Nixie - 27-2-2008 at 20:44
Mostly it's burned on grease and such from frying that got on the outside of the pan and burned on, and I don't want to damage the copper surface. I
tried oven cleaner but it turns the copper some nasty gray blue color, so I can't use that. Scraping the stuff off with steel wool will also ruin the
soft metal. What's safe to use on copper?
not_important - 27-2-2008 at 21:45
First thing to try is a long soaking in water + detergent, followed by scrubbing with a rough cloth, plastic brush or pad, or course salt (followed by
a real good rinse)
Is the outside lacquered? If so the food may have melded itself with the lacquer. You may have to resign yourself to stripping the lacquer (and the
grease) and put more effort into polishing the pans after that.
Acids - vinegar, lemon juice, and the like, plus salt are favorite home cleaning tip methods. But these really are targeted at tarnish on the copper,
reacting with and dissolving it; they're not that good at getting baked on food off.
Nixie - 27-2-2008 at 22:18
No lacquer; I clean the copper with copper cleaner regularly to remove the oxides after a few cookings, but they don't touch the residues.
[Edited on 27-2-2008 by Nixie]
microcosmicus - 27-2-2008 at 22:43
Since its burnt on grease, try an organic solvent --- use alcohol to dissolve it or at least soften
up the mess. To keep the solvent from evaporating, keep the pan enclosed in some container
or bag with the alcohol is you want to soak it for a while.
Another thought is to use a warm basic solution to try to saponify some of the grease.
12AX7 - 28-2-2008 at 04:32
Intense heat will burn off any carbon, anneal the copper and oxidize a substantial amount to CuO and Cu2O. Something to avoid.
Lesson learned, always cook with a sufficient layer of oil on the pan at all times!
Tim
Nixie - 28-2-2008 at 05:54
It's about stuff that dripped onto the OUTSIDE of the pan and burned from the flame of the gas stove. I don't have a problem with the inside, it's
lined with a thin layer of steel on the inside.
bfesser - 28-2-2008 at 07:47
Why remove it? It shouldn't reduce the functionality of the pan.
I would also recommend trying either an organic solvent or a saponification method.
bio2 - 28-2-2008 at 17:10
I have used gasoline and diesel which after soaking a day or two softens the burnt carbonized oil enough that it can be easily scraped off.
Another way to clean even hopelessly blackened stainless steel pots is to make them the anode for a while in a NaOH electrolyte. Gets it shiny new
looking.
chemrox - 28-2-2008 at 21:42
Copper reacts with moist air to form mixed Cu(OH)2 and CuCO3. This is the common patena you see on unpolished copper. Base is usually effective in
removing organic residues that are cooked onto metal surfaces. Hence oven cleaners are mostly lye. So what I'm getting at is this. You could go
ahead and use the oven cleaner and then polish off the blue haze (Cu(OH)2) when the cooked material is gone. You lose a little Cu but you do thatg
whenever you polish anyway.