I recently picked up an unmarked 5qt dutch oven with a weird coating on the inside of the lid. It's impervious to heat (Weber gas grill cranked on high, 2 hours at 900+ degrees on an IR thermometer). 48 hours in an electro tank does nothing. 2 days in a lye bath (easy-off method) didn't even make the rag turn black. Wire brush on a 10000 rpm angle grinder seemed to wear the brush down but did nothing to the coating. 100 grit silicon carbide sandpaper just makes the finish dull. Cracks in the middle were there when I got it, so I want the stuff off since I have no idea what it might do if it leaches into food. I've never seen an enameled lid with a coating that wasn't glossy or with a coating on the inside but not the outside which makes me think the coating wasn't a factory job. Any idea what this stuff is?
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#8 lid weird coating
- Thread starter Ty L.
- Start date
W. Hilditch
Active member
Kryptonite? Sandblasting should be given a try. Nothing to lose.
Hilditch
Hilditch
Bonnie Scott
Active member
I have the same Griswold lid only mine is marked. It is an enamel finish that is the same color as the iron. Only the inside of the lid is enameled. You are wasting your time trying to remove it. It was marketed as a "clean easy" lid.
Last edited:
EdgarLopez
Member
I have same lid Bonnie has,mine the black enamel is too thick your can barely see the letters under.
EdgarLopez
Member
Enamel doesn't need to be seasoned.that lid went through all kind cleaning process,it is ready to be used.
Gotta get the bare metal up on top to look like the rest of the dutch oven though.
I know that this is an old topic, but I was trying to find an answer. My lid coating is severely pitted. I would love to remove the coating and see the condition of the metal underneath. If its not too bad, I will season the lid and start using it.
Has anyone come across a method for removing this coating yet?
Has anyone come across a method for removing this coating yet?
The only enamel I have ever seen removed was on an old cast iron bathtub. Only a section was removed due to cracking and some rust that got underneath.
They took what looked like a dull chisel, pretty much rounded off with no edge at all, and started tapping at the broken edge of the enamel. When they reached a point where it wouldn't chip off easily anymore, they stopped. They then sandblasted the exposed cast iron, acid etched the entire enameled surface, used a body filler type substance to fill in the scratches and chipped off area, and then sprayed on a new coating over the whole tub.
I am not sure you will be able to cleanly remove all the enamel.
They took what looked like a dull chisel, pretty much rounded off with no edge at all, and started tapping at the broken edge of the enamel. When they reached a point where it wouldn't chip off easily anymore, they stopped. They then sandblasted the exposed cast iron, acid etched the entire enameled surface, used a body filler type substance to fill in the scratches and chipped off area, and then sprayed on a new coating over the whole tub.
I am not sure you will be able to cleanly remove all the enamel.
Wow. This is an old thread. That lid met a sad ending last winter. I was bringing My DO up from the basement and foolishly wasn't holding the lid handle AND the bail. The lid slid off the bottom piece and hit the concrete floor right on the handle, which punched it through the lid just enough to put a huge spider web crack in the enamel. There was only a 2 foot span on the concrete floor between the CI collection and the stairs that wasn't covered with either carpet or foam padding, and that was where the lid hit the floor. The first (and hopefully only) piece of CI that I have broken.
Sharon Shuman
Member
Just a thought, CJ: they don't look the same now; new tubs are ugly compared to the old ones, in my opinion. I'm just happy to know that such a problem could be fixed. I'm sorry you lost the DO lid that started this thread, Ty. Stuff always falls in just the wrong place--this is known as the butter side down problem, I believe. (Okay Doug, I'm shutting up now.:grin
A new tub would be either fiberglass or stamped steel. The tub in question was a 100 year old enameled cast iron claw-foot tub. They don't make them like that anymore, and the ones you can get run from about $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 on a good day. Much better to pay around $500.00 or so to have an antique tub that you already own restored to like new condition.