DLC coat cleaning

[neuronic]

I have a Manix2XL w/ DLC coating which I very much like but somehow the blade always looks kinda streaky after cleaning, regardless of wether I use soapy stuff, naphtha or just dry clean it with some rag.

I would really like to achieve that smooth uniform factory look again. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[glutofknives]

If its worn it will probably never be 100% again, but Ballistol does wonders on my dlc blades.

[Evil D]

Try rubbing it with a light oil, then wiping off as much as you can. When DLC is dry it gets kinda chalky. Vaseline works great for this but you can use practically anything oily.

[neuronic]

Nope, no wear yet, just that superficial streakiness that follows the direction that you're rubbing the blade in when cleaning.
I actually tried Ballistol but found it to be a bit "heavy" on the coating... may try something lighter.

[Michael Janich]

Back when Masters of Defense knives was around, MOD founder Jim Ray did a bunch of experimenting with different oils to get DLC to look good. The best he found as a spray lubricant called LPS TKX. Spray a light coat on the blade, let it sit for a minute, then wipe off the excess. Other oils work well also, but this stuff seems to look better longer--at least with the tungsten DLC used back in the day.

Stay safe,

Mike

[TkoK83Spy]

If its a knife that doesn't see any food prep, I just spray a small spot of wd40 on a rag and wipe with that. If food is used with the knife, then I'll use mineral oil. Both work great to restore the shine/black.

You may need to try some Flitz first to buff off the streaks. Then apply the oils.

[Wolfy916]

I wipe mine off with oily rags that I use to clean my guns, old t-shirt and gun oil does the trick for me.

[Sharp Guy]

I usually use light gun oil to clean DLC. A few weeks ago my black/DLC PM2 had seen a lot of use and had marks on the blade that wouldn't come off with dish soap or oil. So I remembered that one of the members here had suggested using Flitz to restore DLC. So I did that and it looked like new afterward.

[murphjd25]

I’ve had best luck with CLP. Gets it right back to new.