Some of you may know that I got a real nice Black MLH from Harris last week.

When I got it I noticed this:





There was some brownish residue under the lid vent but save for a small amount of hard black greasy buildup on the inside of the rear handle this Kettle had been extensively cleaned. I contacted Harris and he received the Kettle this way. Got a Black 18 OTG a while ago and it had not been flushed of oven cleaner....it took much effort to remove it. I tried warm water on a rag to remove the apparent foreign material but all I got was a smell of oven cleaner....so I was thinking oven cleaner residue was over the lid. Harris suggested liquid Bar Keeper's Friend applied with a soft tooth brush.

I first tried the Bar Keepers with a tooth brush, rinsing after a minute and flushing. Did this a few times in the same area and no change.

Then tried standard 0000 steel wool with liquid soap on a wet portion of the lid. No change.

Then I tried 0000 steel wool with Bar Keepers on a wet portion. No change.

Lastly I tried straight Bar Keepers on a small portion of the lid......a small change in the apparent residue. It looked good. Next I did a larger portion.....not pressing hard at all, about 45 seconds, rinsed and flushed then dried. Stood back and started swearing. I had removed something alright....the area I had just cleaned now looked different than the rest of the Kettle....it did not match up at all....the depth of the Black was different.

Using Pam gives me a even look....though fake. Here is a shot of the lid after using Pam. I had the Kettle coming to clean smoke for 30 minutes or so and the Pam had thinned enough to notice where I used the damn fucking steel wool:



When this happened I asked Harris to please keep this between us. He graciously agreed. Guys I am beside myself but I gotta share my foolishness in hopes one of you can learn from this. Right now I just want to punch myself in the face....repeatedly.

The older kettles have a different sort of porcelain coating.  It can be damaged with steel wool.  The black seems to be the weakest.  I found it best to leave them alone....

  Mr Hoss

If you want to try and bring it back here's what I do

   Spray the entire lid with butter flavored Pam and let it get tacky about  3-4 days or so , then take a clean dry cloth and work the Pam/Oil in by hand working in circles. Spray again and leave it for several months , in a dark dry place out of the sun.

I did this to a B code that was badly faded. It not  only brought the color back it lasted despite using the grill.

I can't make any promises and sometimes it's best to leave things alone,  I just feel bad for you and wanted to help .




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sorry to hear about that. I have to be careful when cleaning my red Wood Dale MLH. I got a couple very light scratch hairlines on one side of my lid the first time I tried to 0000 the lid. I find anything pre mid 60s has the "weaker" porcelain. That black is still a sweet looking Texan! Cook on it, love it!

Don't want to tell you i told you so . 0000 was recommended to me Here [emoji44]. Posted I will not use it again.

I feel your pain

Oh man....I would beat the snot out of myself for a while, too.....but it's still a real beauty. Like most here I'd love to have it in the stable!

Nothing like getting the boots put to you when your down !
Here's mine
I scored a really nice 1950s Kenmore wood fired griddle stove combo for $50.00 and found a buyer for $250.00 . The buyer came over and I grabbed the handtruck and wheeled it out for them to look at. They loved it slapped the cash in my hand and I went to wheel it to there truck I dropped it and busted it all to hell . I handed them their money back and they drove away while I stood there with a heap of shit in my driveway


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk