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Cleaning, disinfecting, polishing

nosedog

nosedog

Member
So, I've got a few razors on the way from eBay in need of a little TLC to make them look nice. How do you actually go about cleaning a razor's appearance? How do you clean it hygenically? And how do you polish it?

Regarding the hygenic cleaning, I've heard of Barbicide, but Mark says you can't get it in Australia. Why the hell not? Where do barbers get it? And he says 70% alcohol works. Where do you get 70% alcohol from? My strongest scotch is 56% ;)
 
Should be able to get "Rubbing Alcohol" - isopropyl at any of the bigger pharmacy places. Pretty sure that it will easily be 70%+. I can see it online in Aus easily enough.

I don't think you need to be super anal about the hygenic aspect but when you don't know the history a soak and a scrub with detergent (antibacterial or not) and a bit of boiling water splashed around and a rinse off seems like cheap insurance to me. Most nasties will readily wash off.

For cleaning up I think a hot water and detergent soak and the toothbrush is the best start. Look two birds with one stone :) Simple green is apparently quite good in lieu of scrubbing bubbles whisch gets talked up around the forums. I use SG to strip paint off things so I would be super wary with gold finish razors. Should be OK with plastic components, at least overnight as it hasn't destroyed any on my miniatures that way. I have heard week long + soakings can damage plastics.

For cleaning I think you go for the milder solutions first and then see if you need to ramp things up to achieve your goal.
 
Diggers Isopropyl at Bunnings. Where lowest prices are all you get cos no one there has a fkin clue about anything hardware.
 
Unless the previous owner has used it a few hours before sending it to you, and although I'm no microbiologist ,I can't imagine anything organic living and breeding on a dry metal surface. I just use toothpaste and a toothbrush. Clears up most unsightly stains. If you're worried use alcohol. Dip it in a glass of whiskey.
 
Can you get surgical spirit? That's what we have here in Pomland instead of "rubbing alcohol"... I think the difference is that it gets some castor oil in it here where it doesn't in the US.
 
The shave wiki at B&B has a good guide for cleaning - see here.

The key thing I've found when substituting Aussie products is to stay away from anything containing bleach - bad news for razors!
 
If they arrive a bit gunked up with soap, I've given razors a soak in 50/50 Shower Power and water, then the toothbrush. You could use another bathroom product that cleans soapscum, but as Mark said, watch out for bleach or chlorine.
 
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