I stared cluelessly at my O’Keefe & Merritt vintage stove when she was delivered into my kitchen. My first gas stove. My first vintage gas stove.
It looked okay to me. Then I noticed a few minor things. The oven and broiler chambers needed a bit of cleaning. Two of the grates were cracked. There was a bit of dark crud around and under the outside chrome trim. I decided to whip out my pressure steamer and give it a good cleaning. Steaming along the top’s edge seemed to loosen and flush out decades of accumulated crud (burnt grease and dirt). But crud just kept coming. “How can I get that trim off so I can get at what’s underneath it?” Then I noticed touches of rust in many nooks and crannies.
Before hiring a plumber to hook it up to the kitchen gas line that had been capped for decades, I decided to do more cleaning and rust removal. I had no idea the amount of crud just under the chrome trim was nothing compared to what I was going to find just under the cooktop hood.
Initially, I had no idea how anything worked or how anything was assembled or could be opened or disassembled. Not much info online and the experts wanted precious funds for their advice; funds I didn’t have.
Online reading did help a little. It taught me these stoves were assembled by hand during manufacturing, so thankfully nearly everything was attached with basic screws/bolts, parts that could be nearly as easy to remove, unless frozen. There was no bizarre hardware that require unusual sets of drivers or other tools. No glued parts. Here was an essential appliance designed to be used several times a day every day, that was extremely durable and easy to disassemble with standard wrenches and screw drivers. Imagine!
Wiping away history under the hood
It took me a while to discover I simply had to lift up the hood to see most of the workings. Conditions just under the hood – not as clean as on the hood. Years of rust, accumulated old food bits and dust/ash. Eeewww. Amazing how dirty a space can get while it’s covered.
Later, I began to realize the area under the cooktop hood was generally unexplored by stove owners. Either they didn’t know the hood could be lifted up or were afraid to look.
I started by scraping gently with a putty knife, then wiping down the floor of the stove top with paper towels while testing several household degreasers (Grease Lightning, Grease Grizzly, Zep Industrial Purple). PB Blaster, Goof Off and lots of paper towels were indispensable. The kind of stuff I was removing would not rinse out of a sponge. Paper towels were better.
It took a while to find out with a little effort I could just pull the control knobs off the valve stems. They are held only by friction and fit. No screws or clamps were used. It was far easier to clean the knobs. I let them soak in a hot, sudsy bath, then scrubbed with a toothbrush.
Derusting steel and iron
With the knobs, two crumb trays and the control panel screws removed, I could easily remove the entire control panel. Removing it revealed many stove parts desperately in need of attention. There were dusty, corroded, rusty valves, a rusty manifold (the main gas pipe), gunk and rust inside and underneath the control panel, a badly rust-etched horizontal brace bar and hood support stick (steel rod that holds the hood open).
All the screws I removed were also pretty rusty. I scrubbed those with a wire brush and Scotch-Brite heavy duty sponge (green side), sorted them into various labeled cat food tins, and soaked them in PB Blaster.
Without knowing how to properly disassemble more, additional rust removal would be a lot harder. But I wasn’t ready to get extreme on taking major things apart until I got more comfortable with Lucy (stove’s new name).
Mechanical tools like putty knives, wire brushes, steel wool, scrubbie sponges, and sandpaper are safe to use on most things because no chemicals are involved.
Chemical oxidation removers: what should be used depends on the metal. Best items for metal oxidation removal (black rust, red rust, tarnish) depends on what’s being oxidized and how much oxidation there is.
With brass, the oxidation is actually a protective layer to inhibit further corrosion. Its oxidation turns the color to a dull brown. Most of the gas valves are made of brass.
With steel and iron, oxidation is not beneficial. Red rust (iron oxide) will eventually eat the metal. There are lots of chemicals that can remove rust. Most acids will do a great job of removing rust. Although, because iron is so porous, certain very strong acids, like muriatic acid, tend to dig deep and break down the iron. Phosphoric acid turns iron oxide into iron phosphate, a very stable by product that can protect from further red rust.
My personal favorites when not in a hurry – distilled vinegar (1 day soak), citric acid (2 day soak), black strap molasses (1-2 week soak). toolmakingart.com : rust-removal.
Recently, I discovered DMSO works, too.
Sandpaper, wire brushes and steel wool worked well to knock down most of the rust on the manifold and anything else I wasn’t able to remove.
Afterwards, all formerly rusty surfaces I wiped with vaseline or PB Blaster to slow down further rusting. Now for the darker surfaces I like to use automotive brake grease. It’s meant to withstand high temps.
I knew this was an appliance that spouted fire. I decided to take the risk. Turned out, everything was fine. The surfaces I applied the Vaseline or PB Blaster didn’t ignite or even smoke.
Cleaning Cooktop Porcelain Enamel
What I learned about stain/discoloration removal on porcelain enamel is it depends on what caused the discoloration. And it’s important to remember the enamel layer is glass-like. So harsh abrasives can scratch it, dulling the luscious shine.
If the discoloration is a deposit like burnt food, right near the cooktop burner, mild abrasives can work well. To minimize damage to the porcelain enamel, the most popular and mildest is baking soda. You could bump that cleaning power a little using whitening toothpastes. Some chemical agents, if allowed some soaking time, can remove that debris without abrasives.
Some discolorations can be remedied chemically with bleaching agents like hydrogen peroxide or chlorine bleach. Other chemical approaches involve using either mild to strong acids including vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid. The challenge with acids, is they can etch the glassy surface. So if you choose to use them, make sure to monitor the site carefully and then neutralize any residue with baking sods the fresh water.
Oddly, the opposite, mild to strong bases also work. Baking soda is a mild base abrasive. Oven cleaners like Easy-Off are mostly made from lye, which is a very strong base. They do emit unpleasant odors that can burn.
Finally, discolorations can simply be due to the porcelain enamel chipping off, exposing the steel or cast iron. The only sound solution to damaged porcelain enamel is to have the part sent to a professional. They’ll remove the old enamel and apply a nice new coat.
Cleaning Oven/Broiler Porcelain Enamel
If you want to really get it done, use a regular ole oven cleaner. It contains all the chemicals needed to coat the vertical and horizontal surfaces for long periods while breaking down everything carbon based (grease, burnt food, etc.), without damaging the porcelain enamel.
The keys to using any oven cleaner is time and warmth. Time allow the cleaner time to soak into the crud to soften it. Warmth helps speed up the chemical reactions.
Cleaning supplies and tools I used
| power steamer | Household and car degreaser sprays |
| putty knife | cotton swabs |
| paper towels | Goof-Off |
| phosphoric acid | Easy Off oven cleaner |
| dish detergent | brake grease |
| fine grit wet/dry sandpaper | pans, jars, small buckets |
| wooden pop-sickle sticks | Tri-Flow lubricant, oil penetrant |
| wire brushes | fine steel wool |
| green scrubbies | rust neutralizers |
| DMSO | hydrogen peroxide or OxyClean |
| baking soda | crushed oxalis leaves (oxalic acid) |