How to Clean a John Wright Pan

[Russell Ware]

I'm trying to clean the JW dinosaur muffin pan. It had some crud on it, so I threw it in the lye bath. After a day in the lye, it looked good, just waiting in line for the electro. When I pulled it out of the lye a couple days later, it looked like it had been spray painted black. Scrubbing hard with a SS scrubbie could remove some of the black, but there are a lot of nooks and crannies on this pan. Six hours of 20amp electro later, it bubbled a lot, but didn't remove much of the black deposits. Are these pan coated? Is longer in the electro going to eventually clean this pan?

[Cheryl Watson]

Russell, the John Wright pans are coated.  Mine came thru the lye okay. They are just a bear to clean those nooks and crannies.  I'd go to a short vinegar soak to see if that loosens the 'black'.  I used stiff bristle plastic brushes on mine...


I still haven't found a Dinosaur at a price I like.... yet....... ;)

[Russell Ware]

A brief vinegar bath just turned the clean parts black again.
I like Lodge pans so much more. Found the snowman pan, one hour in the electro and 2 seasonings. The muffins were falling out of it this morning. It is boat anchor though. But not as bad as the 1990's Wagner double loaf pan I just seasoned. That is what sunk the Titanic! The local museum hosted a traveling Titanic exposition. It had an actual piece of the Titanic, and you could touch it. That was some serious iron they used to make that ship. Any way,
I found that JW pan for 10 bucks, thought I'd be eye high in dinosaur muffins. Now I'm left feeling like a blind dinosaur.
Do-you-think-he-saurus!
It's back in the lye until the consternation passes.
Looks like more snowmen tomorrow...

[Cheryl Watson]

I am thinking that if the Vinegar Bath turned it black... then there may be some entrenched rust.  Did you scrub after the vinegar? Did any of it wash away?

Tom N, have you ever seen this?


I am thinking I may have put mine into the Evapo, because of those horrendous nooks and crannies... (after Lye Bath).

But I am happy to hear the Snowmen are baking well, and falling out nicely..  ;)

[Russell Ware]

I basically scrubbed off the newest black deposits, and was left with the same stuff I couldn't remove. Not sure if I want to invest in Evapo, but carburetor cleaner is sounding quite vengeful right now.

[Tom Neitzel]

In general, the newer Wright Pans, 1980s and up, are coated with a version of Teflon called Ironstone.  Pans in the earlier style like the catnappers Cheryl posted sometimes are found with or without the coating.  I don't think the Lion and Lamb popover pan she posted is ever coated (one of my favorite pans to use).

I don't think the lye will hurt the Ironstone.

Most of the time I get a black coating on anything I clean in the vinegar.  One of the reasons I don't like it.  I will get a fine black coat from the electro too, easy to get off as long as I don't let it dry.

I think what you have is a pan that somebody may have put through the self-cleaning oven.  The teflon will burn off (poisonious fumes - deadly to birds) leaving a messy looking pan that will never look really good.  Not much you can do with it.

I don't think evaporust will help at all.

A picture might help too.

Another of my favorites, and usually dirt cheap, is the animal puzzle mold.  The rooster is another Wright mold I really like.  Tricky to bake and not burn though.

The Wright gingerbread men are fun too.

Bottom line is that I would likely consider your pan a learning experience.

Tom

p.s.  The trick to using these pans is to use recipes that are designed for them.  They tend to be heavy short and gingerbreads.  Stiff dough that you press in with your fingers.  Cake mixes you buy in the store will not work at all.  Just stick and make a big mess.

In general, the cookies will not fall out of the molds when done.  There are just too many nooks and crannies.  I let them sit at least 10 minutes in the pan, then start to carefully pry them up along the edges all around until you can see them come loose.  It's easier than it sounds.

[Russell Ware]

Here are some photos of the pan as pulled from the lye bath today.
First is the top, second is a close up of 2 molds, third is the back as it started to dry in the 35 degree F sunlight today.

[Russell Ware]

Just found this "as found" picture of the back before it went into the lye. There is a little rust on it which is why I did not think it was coated and should have been an easy clean.

[Cheryl Watson]

Russel, playing a hunch here.

I'd try coating it with Zip Strip (with M/C), and seal it up in a ziploc bag for about an hour. Nothing to lose at this point. :)

I am suspicious of possible paint.....
(or it could be uneven burn off from a SCO like Tom mentioned.... but then why didn't it look strange from the beginning...)

Just reminds me of the patterning I get with some painted pieces after lye bath... which is why I usually Zip Strip first, scrub down, Zip Strip again, and sometimes again.... scrub down between coats.  And then use the Lye Bath for any possible minute residue....

Some high temp paints are very tuff to crack... ;D

[Tom Neitzel]

The rust is a clue.  I think the teflon coating was damaged.  I believe the black areas you find are where the coating is gone and you are down to bare iron.  I think the silver may still be bits of the coating.

The Wright Ironstone coating is silvery, like iron.  Look at the pictures I posted.  The animal puzzle mold is coated (and yes it does acquire a seasoning as you use it).  The rooster is not, but both of the Gingerbread man molds are coated.  It can fool you into thinking it is bare.

They're using a new coating on the pans (which, now for the most part are US made) since Teflon is no longer permitted.  It looks like a clear coat of paint on the surface.

If you really want to salvage the pan, I would put in a self-cleaning oven and burn the rest off.  But be sure it is vented well if you do, you don't want to breathe the fumes.

Tom

Tom

[Russell Ware]

Thanks Cheryl and Tom for your informational an encouraging replies. I'll be putting this pan on hold for a while. The next time I clean the oven, I'll throw it in and see what happens.
I need to finish some electro work on a 10-cup WC Davis pan and a No.11 spider skillet.
If I get any further on the JW pan, I'll post an update.
Thanks again.

[Russell Ware]

Here's the update:
Decided against SCO for now. The first picture shows the pan after detailing with a ss brush. In the picture is a new ss brush and what was left of the 1st one I used. Then I had to get out the cotton swabs...
Second picture is just a close-up of the clean pan. Third shows the Dutch chocolate muffins that fell right out. Not sure the factory coating is still intact, but if it rusts in the future, SCO followed by seasoning will be next. As for now, I'm following the JW instructions for "seasoning" which is basically keeping it greased.

[Tom Neitzel]

Looks pretty good.  Be careful that the little guys don't bite you  :o

Tom