I dry the blade of my razors with a towel and then toilet paper, making sure to also to pass the toilet paper between the scales as well. Then I lightly oil the blade with Camellia oil.

Our water is extremely hard and I have noticed that certain Carbon blades will begin to waterspot or tarnish if I do not immediately dry them as soon as I finish shaving rather than after finishing up my cleanup routine. I have begun cleaning and drying my razors immediately after the shave and then oiling them after my cleanup.

About once a month, I examine all my razors and do touchups with MAAS just to keep them pristine. And yes, the gold-wash is a pain. I guess that is why q-tips were invented.

Best wishes on solving the problem.