Cleaning steel/tin chocolate molds?

[Mette]

I found a couple of old steel/tin chocolate moulds that someone had put out for recycling. They are very dirty and covered in old congealed grease (looks like they've lived on top of someones kitchen cabinet for 50 years), and I am unsure of how to clean them. I can't see the state of the coating, so I don't want to use somthing that might damage it.

I'm eager to try them out if they look in good nick under the grime.

Thanks

[Edward J]

Individually washed in hot soapy water should remove the crud. I've heard everything from powdered chalk to talcum powder to polish metal molds. Don't know about it though--I Haven't got any metal molds......

[Lisa Shock]

I'd just treat them like polycarbonate: gentle soap, water, 100% cotton to dry.

You don't want to risk scratching the inner surface, although there's a good chance they already are pretty scratched.

For outer surfaces, I'd use Bon Ami, it doesn't scratch and I use it on my collection of old kitchen appliances. I'm just not certain how much it affects surfaces on a microscopic level.

[Mette]

OK - so you start with warm water and a gentle detergent and you end up using a mix of soft, brown soap and ammonia water - what a stench but it worked a treat

The slimy moulds:

after cleaning:

the final result - the moulds aren't perfect, but workable (although I may hang them on the kitchen wall for decoretion )

[Kerry Beal]

Those look great - nice score!

[John DePaula]

I agree, very nice indeed!

[emilyr]

After a fire at a friend's house, we found that cleaning products with orange oil do a great job getting off greasy, dirty deposits. She had old copper molds and graniteware dishes up on her shelves (they were already dirty) that bore the brunt of the smoke damage.