stripping stainless steel?

[dantecl]

Hi,
I have about a dozen cooking pans that I got from a restaurant auction a long time ago, and these have baked-on remains in various parts around the rim, bottom, inside, etc... all over it. Some of it is pretty hard to remove even with mechanical scraping (i.e. brush attached to a drill, using barkeepers friend). Is there an easy method to strip these to the bare metal? Will electrolysis work? Would love if there was a "dip and forget" method that still allowed me to use these as food grade containers. Any ideas?

 

[dantecl]

to add on: I've used some of these around the garage as oil catchers and stuff as they're super caked on and dirty, but would be nice to get a few usable in the kitchen. Preferably in an easy manner.

 

[DHCrocks]

try a sanding sponge, I cleaned up some nasty SS with it.

 

[mike93lx]

Try putting them in the oven on a cleaning cycle.

 

[PCustoms]

Oven cleaner.

 

[geneg]

Oven cleaner.

Also use it on the grates from your grill. After leaving them in the sun to work- hit them with a power washer. Repeat as req'd.

 

[DGersic]

Hi,
I have about a dozen cooking pans that I got from a restaurant auction a long time ago, and these have baked-on remains in various parts around the rim, bottom, inside, etc... all over it. Some of it is pretty hard to remove even with mechanical scraping (i.e. brush attached to a drill, using barkeepers friend). Is there an easy method to strip these to the bare metal? Will electrolysis work? Would love if there was a "dip and forget" method that still allowed me to use these as food grade containers. Any ideas?

I’d start with oven cleaner. Whatever that doesn’t remove I’d attack with a flap disk on an angle grinder. Whatever won’t come off that way, I’d just leave alone.

 

[ZRX61]

Forget oven cleaner, what you want is a product called "Carbon-Off" which comes in aerosols. It's sold in restaurant supply stores for cleaning stainless pans. It smells EXACTLY like paint stripper, so if you have some of that, use it.
I've used it on stainless aircraft dishpans* behind radial engines that are covered in burnt on oil, it leaves them spotless.

* the piece that stops heat/oil/fire from spreading.

 

[pcmeiners]

Used to run a school building. For stainless we would place pots, pans, oven racks in garbage cans or large plastic bags filled with a solution of lye, (oven cleaner but much cheaper ). In a few days every bit of crude would be eaten up; it does take days. Do not even think of using this method for aluminum. Gloves and eye protection is advised. It also eat floor tiles and paint, so be careful

 

[rlitman]

If we're talking stainless, then a lye based cleaner like purple power will break into the carbon (that's the active ingredient in oven cleaners). Boil it in there, because the carbonized oils soften when hot, and the lye works better when hot. Remember that getting lye on your skin means rinsing measure in minutes, NOT seconds.

But stay away from the lye if it's aluminum. Share some pictures if you're not confident on the metal.

BKF is wonderful stuff for the right situation, but it can be slow going.

The SDS for Carbon-Off lists methylene-chloride. I thought that was just banned as a paint stripper, and due to it's toxicity, not due to environmental concerns... Anyway, if you want to go down this route, you'll want the proper PPE, and most gloves won't cut the mustard. IIRC you'll need thick butyl rubber gloves. Work outside in a breeze.

 

[rlitman]

Used to run a school building. For stainless we would place pots, pans, oven racks in garbage cans or large plastic bags filled with a solution of lye, (oven cleaner but much cheaper ). In a few days every bit of crude would be eaten up. Do not even think of using this method for aluminum. Gloves and eye protection is advised. It also eat floor tiles and paint, so be careful

Looks like we were typing at the same time, and we totally agree.

The only warning I'll give with the full soak treatment is that on most stainless pans, the rivets are still aluminum. On high end pans, the surface of the rivet facing food will have a stainless cap, but I'd still be worried that a long-term deep soak could loosen rivets that started out a little loose.

 

[lolaetype]

to add on: I've used some of these around the garage as oil catchers and stuff as they're super caked on and dirty, but would be nice to get a few usable in the kitchen. Preferably in an easy manner.

I'm assuming you plan on using in the kitchen the ones you didn't use in the garage. I'm very cautious when it comes to food contamination; maybe overly cautious. Stainless steel or not, assiduously cleaned or not , I'd not put food in something that was previously used to catch motor oil or other garage chemicals.

 

[pcmeiners]

Depends on the age of manufacture, due to bean counters, aluminum rivet came into being as of late; I hate bean counters. When I was doing this in the 80s-90s kitchen utensils were still made correctly. At that time even the oven interior were stainless, a breeze to clean with lye. Now almost all interiors are enamel glass, easily etched with oven cleaner or high PH chemical over a short time.

 

[ZRX61]

Before/after with Carbon Off:

 

[PCustoms]

Oven cleaner is less than five bucks at pretty much any store, and doesn't really require any exotic PPE or special handling...

