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Stripping polymerized buildup from metal cookware

rotuts

By rotuts
in Kitchen Consumer

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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Ive just done my two DARTO pans.

 

Ill probably strip down the larger pan as there is a nick in the steel of my own doing.  its small but there

 

Ive used EasyOff in the past on non-aluminum pans and Im assuming that would be OK on these steel pans.

 

shame there isn't any of that EasyOff paste around these days.

 

on the other hand , better to get rid of that wonderful stuff than have one chile have a taste.

scubadoo97

scubadoo97

Posted
Posted

I recently stripped my 27 down due to cooking some bacon fat in mine and left it unattended just a bit too long.  Pasty black glue formed.  After scraping it out I put it in the oven and did a short 2 hr clean cycle.  Worked like a charm.  Even before that stupid incident  I had a spot in the center that was a little sticky due to a drop of oil that dripped into my pan from the hood  while seasoning.  Was never right after that so hoping this gets it back on the right track

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, scubadoo97 said:

After scraping it out I put it in the oven and did a short 2 hr clean cycle.  Worked like a charm.

 

That's how I strip cast iron pans that I am restoring.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

Do  you have a BBQ that you can crank up to about 550 F? That works also.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

boilsover

boilsover

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, rotuts said:

Ive just done my two DARTO pans.

 

Ill probably strip down the larger pan as there is a nick in the steel of my own doing.  its small but there

 

Ive used EasyOff in the past on non-aluminum pans and Im assuming that would be OK on these steel pans.

 

shame there isn't any of that EasyOff paste around these days.

 

on the other hand , better to get rid of that wonderful stuff than have one chile have a taste.

 

Easy-Off Pro still comes in a gel-like liquid.  I buy mine in a resto supply store.

dscheidt

dscheidt

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, boilsover said:

 

Easy-Off Pro still comes in a gel-like liquid.  I buy mine in a resto supply store.

There's also a product called 'carbon off' that does a fantastic job at this.  It's also safe for aluminum pans.  (But not skin, eyes, or lungs...) Restaurant depot has it, I think.  Get the brush on stuff, the can is not the way to go.

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, haresfur said:

Excuse my ignorance. Why do you do this?

 

When the seasoning of the metal is uneven or has been damaged the most direct remedy is to completely strip the seasoning off the metal and start over. 

 

See my post dated January 3, 2015 on page 7 for a radical example.

 

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

weedy

weedy

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, dscheidt said:

There's also a product called 'carbon off' that does a fantastic job at this.  It's also safe for aluminum pans.  (But not skin, eyes, or lungs...) Restaurant depot has it, I think.  Get the brush on stuff, the can is not the way to go.

 

for those without a Restaurant Despot card:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Brush-On-Carbon-Off/dp/B0000E2VTN/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1488054825&sr=1-5&keywords=carbon+off

dscheidt

dscheidt

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, dcarch said:

That's $30 for the pint!!!

 

Buy a new pan. cheaper.

 

dcarch

It's about 15 or 20 a quart, at RD.  it takes an ounce or less to do a pan, though, so not expensive on a per use basis. 

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted
46 minutes ago, adey73 said:

Oven cleaner generally has lye in it?

Use drain cleaner, such as Liquid Plumber. Cheaper.

Brush on, cover with thin plastic sheet. Let it work overnight.

 

dcarch

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Keeping in mind, chemically, under normal conditions, there is no known chemical that can dissolve pure carbon, only high heat can turn carbon into CO2.

 

dcarch

 

 

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

When I looked at the chemical choices I quickly decided, "No, I like heat as the cleaner."

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

btbyrd

btbyrd

Posted
Posted

Oven cleaners typically have lye in them (and that's the primary active ingredient). But it's much cheaper -- and more powerful -- to buy lye crystals (often sold as drain openers) and to make the solution yourself. Of course, you should take the necessary safety precautions. But that's what I used to refinish my grandmother's cast iron pans as well as my Modernist Cuisine baking steel (which had rusted up after a night on the grill). If you're not keen on chemicals, for whatever reason, electrolysis is another potential way to go, as it's effective at removing carbon that's been bonded to iron. I mean, carbon steel and cast iron are essentially the same with respect to care, maintenance, and refurbishing... and there are a billion websites and blog posts about refinishing cast iron.

My wife's grandmother (who grew up on a tobacco farm in the rural south) reported that once a year, they'd have a big bonfire and toss their cast iron in it to clean it off and retrieve it from the ashes the next day.

 

I guess I'm still not sure why you're looking to do this to your nicked pan if you'll already be sanding it down further to remove the nick. There's no advantage to stripping it first, is there? Why go through the extra bother of stripping with heat, chemicals, or electricity if you're already doing to be using good, ol' friction?

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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

difficult to sand and buff  the polymerized finish

 

Id also like to look at the bare steel and make sure its smooth

  • 1 month later...
adey73

adey73

Posted
Posted (edited)

Got my lumpen steel arriving tomorrow..

 

I have flaxseed oil but before that... 

 

what % percentage lye crystals in water do people recommend? 

 

Do I pat solution on the steel whilst wearing full chemical warfare fatigues?

 

what is the best vessel to store the steel overnight, for lye to work.

 

I wash off lye solution next day (in full fatigues ) and dilute remaining lye liquid before pouring down drain?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by adey73 (log)
  • 5 years later...
SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted (edited)

After cleaning my cast iron, I have turned to my all-clad mc2 skillet, which I had let the bottom get to solid black, up to the rim.  I let this happen once before, and put it into the neighbor's self-cleaning oven.  I later learned, I believe from @boilsover, that this is a Very Bad Choice with clad pans.  The finish was totally dulled, but the pan seemed to work fine after.

 

But I let the situation get horrible again after about 7 years including 3 in my pandemic-pit of a kitchen.

 

Two rounds of carbon-off later, most of the carbon is off.  But the metal has a whole new texture!

    

image.thumb.jpeg.6d359b801eb637fb6ab7678c3934fda7.jpeg

 

image.jpeg

 

The bottom of the other MC2 pan which I purchased at the same time (2002!), but which rarely gets used being a 6qt sautee pan, doesn't look anything like this.  It still looks like that brushed-finish-thing they were doing back then.  

 

I need to quit messing over these good pans . . . .

Edited by SLB (log)
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gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted

Looks like aluminum rather than an iron/SS bottom.  Might be the problem.  Maybe carbon off doesn't play nicely with aluminum?

 

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SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yes, this is the all-clad brushed aluminum, if I recall correctly.  Which is why it didn't go into the lye with the iron pans.

 

Carbon-Off claims to be specifically safe on aluminum:

 

image.thumb.jpeg.cd66e7c8ca41e5d0e1becc4b91daccb1.jpeg

 

But, perhaps not in the copious quantities that I poured on.

 

Edited by SLB (log)
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