How should I clean this aluminum grill?

[Spurgeon Hendrick]

I posted this grill in another section, but I need some help figuring out how to clean the aluminum parts.

So far, I tried scrubbing the lid with a liquid version of Bar Keeper’s Friend that I found at Home Depot. I also tried using plain Dawn and another cleaner, Mean Green I think? The brush I used for scrubbing is just a bathroom type scrub brush. Stiff plastic bristles.

 I’m out of 0000 steel wool. I’ll try it next.

I haven’t done anything on the base yet.

Here are pics of the way it was when I bought it, and what the lid looks like after experimenting with the different cleaners.

[Russell Ware]

Have you read the Aluminum section of the Best Threads at the top of this forum?

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1393982431

Depending on the ability of your oven, others here clean aluminum pieces by running them through a self-cleaning oven cycle (SCO). Then hit it with the steel wool and Bar Keeper's Friend.
I have only put a few pieces of cast iron through SCO, so I can't vouch for Al pieces.

[Spurgeon Hendrick]

Russell, I’ve read most of those before. Thanks for the link. It reminded me I never made it all the way through the list! Still not sure what to do. The grill is too big to boil it in Cream (Creme?) of Tartar. Luckily, the self-cleaning function on my oven is broken. No telling how many pieces of cast iron I would have cracked or warped. Ha! Also saw some melted aluminum in the list!

I think I’m going to have to just keep scrubbing it.

[Cheryl Watson]

Dawn Power Dissolver may help.

Spray and seal in plastic bag.

[Spurgeon Hendrick]

Thank you, Cheryl! I thought that product was discontinued. I’ll look for it.

[Cheryl Watson]

I can't live with out my Self Cleaning Oven when it comes to CAST Aluminum.  (rolled aluminum will melt).

Dawn Power Dissolver is still available... I buy it by the case:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J9SITBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Valerie Johnson]

You might try one of the mag or aluminum wheel cleaners, You are not actually cleaning any place that comes into contact with food so I do not see any downside to using one of these type cleaners

[Jerry Cermack]

I can't live with out my Self Cleaning Oven when it comes to CAST Aluminum.  (rolled aluminum will melt).

Dawn Power Dissolver is still available... I buy it by the case:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J9SITBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What is the difference in the this Dawn Heavy Duty, and the Professional?
https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Heavy-Duty-Degreaser-32-Bottle/dp/B00P1P810A/ref=pd_rhf_yast_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00P1P810A&pd_rd_r=4YE5PZFXMC3XDN10XGFC&pd_rd_w=BdrTt&pd_rd_wg=ay0SQ&psc=1&refRID=4YE5PZFXMC3XDN10XGFC

[Cheryl Watson]

What is the difference in the this Dawn Heavy Duty, and the Professional?
https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Heavy-Duty-Degreaser-32-Bottle/dp/B00P1P810A/ref=pd_...

Jerry, totally different product with different ingredients.

The Dawn Power Dissolver is a gel.

The Heavy Duty Degreaser is a liquid.  The purple liquid degreasers (also made by Simple Green), I have found to not be very useful.  I have my polishing rags soaking in the purple stuff, because I poured it in a barrel after realizing I would not use it elsewhere.... Don't know if it will do much on the rags either... 8-) 8-)

[Spurgeon Hendrick]

Well, it’s been a year since I bought this grill. Finally got it down to my customer who Strips paint off of auto parts a couple of months ago. Picked it up this week. He uses a lot of methylene chloride and had told me he was going to use that to strip it. Then, he forgot about the grill until this week’s meeting. We went to lunch and when we came back, his guys were just then sticking it in the caustic soda tank. Ugh! I told him I wasn’t sure that was a good thing, since I was sure if it might be aluminum. They took it out of the tank and then sprayed it with a super high pressure washer. I panicked then, too, because it looked they were (literally) going to blow the door off of the thing!

Anyway, I told him that was good enough and I would finish it at home.

Looks like the surface is a little messed up from the caustic, but not bad. I might get the rest of the crud off of it and just paint it with a high temp paint.

Oh ... and he lost the lid. Can’t find it anywhere in his plant. Ugh.