My personal preference is the heavy duty one, around here it seems home Depot has the best selection. Barbecue grill cleaner is essentially the same.

We're talking kitchen pans, not jet engine parts.

 

[dantecl]

Forget oven cleaner, what you want is a product called "Carbon-Off" which comes in aerosols. It's sold in restaurant supply stores for cleaning stainless pans. It smells EXACTLY like paint stripper, so if you have some of that, use it.
I've used it on stainless aircraft dishpans* behind radial engines that are covered in burnt on oil, it leaves them spotless.

* the piece that stops heat/oil/fire from spreading.

this sounds like what I'm looking for

 

[dantecl]

Oven cleaner is less than five bucks at pretty much any store, and doesn't really require any exotic PPE or special handling...

My personal preference is the heavy duty one, around here it seems home Depot has the best selection. Barbecue grill cleaner is essentially the same.

We're talking kitchen pans, not jet engine parts.

I have some easy-off I can try it on real quick.

 

[dantecl]

Before/after with Carbon Off:

hah that's truly impressive!

 

[dantecl]

I'm assuming you plan on using in the kitchen the ones you didn't use in the garage. I'm very cautious when it comes to food contamination; maybe overly cautious. Stainless steel or not, assiduously cleaned or not , I'd not put food in something that was previously used to catch motor oil or other garage chemicals.

that's correct, only the pile that hasn't seen garage use will be reused. The ones in the garage I don't particularly care about cleaning up since they're being used as dump buckets

 

[dantecl]

If we're talking stainless, then a lye based cleaner like purple power will break into the carbon (that's the active ingredient in oven cleaners). Boil it in there, because the carbonized oils soften when hot, and the lye works better when hot. Remember that getting lye on your skin means rinsing measure in minutes, NOT seconds.

But stay away from the lye if it's aluminum. Share some pictures if you're not confident on the metal.

BKF is wonderful stuff for the right situation, but it can be slow going.

The SDS for Carbon-Off lists methylene-chloride. I thought that was just banned as a paint stripper, and due to it's toxicity, not due to environmental concerns... Anyway, if you want to go down this route, you'll want the proper PPE, and most gloves won't cut the mustard. IIRC you'll need thick butyl rubber gloves. Work outside in a breeze.

I'm sure these are stainless. Simple restaurant-grade pans, no rivets or anything I need to care about. BKF did jack for removal, left sitting for about 5min. Carbon-off sounds like Aircraft Remover before they changed the formula to remove methylene-chloride... I have experience with this from a compressor rebuild that I used a bunch of it.

 

[thammel]

Hmm...I always us Easy Off heavy duty stuff. I take my oven grates and even my stainless steel cooktop (just the top!!) outside in the summer and lay them all on old newspaper on our paver patio. I then liberally spray with the Easy Off. Come back in a couple hours and hose them off. I may need a second application. And sometimes a scraper. But the Easy Off does a great job. Wear gloves and a mask. It's potent stuff!

 

[ZRX61]

Oven cleaner is less than five bucks at pretty much any store, and doesn't really require any exotic PPE or special handling...

My personal preference is the heavy duty one, around here it seems home Depot has the best selection. Barbecue grill cleaner is essentially the same.

We're talking kitchen pans, not jet engine parts.

I wasn't talking using aircraft engine cleaning products on pots, I was talking about using pot cleaning goop on pots. I just happen to use it on aircraft.
Didn't ever use PPE, just sprayed it on, rubbed a bit with a piece of scotchbrite & then hosed it off.

And it's safe on aluminum.

 

[lolaetype]

Hmm...I always us Easy Off heavy duty stuff.

Just a bit of information. I've found two different types of oven cleaner. Low fume/odor and the good stuff, like Easy Off Heavy Duty. IMO, the low fume/odor stuff doesn't have much strength. Get the good stuff, avoid anything that says low fume or odor like the plague.

 

[PCustoms]

Just a bit of information. I've found two different types of oven cleaner. Low fume/odor and the good stuff, like Easy Off Heavy Duty. IMO, the low fume/odor stuff doesn't have much strength. Get the good stuff, avoid anything that says low fume or odor like the plague.

Worth repeating again...

I typically get the easy off oven and grill PRO at home depot, looks like it went up. Might try the zep, all their other products have typically worked well

 

[walta]

Will electrolysis work?

Do not use SS in electrolysis as it will release chromium not the pretty kind but the super fund toxic kind.

Any chance you can chuck up the pan on a lathe and go after it with 40 grit sand paper and work your way down to 220.

Walta

 

[dantecl]

Do not use SS in electrolysis as it will release chromium not the pretty kind but the super fund toxic kind.

Any chance you can chuck up the pan on a lathe and go after it with 40 grit sand paper and work your way down to 220.

Walta

No chance. Don't have a lathe, and these are square/rectangle pans.