Guys, I fucked up. I have what was a beautiful two-tone colander that looked nice and retro, with a shiny red finish. After some use, there was a very tiny amount of rust showing in places around the rim, and my dumbass self decided to soak it in CLR like I do with anything metal that gets signs of rust. It didn’t occur to me that it would remove the gloss finish from the powder-coated enamel.

Now it looks and feels awful, like it has a dull, pink, rubbery coating instead of the beautiful glossy bright red finish of yore.

Is there a product I can use to polish it back to beauty? It wasn’t cheap and has been discontinued, so I’d like to restore it if possible.

I’ve searched online but my Google-fu isn’t worthy, apparently. Thanks in advance!

      • nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        161·
        9 months ago

        because possibly a thermal coating was removed and there is paint underneath which is coming off or reacting to things that are coming into contact with it

        • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
          2·
          9 months ago

          It sounds like there wasn’t an extra coating that I removed, but that I just etched the fired coating, making it dull rather than glossy – so it’s the same outer coating that existed, it’s just not glossy anymore. In theory, it’s still as food-safe as it was, but it’s porous now (it kinda feels like silicone).

      • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
        23·
        9 months ago

        also do you want to use it for cooking or look at it shine? It’s a colander, not a bronze chandelier from Napoleon’s castle.