Non-Stick

[ewt]

I have a Le Creuset frying pan. It is small-ish (20cm diameter) and completely made of cast-iron; I got it in a charity shop for about a fiver, which is pretty good for something that costs considerably more in shops.

It has non-stick coating on it, and the coating was starting to come off which I assume is why it was in the charity shop.

I have been trying to remove the rest of the non-stick, using a variety of scouring brushes and so on. Being Le Creuset, it's not been giving up easily; I don't know what they must have done to it to get it to the state it was in when I bought it.

Today I tried sandpaper, and that seems to work best so far, but it's going to take a very long time and an awful lot of sandpaper to get anywhere with this.

I've considered some sort of electric sander, but this would be no good for the curved edges of the pan, and these make up more area than the flat bottom.

Is there a chemical thing that can do this? Should I buy a can of Brasso and give it a try, or will it not work on iron? Now I've got through some of it, is it worth leaving it wet somewhere to see if I can rust the surface a little, or will that just wreck it entirely? Is there possibly some sort of tool that can just, I don't know, blast sand at a surface until all the non-stick comes off, and does anyone have one I can borrow?

Comments

[dyfferent.livejournal.com]

Try steel wool?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Tried that long before the sandpaper, no real progress.

[403.livejournal.com]

Cast iron can be stripped back to solid metal once it starts to rust, but getting it smooth again (before you season it) might be a challenge.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Okay, rust bad idea then.

I wonder if something like a drill with an appropriate sanding attachment might work. It'd take ages but still be better than doing it by hand, which is going to wreck my wrists (which I don't want as they are harder to replace than pans).

[403.livejournal.com]

What you probably want is a dremmel. They're basically hand-held grinders, and most will come with a set of assorted shapes and grades of tips.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

We have Dremels over here; I can probably borrow one, but will need to take advice from the owner on which attachments to use.

[weatherpixie.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it is worth leaving some olive oil in it for a couple of days and seeing if it will get under the non stick and lift it a bit...

[harlandcolross.livejournal.com]

Spray a little on the goo, let sit overnight, then rub to get it to ball up (or some will feel brittle and lift right off), wipe with a paper towel.

[pfy.livejournal.com]

If the remaining non-stick is pretty much immovable, will it matter if you just don't bother getting the rest off?

[juliet]

That's what I was wondering. I've got a non-stick frying-pan that got scratched, and what I've effectively done is reseasoned the scratched bits by treating it like a not-non-stick pan. (I didn't do the proper cast-iron seasoning thing, but I've kept using it and wiping it down as one would a regular pan.)

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

I was wondering the same thing. I'm not sure how a partially-non-stick pan compares to a totally-non-stick one and if the patches of stickingness cause some problem that wouldn't be present if the non-sticking-ness wasn't localised to patches.

[karen2205]

Yeah, I've been thinking this too and think I'm missing a really obvious point, but can't put my finger on it.

[westonschubert.livejournal.com]

You'll get pretty much the same curve which will show a current warming. So its OK to apply polynomial filters for research into solar factors but not otherwise.

wire brush

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Kathryn,

What you need is a wire brush attachment for an electric drill. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES (eyes are even worse to loose than wrists). Or better yet--a brand new frying pan that doesn't have a non stick surface on it.

Are you cooking on a gas stove? If not a stainless steel pan may be a better option than cast iron. Or a stainless pan with a liquid core bottom if cooking on gas.

Love,
Dad

Re: wire brush

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

I'm cooking on gas.

Good cast-iron frying pans that don't have non-stick on them are very difficult to get here, for reasons I do not understand. As in, I've never actually seen one in a shop...

Re: wire brush

[cabd.livejournal.com]

Try here:
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductList.asp?TopGroupCode=C4&ParentGroupCode=S58&GroupCode=1561

Regarding getting teflon off... Well, its a sod, it really is, but thats the point. Physical methods are your best bet; sandpaper would be my choice.

Teflon is less chemically resistant than they make it out to be, but still, nothing you want to handle at home will either go for the teflon or any of the binding agents used in the coating.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Forget chemicals with respect to teflon -- it's impervious to anything you'd want to put anywhere near something you'd want to cook in. Or heat. So, your only chance really is abrasives, and anything works. Carborundum paper is probably your best bet, 400 grit should work well. Wrap it around a block of wood and use plenty of elbow grease. Once you're done and have bright metal, use finer grit (800 or finer) to get the worst scratches out, then use something like Brasso to polish it. This should give you a smooth surface before you season it.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Give up, it's not worth it. The amount of time it would take for a music teacher and good brass player to remove non-stick from a Le Creuset pan, is worth more than the amount of money you would pay for a pan that is not non-sticked.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Alternatively you could lend it to the_lady_lily for a few days. She has a good record of de-non-sticking my pans. I believe her chosen implement is a fork, and a panful of tomato pasta ;)

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

I've never seen a not non-stick cast-iron frying pan in this country (or not in a shop, anyway: I know someone who has one but she's certainly not going to give it to me.)

[juliet]

We have one, I think - it probably came from Pages or Jaeggis near Cambridge Circus. I can check with Pete.

[doseybat.livejournal.com]

yes!

type of brush

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Kathryn,

A 1-1/2" Crimp Cup Brush Century Part # 41206 will do the job--but again this is not really very safe. http://www.wolfcraft.com/product_detail.cfm?id=9

[fwuffydragon.livejournal.com]

To be honest, if it hasn't come off by now, then I'd just use it and enjoy the fact that some of it cleans easily!

[otterylexa.livejournal.com]

I'd go with drill + wire brush attachment + safety goggles too.

The dremel would also work, but I think you'd find it underpowered for the job.

[daneres.livejournal.com]

As an ex-employee of Le Creuset and thus a regular user due to generous staff discounts and slightly damaged samples falling off the back of a lorry I hope I can help a bit.

The non-stick coating will have started peeling as it has been overheated. Cast iron can withstand blisteringly hot temperatures and teflon can't and it is my guess that if you turn it over, the enamel will have hairline cracks radiating out from the centre. It should really only be used on a medium heat. For what it's worth, damaged non-stick is the most common reason for returning a Le Creuset pan to the manufacturer and is not covered under the guarantee as it counts as abuse rather than malfunction. If you continue to overheat it, the top layer will continue to come off. Just don’t try and cool it down fast or you’ll end up with return number 2 - thermal shock – when the enamel on the outside will chip off in lumps.

There are several layers of "stuff" involved in making a pan non-stick and it is probably only the top layer that was peeling. The lower layers are there to stick fast to the cast iron - the opposite of non-stick in fact. To be honest, as someone else has already said, even if you were to get rid of all the coating, you'll end up with a bare cast iron surface which will need a huge amount of looking after - making sure it is completely dry and oiling it after each use to prevent water vapour from rusting it - there is a good reason why it is coated in a nice shiny layer of enamel!

You’re probably best off just using it as it is. There is no doubt that cast iron is the best medium for cooking with (I really do sound like an ex sales employee now!) and there is nothing toxic about the non-stick surface if some were accidentally to get into your food.

(You’re right about it being difficult to get not-non-stick frying pans in this country. Le Creuset make them but stopped importing them into the UK 7 or 8 years ago as they didn’t sell. .Conversely, they only make the non-stick ones for the UK market. As someone else suggested, a catering suppliers such as Pages or Leon Jaeggi will be your best bet, but won’t be cheap)