Le Creuset Ceramic Coated Cast iron - ruined?

[WolfeMacleod]

I know there's a lot of cast iron fans here!!


Earlier tonight there was a mishap. Girlfriend's nephew turned on and left on the wrong burner on the stove, heating a LeCreuset Ceramic coated Cast iron pan quite hot. With a spatula in it...

Spatula melted into the cooking surface of the pan. Smoke everywhere, of course.

Any way to fix this? I'm not sure if there's an actual non-stick coating on the surface or not. Looks liek bare cast iron to me... but very, very smooth.

Anyways.. anyone else had this happen to them? Brand new pan. Very nice... hopign there's some way to salvage it!

[mattdavis11]

Sand out the pan and keep it dipso oiled. I hate the calphon stuff I have, non stick my a$s.

[scottmandue]

That ceramic (enamel) coated stuff is pretty tough... I think there might be a chance to save it... too tired to think about it right now.

I have calphon SS.. non stick is for armatures

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

Sand out the pan and keep it dipso oiled.

That sounds really gay.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

Sand out the pan and keep it dipso oiled. I hate the calphon stuff I have, non stick my a$s.

So you kept the pans when you dumped the sofa drama GF?

[slodave]

Originally Posted by Noah930

So you kept the pans when you dumped the sofa drama GF?

That was BRPORSCHE...

[mattdavis11]

Wrong guy. He's lucky he lost both. By dipso, I mean liberally.

[vash]

it's ceramic coated like a stovetop. i say, you got nothing to lose now. i would scrap it off as best as you can with a scraper, and AJAX it.

it's brandnew? if it has the stainless handle on the lid, and you end up turning the pot into a dog waterbowl. (cuz it is ruined)...can i buy the handle from you? sorry for making vulture sounds..

[javadog]

If it is ceramic coated, don't sand it. You should be able to get the melted plastic off of the ceramic surface. Try carefully scraping it off with a razor blade held almost parallel to the surface of the pan. It's like cleaning paint off of window glass. You don't want to damage the ceramic finish.

JR

[Aurel]

I would try bead blasting it.
I am sure you will find lots of expertise here on cleaning Porsche cast iron cylinders...
It also depends what the spatula was made of. If the polymer just melted and did not turn into carbon, a strong solvent might dissolve it. A picture of the pan would help.

[TechnoViking]

I am not familiar with ceramic, but I have come to the conclusion that all non-stick surfaces are DISPOSABLE. Like scottmandue I use SS for frying.

[masraum]

So it looks similar to this skillet?


Here's a description that I found online.

* Manufacturer: Le Creuset
* Care: Never use metal cleaning pads on the enamel surface
* Dimensions: 12"
* Material: Enameled cast iron
* Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty
* Model: #L2024-30-67

BENEFITS:

* Skillet is ideal for sautéing and searing meat
* Porcelain enamel interior requires no seasoning, and resists scratches and chips
* Durable cast iron quickly and evenly distributes heat for superb cooking results
* Enameled cast iron exterior has durable good looks and is easy to clean
* Sloped sides offer dripless pouring of fats and oils
* Goes effortlessly from oven to table for beautiful presentation

If the inside is porcelainized, you should be able to very, very gently scrape it off. I believe that Porcelain is non-porous, so the plastic/rubber/silicon that made up the spatula should not have soaked in to the surface.

According to the stuff above, you don't want to use a razor, I assume because if you scratch the surface it's bad. I don't know. Good luck, that's an expensive boo-boo.

[VincentVega]

Nice pots.

* Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty

I bet you can return it for another one.

I have a few Calphalon pots that stopped non-sticking. Their policy is so simple, send it back they send you a new one. I couldnt be happier.

[javadog]

If nothing else, call 'em and see what they say:

1.877.CREUSET (273.8738) x6

JR

[Por_sha911]

If I didn't get any help from the company, I would consider slowly warming up the pan to soften the spatula. Carefully scrape it off with a wood spatula that can be thrown away.

[DanielDudley]

There is a certain ''quite hot'' temperature that you really don't want to exceed...

Good luck.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by masraum

So it looks similar to this skillet?


Here's a description that I found online.



.

I beleieve it is EXACTLY that skillet.

Yeah, the inside is not ceramic coated.

[Jeff Higgins]

I would just beat the kid over the head with it.

[lisa_spyder]

Wolfe,

I have a lot of Le Creuset pans etc. I feeeeeel your pain....

They make a cleaner; go buy some. Don't screw with this pan. Don't Ajax it, don't use a really abrasive scourer on it...don't scrub the living daylights out of it...go buy the cleaner. It's not cheap (but neither is that skillet).

The other thing I would suggest doing along with using the Le Creuset cleaner is to heat the pan with some olive oil in it - decent amount, not a pot full but not just a smear covering the bottom of the pan. The idea is that you are trying to soak the melted bits off using the hot oil. You may have to do both a few times (don't ask me how I know ).

Good luck - anyone who screws with my Le Creuset or Sillet pans is usually screwed over by me...

Cheers,

Lisa

[simplejoe]

Came across this thread as I had a similar problem with a Le Creuset (but mine did NOT have the non-stick surface so this answer may not apply to all). Anyway I used a mix of baking soda and water with some hard scrubbing with a paper towel to finally get the plastic out. maybe this will help someone out there.