I have bought some vintage Gillettes from eBay and would like to know the steps to clean and sanitize. I have read some things in passing about boiling and brush and cloth and barbasol or alcohol. Also, do you daily take apart and clean your razor, vintage or new, after use and how? What about lubricating metal connections to prevent rust and wear and what with? I have been just dipping my loosened head and blade into 91% alcohol and lying it down to dry.
I think sanitizing razors is a bit over-done (UNLESS you drop it in the toilet). Unless the razor has mechanical issues, I just gently clean with Dawn soap in warm water with a toothbrush then dip in alcohol.
Some folks will boil 'em. Just DO NOT boil gold finish razors or any razor with plastic parts (such as the late model Gillette Super Adjustable). Boiling a gold razor will take the finish off, and boiling plastic, well.... All I've ever used is Scrubbing Bubbles. I take them apart, if they come apart, or open up the doors. I have a small plastic bowl I sit them in, then cover them generously with Scrubbing Bubbles. I let the bubbles fade away, then cover the razors again with another coating of the bubbles. Once those fade away, I take a soft toothbrush to the razor, rinse in hot water, wipe dry with a towel, then lightly oil (any light grade machine oil - NOT veggie oil). The Scrubbing Bubbles will eat out any soap scum, disinfect, and leave a nice shine.
Thanks for the info. Steve, would the oil I have for my Wahl shaver oil work or do you mean machine oil that comes in those thin tin containers with tip. I guess you rub the oil off to leave a light coating?
I only oil after a Scrubbing Bubbles bath. (my razors!) Now, how often is that? When I see soap scum start to build up that isn't easily wiped away with my towel when I'm done shaving.
I only clean mine when they get to looking scary and I never oil them. Scrubbing bubbles all the way, but I also have used some vinegar with a bit of dish liquid. I prefer the SB though....no muss, no fuss.
Like said above, Scrubbing Bubbles is fine, and Maas polish if it is corroded. If it is a Twist To Open (TTO) I will boil water, remove water from the heat, and place the razor into the water and let it soak until it is cool to the touch, that will help loosen and hopefully remove some of the scum from inside. Thanks for the link to the video, I was kinda happy to see a video I could link to for when this question arises again, but after watching it and seeing how much money they spent on supplies I doubt I will be linking to it in the future.
I try to avoid the hot water with the older Gillettes. I have read that the boiling water thing is one of the major caused for handle cracking. The whole expansion thing with the light metal tube handles. I use Barbicide with the early Gillettes. With the older Gillettes it may cause discoloration, i've read.
As far as getting some of the initial gunk off, you may try a 24-hour soak in a bath of Simple Green with a dash of peroxide. I did this with some really gunky razors lately and it did a great job of pulling most of the crud off and leaving them shiny. Then the Scrubbing Bubbles/brush method with a Barbacide bath to finish. Careful of painted stuff...I took the paint right off the numbers of a Fatboy by leaving it too long in Barbacide. I'm probably more paranoid than most about sanitizing and the above mentioned menthods are good for me.
Sanitizing a newly purchased razor is no big deal. Soak it in warm soapy water for an hour or more. Scrub gently with an old toothbrush. Then soak it in a vinegar water solution for 15 minutes. Again scrub with an old toothbrush. If the TTO mechanism sticks a little, apply a little baby oil. If the razor is super dirty, repeat the above a few times. Just use uncommon sense. Concerns about "germs" on old razors is greatly exaggerated. Once in use, I change blades once a week, and clean the razor with soapy water and an old toothbrush at that time.
10 minutes in Barbicide will kill anything....I use warm soap water, scrubbing bubbles to clean....but I agree with not boiling them..
All great suggestions... we all have to relax a bit as far as sanitizing is concerned. The scrubbing bubbles works great with a light (no more than 5 minutes) rubbing alcohol soak. There's really nothing that will survive. I use the barbicide myself, rubbing alcohol if I can't get the barbicide. A very interesting tip; soak the razor in mineral oil overnight to remove a lot of crap and razor gunk. I know it doesn't make sense but it works. Mineral oil you get from the pharmacy...unscented baby oil works well. DO NOT BOIL ANYTHING....REALLY
Water & hand soap + toothbrush, Scrubbing Bubbles, Barbicide. Toothpicks for further cleaning of the teeth and crevices. Wet Q-tip in the tubes if it's a Single Ring. I just cleaned up a 1917 Single Ring and the Q-tip came out a brown/black color w/ lots of old whiskers. Then I sanitized it again.
CmdrBond, read this thread. Dean ( alpla444) had the same question and I found some cross reference information and provided a little more details. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/ok-to-buy-a-razor-with-plating-loss-on-head.24872/#post-428722
