been getting vintage razors, so ive got to a point wher ei'd like to know more about this aspect of wet shaving

someone on another forum mentioned this stuff peek polish to polish up de razors etc,
saw it on amazon and ordered it, got it delivered today but still obviously havent used it yet but the seemed to get good reviews on amazon

so im thinking something along the lines of cleaning with washing powder/soap, toothbrush and water,
the leaving it to soak in baking soda and water, once thats done, clean it again either with toothbrush or microfibre cloth,
then soak in mix of apple cider vinegar diluted with water (if you know acv you know its some strong potent stuff lol!)
and then from there again use toothbrush or microfibre cloth then use the polish to finish up

am i doing it wrong? or should i add something else to that or is it near enough covered? what do you think people? thanks

IMG_20201217_225120__01_compress82.jpg
 
btw when placing the razor in hot water, does the water need to be boiled on the cooker or will from the kettle do?

whats better to kill anything off?
 
anyone got any idea if a degreaser is fine to use to get rid of any residue and dirt before soaking the razor in water with baking soda?

also can you use any disinfectants like dettol for example?
 
Saj, your enthusiasm is commendable but the advice you've got from 'someone on a different forum' is the same advice you're going to get here. Dr Watson exists here as @Rohleder for example.

The more chemicals you chuck at your razor, the more chance you've got of wrecking it. Think about it simply:

Your 3 piece razor (Tech) needs disinfecting and cleaning. Soak the razor in some hot water with washing up liquid and scrub with a toothbrush (bring careful if there's any areas of plate loss). Disinfect by putting it in boiling water (don't let it sit in the bottom of a pan whilst on heat) or soaking in warm water and disinfectant - job done.

The above will also work for your TTO (HD500) but you can use some CIF bathroom mousse to help with the gunk. I normally do this step between the toothbrush scrub and the disinfecting. You're never going to get all the gunk out unless you strip the razor. It's not going to kill you.

Finally, polish if you so desire using Peek or Goddard's Silver Polish but be very careful on razors with plating damage or gold plated.
 
Saj, your enthusiasm is commendable but the advice you've got from 'someone on a different forum' is the same advice you're going to get here. Dr Watson exists here as @Rohleder for example.

The more chemicals you chuck at your razor, the more chance you've got of wrecking it. Think about it simply:

Your 3 piece razor (Tech) needs disinfecting and cleaning. Soak the razor in some hot water with washing up liquid and scrub with a toothbrush (bring careful if there's any areas of plate loss). Disinfect by putting it in boiling water (don't let it sit in the bottom of a pan whilst on heat) or soaking in warm water and disinfectant - job done.

The above will also work for your TTO (HD500) but you can use some CIF bathroom mousse to help with the gunk. I normally do this step between the toothbrush scrub and the disinfecting. You're never going to get all the gunk out unless you strip the razor. It's not going to kill you.

Finally, polish if you so desire using Peek or Goddard's Silver Polish but be very careful on razors with plating damage or gold plated.
Yea no worries

CIF sounds like a good idea too

In regards to disinfectant will any work like Dettol etc?
 
Razors can be disinfected (if there’s really a need) by dipping the head in freshly boiled water for 10-20 seconds. If (if) there’s anything there, that will kill it.

Should there be any crud visible, a soft toothbrush dipped in water/washing up liquid solution can be used. Then rinse the razor and leave to dry. Job done.

No need, imo, for any other treatment. No Barbicide, Peek, Vim, Domestos or Christ knows what else. The cost in damage will outweigh any advantage.

There’s far too much overthinking of this.
 
Razors can be disinfected (if there’s really a need) by dipping the head in freshly boiled water for 10-20 seconds. If (if) there’s anything there, that will kill it.

Should there be any crud visible, a soft toothbrush dipped in water/washing up liquid solution can be used. Then rinsed. Job done.

No need, imo, for any other treatment. No Barbicide, Peek, Vim, Domestos or Christ knows what else. The cost in damage will outweigh any advantage.

