Scrubbing bubbles, soapy water, Flitz, Novus polish, a hundred Q-Tips, and lots of patience and elbow grease.
I soaked it with warm water and a little dish soap. Then I used Novus level 1 polish on it with shop towels. All that grime came off with the water and soap and a soft toothbrush.
I also got a grubby late 40 s superspeed case from the same place with what turned out to be a contract tech in it. The handle looks nickel and the baseplates and cap are reddish brass. It looks like someone removed the black paint from those but there are still traces of it. I had no idea what was in it. I just bought it for the case so I was happy with what I found in there!
Nice. A little scrubbing with Flitz and an old toothbrush will clean up the handle. I like my TV Special. It's a shame that 1958 was the year that the Flare Tip lost the knob retainer screw in favor of the crimp, but that's a minor complaint and mine gives me a nice smooth shave. I prefer the higher domed, 50's style head, I like the plain knurling on the handle and I even like how compact the case is.
Very nice! I prefer the older style head as well. As far as the retainer screw....mine has a slightly wiggly/loose tto knob that needs to be addressed so yeah....I miss the screw! I think the case on these is pretty neat as well. It looks nearly impossible to disassemble without breaking it for sure. I didn't even attempt it, though I have gotten pretty good taking apart the blue, red, and beige ones. The late 40 s superspeed cases are really the easiest. Having gotten this one, I think my superspeed collection is done for awhile. I just need a red tip case.
If the Contract Tech handle has the grooves, then the whole razor was probably gold originally. I think the handle is actually a base metal, rather than Brass, and was Nickel plated before the gold wash was added. This would have been a '46.
Very interesting. I guess that clears up the nickel. I was wondering because I had never seen any in nickel. Thank you for the info. I will try to post a pic of it later.
Yup, I'm pretty sure that's a '46 and was originally gold. Basically, the gold wash was applied directly to the brass parts but the base metal handle needed a nickel plating for the gold the bond to. (Not that the gold wash lasted all that well, anyway.) I actually like that handle in Nickel.