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!

  • @[email protected]
    3•6 days ago

    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.

    • @[email protected]OP
      1•6 days ago

      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.

      • @[email protected]English
        6•6 days ago

        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.

        • @[email protected]OP
          4•6 days ago

          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.

            • @TehdastehdasEnglish
              4•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.