Barkeeper's Friend

[cjsmith]

After a very long and singularly useless thread about getting oil varnish off nonstick cookware, I bought some Barkeeper's Friend (the liquid/spray). For a while, though, it was clear I didn't have any actual use for the stuff.

Well, I found out what it's good for. Stainless steel. ... Wait, let me rephrase.

IT IS PHENOMENAL FOR STAINLESS STEEL I LOVE IT AND I WANT TO MARRY IT AND HAVE ITS BABIES.

There, that's more like it.

Comments

[siliconshaman]

Hey, thanks for the follow up!

Yeah the mix I described was the 'general purpose' version i usually put in a squeezy bottle. For tougher jobs I make up a more concentrated batch, pretty much how you said.

The bicarb would act as a mild abrasive, so I'd avoid using the more concentrated version on soft plastic surfaces and rubber, although hard plastic probably would take it. Stainless steel certainly should be ok, although it's possible it might take the shine off it and you'd need to polish it after. But a mix of lemon juice and tartare is one of the tricks of the trade for cleaning stainless steel bar tops.

I'm very glad it's made your jobs easier though.

[marahmarie]

Yeah, I can't overstate what a big difference it's made.

My own bathtub I thought was beyond redemption - it was already in bad shape when we moved in and nothing I tried - commercial cleansers, scouring powders, Brillo, bleach, vinegar - made much difference. The potion you helped me concoct, though, at its original strength, did the trick the first time around. I was amazed as afterward the tub looked nearly new, which it probably hasn't done in upward of 30 years.

I've been using the same mix on other tubs ever since (it's been turn season so I've been hopping) and same. One week I was out of the ingredients so had to skip making a tub look new and damn, I felt bad, so in the weeks since I've loaded up to make sure that won't happen again.

The only thing that's come close to working as well in a tub, I'm just recalling now, was some PineSol concentrate I happened to have on hand months ago, but it still took some very hard work, and I don't know it did as good a job, not to mention I hate all the chemicals, so prefer natural cleaners.

The bicarb would act as a mild abrasive, so I'd avoid using the more concentrated version on soft plastic surfaces and rubber

Not to mention how it might work on a fiberglass tub is something I don't know, either (a friend pointed that out the other day) but I don't deal much with any of those materials, so will try to keep that in mind for when I do.

Thanks again. :)