Vintage West Bend Griddle))How to clean

16 years ago

Maybe a bit off topic here, but I thought I would give it a shot. We have a "vintage" as they now seem to be called West Bend Griddle that is cast aluminum from I am guessing the 50's or 60's. It naturally does not have any non stick coating, but has over the years built up a large amount of seasoning in certain areas.

Any suggestions on how to clean this and not damage the surface? Any help would be appreciated as I am having non family guests over for the holidays and would hate for them to scoff at the griddle used for their pancakes! Thanks.

Comments (4)

danab_z9_la
16 years ago
The best way I have found to remove baked on oil and grease on cast aluminum is to scrub it with a Brillo pad. Then rinse the grill real well with water and follow that with some BKF on a dobie pan (important: DO NOT USE BKF with the Brillo pad). Rinse again and scrub any remaining grim with a Brillo pad. Depending on how much grim you have on your grill it may take several alternating scrubbing with Brillo and BKF to get it to an almost new appearance. I have done this several times on flea market old cast aluminum so I know it works well.

Dam
eteinne
16 years ago
The "Vintage" caught my eye! When I was growing up and there was a product which was used to clean Deep Fryers and Electric Frying pans. This was in the days when the cords were attached and you could not put them in the sink to soak. My Mom used this product and after a while I never saw it again. I found it 15 years ago and it is the same product but under a new name. It is called, "SoKoff." You just paint it on with a cheap, throw away, paint brush and wait a half an hour and rinse it off and wash with your dish soap. No rubbing no scrubbing. This stuff is great! I use it to clean my grill at the end of season and have the Grill service come out to check things out in the Spring. After the third year this guy asked me what I used to get this down to the bare metal and it looks like it was just out of box? He told me that 1 year old grills don't look as good as mine. I gave him a can and he works on motor cycles. He used to soak all of the parts in gas and has been using this ever since. It removes all of the Carbon.

I buy this at "Home Trends." 1-800-810-2340. www.ShopHomeTrends.com. Buy the qt. Once you use it there are many other places to use it. 018011 Sokoff $18.95. Just be carefull with this as it will burn you skin to the bone. I can use oven cleaner without gloves and the first time I used it was a mess! I was at the doctors for skin burns. Just do what they tell you and you will be fine. This is a great product and you will not have to scratch this "Vintage" gift with a SOS pad.

Good luck!
danab_z9_la
16 years ago
I haven't heard about this product but will definitely give it a try. Thanks eteinne.

Dan
lindac
16 years ago
I have what sounds like the identical griddle....I just ignore the build up...I spent a lot of time getting it there..
Why do you want to remove it? That's what makes it non stick?
Mine was new when I got it....and I know how much better it gooks now that it is well seasoned.
Linda C