Friday, October 11, 2013

Corningware Rescue - 11 inch Skillet Rehabilitation (P-16-B)

So a funny thing happened while at the Salvation Army the other day.  I found this.....

A P-16-B 11-inch Chicken Fryer.  (it takes a P-12-C lid, just like the 4 Quart P-84-B Sauce pot, P-34-B Dutch Oven and SK-10 Electromatic Skillets)

I don't normally fry my chicken.  It's not that I don't enjoy Fried Chicken, I just don't like the smell in the house afterwards.  Yes, I know, I am weird.  Regardless of my tenuous relationship with oil frying, there are several things I can think of that would benefit from an 11 inch skillet.

Honestly though, I don't think I have EVER seen a piece of Corningware with THIS many grey metal marks all over the inside.  It almost looks like it is cracked all over.

Which brings me to the funny part of the story.  There was a lady standing in the aisle when I grabbed it and she said, "Oh, you shouldn't buy that, all the aluminum is showing through the enamel."

Say what?

Then, when I went to make my purchase, the guy at the register asked me what I was going to do with it because it was all cracked and crazed.

Hmmmm.

This just proves to me that Vintage Corningware is still a very misunderstood product.  Granted, the current stoneware gracing the shelves of every mega store confuses the issue to no end.

Anyway, regardless of the confusion as to whether Vintage Corningware is enameled aluminum or glazed pottery, I brought the piece home for some serious rehabilitation with Barkeepers Friend and some elbow grease

Then some more Barkeepers Friend...... and A LOT more elbow grease.

And Voila!

As beautiful as if it just came from the department store.

AND reunited with it's proper lid (of which I happened to have an extra one).

So regardless of how hopeless a piece looks; even this....

can become this.

With a little love and attention.

Where is your Corningware??
~~

19 comments:

  1. What a difference some elbow grease can make! You did a wonderful job of bringing it back to life.

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  2. I am so jealous! Saw a similar piece at a garage sale and passed on it. I guess I learned my lesson.

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  3. Can I ask which type of BKF you are using? I am using the powdered cleanser version and I can never seem to get metal marks like those out. Do you let the BKF sit on the piece before scrubbing away? Maybe I am just not scrubbing hard and long enough?

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  4. Siberian - I use the powdered cleanser (The gold can) and an O-Cel-O sponge.... and a lot of Elbow Grease. If you follow this link, it explains about which type of sponge I use, cause that is part of the key... It seems to work the best in conjunction with the BKF.

    http://corningware411.blogspot.com/2013/08/cornflower-is-new-green-renewing-p-10-b.html

    I hope this helps.... :-)

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  5. I tried the BKF powder and a nonscratch sponge but the shine is gone now that the grey marks are gone too. is there a way to get it shiny again?

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  6. You can try to polish it with Bon Ami, but I don't know, from personal experience, how well it works. I have never had BKF remove the shine in the process of cleaning grey marks before.

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  7. maybe it's still dirty then? i'll try it again and see if it gets any better. you think it's still safe to cook in if it's dull?

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  8. Oh yes, it's still completely safe for cooking. The surface will be a little bit "stickier" than if it was shiny, so you may need a little more oil if you are sauteing or sweating. Other than that, it's fine.

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  9. oh that makes me a very happy guy!! then I don't have to throw it away. thanks for the tips, and for such a fun website. do you buy chance know how to clean a glass lid that looks cloudy. or could that just be scratched to all hell? sorry for so many questions, but you seem to have lots of answers here. :-)

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  10. Gary, there are two possible causes of the cloudiness.

    Hopefully it's denatured proteins caused by a combination of hard water that is a little too hot (above 140 degrees) and dishwasher detergent. This can be removed by soaking in distilled vinegar for 15 minutes and hand washing.

    The second, and depressing cause, is etching from the dishwasher detergent itself. Sadly, this can't be removed, as the glass is actually damaged at this point. You can still use it, but it will remain cloudy.

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  11. thanks so much!! I will try the vinegar for the lid. either way, if it's still all safe to use then i'm still happy to use it. thanks again for your help. :-)

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  12. I purchased a smmall skillet which had the same black marks in it, I have used everything includiing acid and other cleansers and got most of it out but there is still some in the bottom, I checked and there isn't any scour marks left on the skillet but works ok thanks

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  13. Hi there I found this dish in the trash at a friends house. So I took it cleaned it and now I want to make a casorole but not sure if it's oven safe. It is oven safe?

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    1. Congratulations on your rescued piece! Yes.. All pieces of Corning Ware are Oven safe.

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  14. Today I was cleaning the bottom of my P-21 roaster and noticed some bubbles. Does this mean this item is going to Corning Ware heaven?

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    1. I believe it should be just fine. Corning Ware is made of glass, and glass naturally has bubbles and small imperfections. These carry through the ceramming process. Eventually, they may "Pop" but it should not effect the performance of your roaster. :)

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  15. These tiny bubbles were not there when I bought the piece over a year ago. And have only used a few times. Still feel it's okay to use? I hope so as I hate to give it up since it took me a while to find.

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  17. Nice! Have you ever used ZUD? It takes rust and other stains off of glass very nicely. By the way I found your page because I just started looking for information on enameled aluminum Corning Ware. I did not know such a thing did exist but I have recently acquired 3 of the stove top pans. I see this was apparently a good page to find! Thank you for the great information here!

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