Removing non stick coating from a skillet?

[oldrustycars]

I have a Vollrath non stick skillet that someone used a sharp knife in, the coating is now scratched. They will be dealt with later. I love the skillet, is there a way to remove the non stick coating so I can still use the skillet?

 

[Andy M.]

I suppose you could sand/grind the coating off then smooth out the meytal for a better cooking surface. Teflon is not all that tough a material. Is it a stainless steel pan?

 

[blissful]

I've never done it with a non stick skillet but I did remove the coating from a non stick removable insert on an electric roaster (or two). I scrubbed the non stick off and used a metal brillo like scrubber to remove every last bit of it. (I needed to do this for something I was making or the bits of non stick would come off in the food.) The metal layer under it was kind of smooth but I'd scrub it after and before cooking. It never was an ideal surface for anything else. I'm using it now for melting wax but it never really gets clean enough for food-the wax is just wiped when it is hot and it is left for the next wax melting. I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[thymeless]

Yeah, most coated surfaces are not polished smooth, but have some texture to promote adhesion. Dump the pan, it's value is gone.

 

[dragnlaw]

I have a Vollrath non stick skillet that someone used a sharp knife in, the coating is now scratched. They will be dealt with later. I love the skillet, is there a way to remove the non stick coating so I can still use the skillet?

By dealing with... I hope you mean that they can come up with the near $200.00 price tag I see on some of those pans!

So sorry for your loss and pain oldrusty.

 

[pepperhead212]

Volrath has a number of different types of pans, and some of their NS pans have those ceramic coatings - might be harder to remove, but then if it scratched that easily with a knife, it's probably some sort of teflon. And some of their NS pans are coated aluminium, not tri-ply, so I don't know if it would be worth removing the coating. But if you do, a silicon carbide sand paper should remove it, and once it is removed, you could progress to finer and finer grit,, to get a more polished metal.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

 

[CharlieD]

Anything and everything can be removed. The question is do you have the right equipment. I had couple of non-expensive NS pans from Sam's club, Tramotina, I removed the finish and then polished. But it was not an easy job. I have Air Die Grinder and a compressor, but it took some work, a lot of work actually.

 

[taxlady]

Anything and everything can be removed. The question is do you have the right equipment. I had couple of non-expensive NS pans from Sam's club, Tramotina, I removed the finish and then polished. But it was not an easy job. I have Air Die Grinder and a compressor, but it took some work, a lot of work actually.

After all the work, were you happy with the result?

 

[Paid In Grapes]

I bought an All Clad 3qt saute pan with lid in a thrift store for $7.98. I got it in '08 or '09. The interior coating was badly damaged and the exterior of the pan was in pretty rough shape with many gouges and scrapes.

I started with with oven cleaner to remove a majority of the teflon.
Since the exterior was so scratched up I used ordinary sand as my next abrasive. I don't recall how long it took, but I got it down to the rough stainless interior. I think I bought it on a Saturday and was done with the whole project by Sunday evening.

After the sand I then used a wire brush on a drill then I started using progressively finer grits of carborundum powder like what is used in rock tumblers. I probably used a soap solution as a lubricant, but I really don't remember. I was left with an acceptable brushed surface, which was good enough for what I wanted to use it for at the time. The surface isn't anywhere near as nice or as non stick as a polished stainless.

I never got back to smoothing it out to a polished surface or used it enough to see if it will build up a seasoned surface as I have other pans and this was purchased on a whim.

At the time I acquired it, there were companies that would reapply teflon to cookware, don't know if this is still the case. I think I'd check into that first.

The staining on the pan is from tonight. I was using it as a flame tamer and that's just some water spill over.

 

[dragnlaw]

Wow... the picture looks great! Well done.

 

[CharlieD]

After all the work, were you happy with the result?

I did not use as frying pan any more. I drilled the holes in it and am using it to make spaetzle.

 

[oldrustycars]

By dealing with... I hope you mean that they can come up with the near $200.00 price tag I see on some of those pans!

So sorry for your loss and pain oldrusty.

Vollrath Z4010, around $60 at restaurant supply stores. She's family and I love her, I'll just keep her away from my cookware.

 

[Jusa]

Vollrath Z4010, around $60 at restaurant supply stores. She's family and I love her, I'll just keep her away from my cookware.

Ah, aluminum undernneath then. Too bad.

 

[dragnlaw]

Why do you say "too bad" Jusa?

 

[Jusa]

Well first I guess because it's a reactive metal so cooking acidic foods doesn't work well (aluminum leaches into food and gives it a funky taste), and the jury is out on whether it's safe healthwise if aluminum leaches Into food. Lemme see if I can find some articles and I'll come back to edit my post.

Aluminum Cookware: The Facts You Need to Know

Aluminum cookware some of the common cookware on the market. But is it any good? Is it safe? Learn all about aluminum pans here.

therationalkitchen.com

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8767391/

 

[dragnlaw]

Your second article is about aluminum poisoning. Which is not the same thing. I glanced thru a good half of that article (wow!) and not once did it say anything about ingesting from being pick-up from cookware.

Which, by the way, has also been pretty much de-bunked.
I have never found any taste difference in foods cooked in it. Acidic or not. (I'm not talking about storing acidic foods. Witness tin cans)
I never ever put pots nor pans in a dishwasher. (maybe a glass lid, on occasion) .
I don't care what colour my pan is - black, white, silver - it still cooks the same way.

Finally one I agree with - can't use them on an induction burner.

IMHO - I doubt I would trust too much more from that particular website.

 

[Jusa]

You have aluminum cookware and like it I'm guessing? I have ceramic coated aluminum cookware but nothing where bare aluminum touches food. I own this set:

Buy ZWILLING Spirit Ceramic Nonstick Pots and pans set | ZWILLING.COM

ZWILLING Spirit Ceramic Nonstick 10-pc, Pots And Pans Set ►Free shipping on orders above $59 ✓ Order now directly from the manufacturer✓

www.zwilling.com

I think it's the high heat of aluminum coming into direct contact with food that makes me nervous. It's stated in more than one source that aluminum pans can leach aluminum into the food, especially as the pans age. Now granted, I will use aluminum foil on occasion but not often and not with acidic foods. I tend to use parchment paper the most.

Tin and aluminum are not the same thing...but food and drinks stored in cans aren't being cooked in them (I hope not anyway, lol).

I feel safer with my cast iron and stainless steel, though I use mostly my cast iron and enameled cast iron these days.

 

[thymeless]

Tin and aluminum are not the same thing...but food and drinks stored in cans aren't being cooked in them (I hope not anyway, lol).

Generally they're are cooked and sealed simultaneously similarly to home pressure canning

 

[Jusa]

I knew that they were heated when sealed, but never have had heard that they were cooked in the cans, how odd. I always thought that they cooked the food first and then put it in the cans and heat-sealed them.

 

[dragnlaw]

I knew that they were heated when sealed, but never have had heard that they were cooked in the cans, how odd. I always thought that they cooked the food first and then put it in the cans and heat-sealed them.

They are put in the cans, sealed and pressure cooked. Killing two birds with one stone.
I imagine if they were cooked then pressure cooked, they would pretty well be mush.