Is This Carbon?

E

ErinL

New member
I've been stripping this Griswold #8 with easy off. First I let it go 9 hours then rinsed it. It needed more time, so I sprayed it again and left it 15 hours. Most of it came off quite easily and it's looking really good. But there are a few stubborn spots.

https://screencast.com/t/A2Nll11qQ
https://screencast.com/t/7LfPI4DL

I just put back for one more spin. I'm wondering two things:

1. How long should I leave it?
2. If it doesn't come off, does that mean it's likely carbon? If so, what do I do? Wire brush?

Thank you for any advice.
 
Hi Erin,

I'm not sure if that is carbon... but, it is the typical "crud" one finds on old pans that have been used a lot over the years. I have seen lots of these and all it takes is a number of "spins" to remove it all... sometimes four or five. Keep at it and you will remove it.

A couple of pointers that will help.
  1. In my experience, the longer you leave the Easy-Off on the more will be removed.
  2. When removing the the Easy-Off be more aggressive that just a rinse. Use a scrub brush, scraper etc. to get as much of the crud off as you can before the next "spin".

Good luck
 
If you have an area to do it, use a lye bath. With the cost of a couple cans of Easy Off Yellow top, you can buy a pound of lye at Ace for $4-5 and a plastic tub at Wally World for about $7 and you can clean many, many pieces.
 
Thank you so much.

One last question - is there is danger to the pan if I leave it in the treatment too long? I have four more to do, I was thinking I'd start tomorrow and rinse them over the weekend. Any concerns with that?

I'll give the lye bath some thought. I have the Easy Off now and only a few more pans at the moment. :)
 
If you are talking about Easy Off, do not let it dry out. It needs to stay wet and it works better in a very warm environment.

In a lye bath, it could stay indefinitely as long as there is fluid from what I've been told. I have left pans in for 3-4 months before (I forgot about them) without any damage. They just required less elbow grease.
 
Cool, thanks.

They are wrapped in a trash bag to keep them wet, but I'll check on them.

Thanks so much for the help!
 
Hi Erin, me again.

When replying to a request on this Forum I always try to refer folks to the many very useful resources CIC has to offer (vs. answering myself and just repeating information). In this case I was not aware of the "Finishing Touches" section that Doug pointed you towards. Had I known I would have done what Doug did.

I was pleased to see that I was using most of what that section suggests to clean stubborn areas. The use of the putty knife mentioned is probably the most useful approach in my mind.

All that to say... there is a lot of good advice in that section that will help you with your cleaning.

Again, good luck,
 
Yes thank you, I've been through all that and it's super helpful.

I do one question regarding the Lye Bath vs Easy Off. I'm using Easy Off because it's what I have right now and I might as well, but goodness you do really need to be careful about inhaling it. I'm doing it outside and being super careful.

My question: Does the lye bath have the same issue with fumes? If not, that might win me over. :)

---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 AM ----------
GTurner said:
If you are talking about Easy Off, do not let it dry out. It needs to stay wet and it works better in a very warm environment.

In a lye bath, it could stay indefinitely as long as there is fluid from what I've been told. I have left pans in for 3-4 months before (I forgot about them) without any damage. They just required less elbow grease.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the tip on not letting it dry out. I checked this morning and they had in a few spots. I'll check daily.
 
I've found using the lye tank is *much* easier on my asthmatic lungs that Easy-Off, but a huge margin. That said, a well ventilated area is recommended.
 
Rob Zamites said:
I've found using the lye tank is *much* easier on my asthmatic lungs that Easy-Off, but a huge margin. That said, a well ventilated area is recommended.
Click to expand...
I place a tub in a tub (both with lids closed) to help with the smell and in case of a leak since I'm in an apartment on the second floor.
 
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