Cleaning G-10

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Brobrady

Joined
Nov 29, 2014
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What's a good way to clean up the scales on my Military? I have some dirt lodged in the texture of the scales. I was going to try a stiff brush but didn't want to scratch anything.
 
Brobrady said:
What's a good way to clean up the scales on my Military? I have some dirt lodged in the texture of the scales. I was going to try a stiff brush but didn't want to scratch anything.
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I've found that WD-40 does a great job "refreshing" and cleaning G-10 and Titanium. Using the straw, If the spray doesn't flush out the dirt a soft bristle brush should do the job. Or you can just use soap and water but remember to oil after.

Best of luck!*
 
G10 is pretty tough and chemical resistant.

I use a soft toothbrush and Dawn dishsoap. That's usually enough. If not, I step up to the 'Magic Eraser' pads, usually for spots or stains. Nothing more has ever been needed. G10 comes out like new.
 
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Plus water
 
I have a Caly Super Blue with the really light grey G10 scales and have been noticing them turning blue around the edges from my denim jeans.
I used some alcohol and a rag and they cleaned up good, but I think I will try the magic eraser! Great idea. Those work great for a lot of things!
 
I've been preaching this for almost 8 years now since I discovered it. I made this method aware of over at Spyderco.com for longer than that. There is a product that cleans G-10 virtually like magic. The product is called BALLISTOL. BALLISTOL is a cleaner/lubricant that works so good on G-10 handles I won't even consider using anything else. I've even had BALLISTOL heal up scratches on G-10 handles.

I had an older set of Spyderco's Blackhawk and Renegade models. These were Spyderco's first folders with G-10 handles going back to the mid 90s. I had used the living hell out of both of these blades and when I soaked them in BALLISTOL overnight and then took a soft cloth and cleaned off all the excess and they looked factory new when I was done with them.

I also had a Dodo I got in a trade and it was beat like a step-child and looked like it had been in a World War. But after 2 treatments with BALLISTOL it looked 90% better. I won't lie and say that it looked perfect but if you had seen this Dodo before I attempted to clean and restore it you would have said it's not even repairable.

It also refreshes the color of G-10 for those handles that got dried out or sun bleached>> I've had it literally do miracles on G-10 handles. I've also used BALLISTOL on a couple of beat up Micarta handles and it seemed to do them a lot of good too. I got my very first can of it from SFO believe it or not. Don't get the 2 ounce spray cans because they are kind of a rip off. But get the tall 16 ounce cans and they last a long time. I use BALLISTOL on a lot of clean up and lube jobs and it's great stuff.

The only gripe I've got against it is that it has a bit of a chemical odor to it but it does go away in due time.
 
Rasco nailed it. Seriously, try the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser before you try anything else. It cleans up G10 like it was made for it. Not only that but it isn't messy like WD40 or Ballistol. Just add water, rub and wipe off.

This was a Bob Lum Tanto I bought from a store. It had been handled a thousand times and had changed color. You can see what it was supposed to look like under the clip I removed.

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This is what it looked like after a minute with the Magic Eraser.

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Spyderco Dude said:
Rasco nailed it. Seriously, try the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser before you try anything else. It cleans up G10 like it was made for it. Not only that but it isn't messy like WD40 or Ballistol. Just add water, rub and wipe off.

This was a Bob Lum Tanto I bought from a store. It had been handled a thousand times and had changed color. You can see what it was supposed to look like under the clip I removed.

14013668529_2fba196484_z.jpg


This is what it looked like after a minute with the Magic Eraser.

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That looks like the same G10 that is on my Caly 3 Super Blues, which keeps turning bluish around the edges from Denim blue jeans dye.

Nice before and after shots. I'll be swiping some magic eraser from under our sink now, haha
 
Here is a slightly interesting Wiki article about melamine foam, which is the stuff that Mr. Clean calls Magic Eraser. You can buy generic "Magic Eraser", i.e., melamine foam, on the interweb at a cost saving over the retail stuff. Rock on.
 
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powernoodle said:
Here is a slightly interesting Wiki article about melamine foam, which is the stuff that Mr. Clean calls Magic Eraser. You can buy generic "Magic Eraser", i.e., melamine foam, on the interweb at a cost saving over the retail stuff. Rock on.
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I wouldn't mind trying that out on a couple of older FRN handles I have. Can you get that foam from a local hardware?
 
powernoodle said:
Here is a slightly interesting Wiki article about melamine foam, which is the stuff that Mr. Clean calls Magic Eraser. You can buy generic "Magic Eraser", i.e., melamine foam, on the interweb at a cost saving over the retail stuff. Rock on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip.
 
pbcg said:
I've found that WD-40 does a great job "refreshing" and cleaning G-10 and Titanium. Using the straw, If the spray doesn't flush out the dirt a soft bristle brush should do the job. Or you can just use soap and water but remember to oil after.

Best of luck!*
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That's how I do it and it works well. I would imagine as durable as G10 is, most any sensible method would work.
 
Brobrady said:
What's a good way to clean up the scales on my Military? I have some dirt lodged in the texture of the scales. I was going to try a stiff brush but didn't want to scratch anything.
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A stiff brush is not going to hurt G10 at all, in fact an old tooth brush works great.. Try using a Mr. Clean eraser with a little dawn dish soap or Bar Keepers Friend.
 
RevDevil said:
A stiff brush is not going to hurt G10 at all, in fact an old tooth brush works great.. Try using a Mr. Clean eraser with a little dawn dish soap or Bar Keepers Friend.
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Anytime I clean or treat any of my knife handles with either BALLISTOL or any of the Flitz products I use a soft bristle toothbrush myself. I've also had limited good luck working with some of Sentry Solutions products. The advantage of a toothbrush is that you can really do a thorough cleaning and get into extremely tight places. All three of those companies have some decent products for knife maintenance

Also check out Brownell's they have a great line up of cleaners and maintenance products.
 
RevDevil said:
A stiff brush is not going to hurt G10 at all, in fact an old tooth brush works great.. Try using a Mr. Clean eraser with a little dawn dish soap or Bar Keepers Friend.
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I've got to try this on my Military, have had the same issue with dirt getting into the light grey g-10. Thanks for the magic eraser tip guys!
 
Many already shared what I use but here is what I do:

Scrub entire knife, G10, and insides with dishsoap and toothbrush in running hot water.

Rub magic eraser on remaining dirt marks.

Rinse and dry. Blow pivot and insides with compressed air. Blow dryer can be used.

Once dry, peel ply G10 and CF may look dried out and just bad looking. While WD40 like someone here suggested works, once it dries up it can look more or less the same again. I use BALLISTOL instead and coat the entire scale and blade with it. It totally rejuvinates the look and it doesnt feel oily after a good wiping.
 
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