So how do i clean DLC?

Heiheit

Heiheit

Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
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Well, I made the thread the other day regarding spyderco's DLC and everyone said it was incredibly strong and the marks on my knife were most likely abraded metal. So i took some 00 steel wool and lightly scrubbed and then cleaned the blade. This was the result.



Sooo, it looks like more abraded metal, but I can't get it off for the life of me. Perhaps it is scratched? I honestly can't tell, but I would definitely appreciate help.
 
Its tough but steel wool WILL take the finish off, you should have used a nylon bursh and soap.
 
i tried using a toothbrush and soap, but that didn't work so well. I,ll try it again though
 
It looks more like the steel wool has damaged the coating and it will probably stay that way no matter how much you clean it.
 
well I guess this just gives me more reason to use it. Maybe Sal will have something to say.
 
you scratched the finish off. It isnt coming back bro. In a sense you took sandpaper to paint... I hope that makes sense.
 
eh not a big deal.. just looks worn in though i wonder how other people manage to do this and it works. *awaiting Ti millie*
 
in the future, try using an eraser, or a no scratch dishwashing pad with soap and water, maybe a good spray of wd-40. Abrading DLC is like abrading 80ish HRC (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's possible, avoid harsh abrasives.
 
Hit it with a little mineral oil. It will make it look less dull and more smooth looking. Now you have a user, which it was intended for anyway:).
 
Heiheit said:
now I remember why i don't like black finishes
Click to expand...


DLC is about the best finish you could ask for and much better at resisting wear than any other coating I have seen but ya still gotta use your head when cleaning it.
 
Rubber erasers and good penetrating oils are the best things to use to clean the PVD finishes. You'll get a fair bit of the metal off just leaving it alone, it will rust/corrode and not harm the DLC coating and eventually just come off with a quick wipe. Never use an abrasive cleaner on them unless you want to thin out the finish a bit.
 
I generally use windex, and sometimes acetone. The acetone will give it that super flat gray like look, but a little oil rubbed onto it brings back the black look.
 
any coating will scratch/scuff with use steel wool will certainly scuff it up, you have scuffed up the coating and short of re-coating it i dont know a thing which will fix it or make it look right.

i wouldnt ever clean a knife with anything coarser than a toothbrush, not if ya are worried about scuffing it anyway..

personally, i dont care for black finishes either except on a few things where i like the way it looks, like a green G10 EKI SOCFK tanto, i like the way the black looks vs satin, on most everything else i prefer satin, i guess, possibly, if i fished offshore for a living or was around salt water a lot it would make sense, maybe, other than those instances i will take satin every time.

some folks dont care if they get scuffed up, "character marks" etc, i've always thought a scuffed up knife looked like, well, a scuffed up knife lol.
 
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