There’s far too much overthinking of this.
+1 to this
 
I've had probably more than a couple of thousand razors through my hands ranging from brand new to the truly horrible!

What I will say is that MOST vintage in acceptable condition will come up with little more than Peek, scrubbed with an old toothbrush, squirt of Fairy Liquid, another scrub and rinse off under the hot tap. This has been my regimen across hundreds of razors. Liquid hand soap and a scrub with a toothbrush will bring back the sparkle periodically.

Much older brass razors, particularly those with faded/patchy gold wash can be polished with Brasso and a yellow duster. I don't like to use microfibre because it does odd things with Brasso and causes weird micro-marring. If your gold wash is in very good condition, you MUST be VERY gentle with any cleaning - Fairy Liquid and not rubbing! Even the pattern of your fingerprint is abrasive enough to remove gold wash with concerted effort.

Some razors suffer from plating rash, which is where water had got through the plate and caused it to erupt in "spots" for want of a better work. There is nothing that can "clean" these. They need replating. Older razors which are brass underneath can be sanded (by which I mean very high grit papers only) to remove the plate and reveal the pure brass. Any razors where the plating has failed need replating to bring back to former glory - there is no cleaning routing which will make it any better.

If the razor you buy is proper encrusted with soap scum, soaking in boiled water (so, boil and leave for a minute or two) with white vinegar and soda bicarb. Again, no fancy products, just let it soak ... and then go through a polish/scrubbing routine.

I'll repeat what I said at the top ...

Across a couple of thousand razors, the vast, VAST majority have come through with little more than Peek, Fairy Liquid and an old toothbrush. Literally, hundreds of 1912s and Techs and all manner of other stuff ...

Preparing a used razor for shaving is simple: Barbicide. Soak, done!
 
finally got around to using the peek polish on my gillette slim,
looks better i'd say more shiny and got rid of a few marks here and there,
i only used a microfibre cloth and thats all

i was wondering is there anything i can use to apply the peek polish to improve my results?

like i say got a nice shiny and sheen look to it but i think i could improve on what i did tbf
 
I've had probably more than a couple of thousand razors through my hands ranging from brand new to the truly horrible!

What I will say is that MOST vintage in acceptable condition will come up with little more than Peek, scrubbed with an old toothbrush, squirt of Fairy Liquid, another scrub and rinse off under the hot tap. This has been my regimen across hundreds of razors. Liquid hand soap and a scrub with a toothbrush will bring back the sparkle periodically.

Much older brass razors, particularly those with faded/patchy gold wash can be polished with Brasso and a yellow duster. I don't like to use microfibre because it does odd things with Brasso and causes weird micro-marring. If your gold wash is in very good condition, you MUST be VERY gentle with any cleaning - Fairy Liquid and not rubbing! Even the pattern of your fingerprint is abrasive enough to remove gold wash with concerted effort.

Some razors suffer from plating rash, which is where water had got through the plate and caused it to erupt in "spots" for want of a better work. There is nothing that can "clean" these. They need replating. Older razors which are brass underneath can be sanded (by which I mean very high grit papers only) to remove the plate and reveal the pure brass. Any razors where the plating has failed need replating to bring back to former glory - there is no cleaning routing which will make it any better.

If the razor you buy is proper encrusted with soap scum, soaking in boiled water (so, boil and leave for a minute or two) with white vinegar and soda bicarb. Again, no fancy products, just let it soak ... and then go through a polish/scrubbing routine.

I'll repeat what I said at the top ...

Across a couple of thousand razors, the vast, VAST majority have come through with little more than Peek, Fairy Liquid and an old toothbrush. Literally, hundreds of 1912s and Techs and all manner of other stuff ...

Preparing a used razor for shaving is simple: Barbicide. Soak, done!
fingerprint, like seriously?

i think youre right in terms of using washing liquid, a toothbruch and toothpick too

i did find using a toothpick with a tissue covering the tip really helpful to get the gunk out of the underneath the bottom of the handle which twists in and out (hope im making sense)
 
Back
Top Bottom