this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
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Guys, I fucked up. I have what was a beautiful two-tone colander that looked nice and retro, with a shiny red finish. After some use, there was a very tiny amount of rust showing in places around the rim, and my dumbass self decided to soak it in CLR like I do with anything metal that gets signs of rust. It didn’t occur to me that it would remove the gloss finish from the powder-coated enamel.

Now it looks and feels awful, like it has a dull, pink, rubbery coating instead of the beautiful glossy bright red finish of yore.

Is there a product I can use to polish it back to beauty? It wasn’t cheap and has been discontinued, so I’d like to restore it if possible.

I’ve searched online but my Google-fu isn’t worthy, apparently. Thanks in advance!

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[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I second this, if it's really a hard a material. From the word enamel I assumed a sort of ceramic coating, but the word 'rubbery' gives me a little hesitation.

Anyway, a hard coating could be polished back to a shine with 3M polishing paper. The product I'm thinking of comes in a pack with 6 sheets, each a different grit, and they get fine enough that you could restore scratched and cloudy glass to clear.

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

The product description said ‘powder-coated enameled finish’, and I had thought ‘enameled’ may have referred to the outer layer I destroyed. So now I’m just dealing with the powder coating.

I think I’ll try your recommendation first – it’s the most food-safe and makes the most sense to me. Kinda worried I’ve irreparably ruined it without re-coating and re-firing it. I hope that’s not the case, and the ‘enameled’ part referred to the white inner bit which didn’t dull in the soak.

e: maybe someone who knows more about these terms than me will chime in? I know a little about them because my grandmother taught ceramics and my father is in aviation where they do powder coatings, but not enough, obviously.

[–] SippyCup@feddit.nl 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The powder coat is the enamel. It's a ceramic powder that's sprayed on and then cooked in a furnace.

You have etched it. That, I am sorry to say, is permanent. If you have access to a furnace you could try refiring it, a few minutes at 1500 f would do it, if it can be done at all. You've basically turned a smooth glass layer in to a kind of sponge. You need to melt that outer surface again.

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Oh no.

Thanks for letting me know. I may have access to that kind of furnace, but I’m not sure I could convince them to put my stupid little colander in there, because that’s silly.

I appreciate your insight, even though it makes me sad. I kinda thought that might be the case, though. Cheers.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

You might also try googling local powder coat seevices, but it may end up being more expensive than just replacing it.

The powder itself looks cheap enough though:

https://thepowdercoatstore.com/products/gloss-red-powder-coat

The problem is finding someone with the skill and tools to apply it and bake it. :(

[–] Tehdastehdas@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

When I needed to anodise an aluminium object, I took it to the back door of a medium-sized coating company that serves businesses. I included a note with some relevant information: "no rush, do it when it's easy for you", acceptable range of colours, and my contact info. Took a while, the result was perfect, the price was low.