My grandmother's Pot

[RPR]

Hello,
I am trying to figure out what kind of material my grandmother's pot is. I inherited it in pristine condition, and over time and with use, it looks awful now. I would like to restore it and preserve it, but I need to know what it is. I think it is metal (aluminum) and the outside colour is green and and the inside colour is white. It is badly stained (I know I can bleach it, but I am not going to do anything until I know what I am dealing with), but I don't know what to do about the grooves. I used metal cooking utensils (stupidly) and now I only use wooden ones. In any case, I don't want to use it anymore, and I badly want to restore it. If there is someone who can do the restoration for me, that would be amazing too. Pictures are attached. Please help.

 

[Andy M.]

Your pot looks like it's porcelain coated. If that's the case, it's probably steel rather than aluminum.

Try some Barkeepers Friend scouring powder to get out the scratches. It's a very mild abrasive and won't mark the surface.

 

[GinnyPNW]

First, RPR, welcome to DC! I don't really have any helpful advice with regard to restoring your Grandmother's pot, but it is nice that you appreciate it! I'm sure Grandmother is pleased!

That said, sometimes a complete restoration can take away from the item. If you know what I mean? DH recently restored his Grandpa's old wheelbarrow. However, he took more of a "rat rod" approach, if you know what I mean? He cleaned it and got new handles for it, but the wheelbarrow itself, he just clear coated the whole thing. This way, you can see how useful it has been and see it for what it became too. It won't deteriorate beyond this and it is still in working condition. Kind of a tribute to Grandpa.

 

[RPR]

Okay, thank you for your replies. I will try. I received the pot in great condition and it still looked like it was used. I've used it but I have been careless. My grandmother is no longer with me and I want to give it love.

 

[dragnlaw]

One thing that can happen is to chip the porcelain, so in that respect be careful.

For the discolouration you could also possible use one of those white sponge scrubby's (Mr Clean or $$tore). I use those on my enamel cast iron to which, as you, I accidently used metal utensils.

 

[taxlady]

I would not use bleach with enamel. Sure, it works, but if you do it repeatedly, it eats away at the enamel and then the enamel stains far worse.

 

[pepperhead212]

One thing that can happen is to chip the porcelain, so in that respect be careful.

For the discolouration you could also possible use one of those white sponge scrubby's (Mr Clean or $$tore). I use those on my enamel cast iron to which, as you, I accidently used metal utensils.

I agree with the bleach (they used to warn against using that, with coffee pots), and I was also going to suggest those Magic Erasers or Super Erasers, or whatever they are called; they get bleach out of things great, including tea stains - I use them for that all the time, for my tea pitchers, which even bleaches didn't work well on, and years ago I used have to use DipIt. I don't even know if they still make that, but that's another thing that used to work on coffee stains, in porcelain pots, doing no damage at all, if you have any somewhere hidden!

 

[RPR]

Do any of you know what to do about the deep grooves and the scratches?

 

[GinnyPNW]

Do any of you know what to do about the deep grooves and the scratches?

For me, I think I would just learn to love those little imperfections!

As for cleaning, you might consider Citric Acid and/or CA plus Baking Soda. But, keep in mind that it is acid, so don't go soaking it for a long time. Citric Acid is my new favorite cleaner! I use it for laundry stains and for cleaning my hydroponic gardens too. Great stuff.

One last thought, I think, if it were my pot, I might re-purpose it into something that I can leave out on a counter or space that I can see it often and just be reminded. Maybe as a planter, artificial plants are attractive and easy. Or maybe some other kind of decorative item? Looks like it might be a little big for keeping on the counter to hold cooking utensils?

 

[taxlady]

I have a lot of enamelled cast iron. One of the things that I have found that removes stains, not always, but sometimes really well, is to bring some water to a boil in the pot, to at least as high as the stains go. Then sprinkle in a really good layer of baking soda and let it sit for a few hours or overnight with the heat off. It might make a crust of baking soda, but just wipe it out with warm water and sponge or cloth.