Restoration of Gilette Black Beauty

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Zykris, Jul 22, 2017.

  1. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    It holds a blade in place fine. I tested that out with a mild shave test. Blade stays put. It's just wide open as far as gap.
     
  2. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    This is how to set a Gillette adjustable, but after you get it fixed right. But I wonder if it still might work, won't know till it's tried. Maybe Captain Murphy has parts, I'm not sure. His e-mail is.... vintagerazorrepair@gmail.com


     
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  3. Stu929

    Stu929 Well-Known Member

    Harbor Freight

    Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
     
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  4. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    Update: Life has a way kicking a guy in a bad way. I have to wait till the 1st of August to finish up attempting to restore the Black Beauty. My car decided that it didn't like it's CV shaft on the driver's side forefront. That's gonna take a chunk out the monthly funds. Hope this doesn't cause an inconvenience to @FlightMedic seeing how he wanted it done in a reasonable amount of time. Part of the PIF rules. But I've got it cleaned up a bit. It didn't really have much crud to come off of it. I'll post a few pics to see if there was any difference.
     
  5. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    WP_20170724_001.jpg WP_20170724_003.jpg WP_20170724_004.jpg WP_20170724_005.jpg

    So far what it looks like. That was after a scrub with some mild dish soap and a tooth brush. Followed by a diluted vinegar bath and scrub. And I did a little polishing with jeweler's rouge and a soft towel.

    My apologies for the slightly blurred photos. My hands aren't that steady for taking pictures these days.
     
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  6. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    Update: Gave the handle and numbers a go at a light coat of paint. I forgot to take stone pictures during the process but it got a little messy. I'll get some pictures up when it's dried.
     
  7. Terry Williams

    Terry Williams Well-Known Member

    You can improvise. He uses a 3/8ths (I think) nut driver to push down the cap that holds the TTO knob spring in place. I think I used a piece of 3/8ths aluminum or brass tubing that you can get at any hardware or hobby store. You will end up making some tools if you want to take apart Gillette adjustables.

    So, corrosion is a pretty big problem with Super Adjustables. More so than Gillettes other razors (most of which are all brass). The SA has a thin aluminum handle and TTO knob. Water and gunk gets inside of this razor and the aluminum starts to pit and corrode from the inside. The inside of the handle is painted or coated, but whatever they used didn't hold up well to long term (ab)use. You are going to want to look for small holes in the handle parts. They will be under the areas that look like the black finish has worn away quite a bit. These pin holes will allow water to enter and cause quite a bit of corrosion on the internal parts. About the only way clean the handle and find the hole is to take the thing apart; including removing the TTO knob (which is pressed in). Cap'n Murphy's videos are invaluable and are all that you need to get through the process. But, you will have to make some tools. You can't buy a lot of tools that you need to punch things or apart. Pretty much anything you make from metal must be softer than the parts you are tapping or banging on. So, I used brass and aluminum. To find pinholes in the handle, I took a bright flashlight and shown it down the inside of the tube while covering up the opposite hole. Any holes will show up through the side of the handle. You can even find thin areas this way.

    I had holes in a SA that I wanted to clean out and ended up patching about 3 holes with JB Weld. Seems to have worked as far as I can tell. Ended up painting the body and TTO knob Forest Green. I used rattle can outdoor enamel and baked it for about 30 mins at about 350 degs (thrift store toaster oven).
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    This is a patched hole. I used a Q-tip to squish it through hole from the inside and used the sharp end of a bamboo skewer to smooth it on the outside. I wouldn't make the diorama modelers proud, but it is serviceable.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
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  8. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    My desire for adjustables is long since burned out but the SA (and the shorter version) are tough looking classics.
     
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  9. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    WP_20170803_001.jpg Thus far with one coat. I went a little higher on the black and kind of tried to fill in the grooves of the adjustment bracket. Not sure if it'll need another coat. Kinda like the look as is.
     
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  10. Terry Williams

    Terry Williams Well-Known Member

    That looks great!

    You should be able to rub off the excess from the adjuster and the TTO trim ring. I did 2 coats on mine and baked each coat. I think it makes a more durable finish.
     
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