Something to Clean the Outside of a Pot

[Billiken]

Someone recently told me there is a product specifically designed to completely remove the black coating that camp pots get when used over an open fire (and when not covered with liquid soap beforehand).

I can't seem to find it anywhere.
Help???????

BTW, I already know about elbow grease and steel wool.

THANKS

[cballman]

cleaners with a citrus acid base works very well.

[evmori]

Don't burn the pot in the 1st place!

[Quailman]

Just hand the pot very carefully to me. No matter how careful I am, all that black stuff will come off - on my hands, my clothes, my face, the extra clothes in my foot locker, my sleeping bag, the upholstery in my car...

[Lynda J]

A choregirl and lots of elbow grease. I would let the person that forgot to precoat them do the major part of the work.

[wagionvigil]

coat it with soap before using it
Old trick was to take a bar of soap and rub it all over the pot before cooking

[vpalango]

coat it with soap before using it
Old trick was to take a bar of soap and rub it all over the pot before cooking

Darn... Beat me to the punch on that one! I remember when I was a scout using this "trick" as we almost always cooked over open fires and always coated the pots/pans for just this reason.

Woe to the scout who forgot to do this, as he would have a difficult job ahead of him after the campout to scrub off every spec of carbon off the pot/pan before gear inspection at the next troop meeting.

YIS,

[cballman]

also it could be one of those things that we neglect to teach the boys. I have seen a few different things that we as leaders have not taught the older boys so then they in turn havent taught the younger ones because they dont know.

[Billiken]

C'mon folks.....read the first post (topic of this thread).

The pots were not coated with soap. This was part of a winter survival skills event that involved cooking on the trail. The temperature at cooking time was 4 F.
We told the boys that they were absolutely NOT to remove their gloves to apply liquid soap. We also did not want their gloves to get soap on them.

All patrols were told NOT TO WORRY ABOUT APPLYING LIQUID SOAP.

The question/reason for this thread is my asking if anyone knows of a product that easily removes the carbon from a camp pot/pan.

[Quailman]

cleaners with a citrus acid base works very well.

I have a couple of copper-bottom pots at home, and every so often I use a product specifically made to polish copper that removes the oxidation quite well. I doubt it would be effective on carbon deposits on aluminum pots, but I might try it since I already have the product at home. There's probably a similar product that dissolves (removes?) the carbon deposits. One that you might try is oven cleaner, like Easy-Off.

[evmori]

Try Bars Keeper Friend.

[FrankJ]

oven cleaner maybe? (not a job for scouts)

[hacimsaalk]

Don't burn the pot in the 1st place!

thats a good suggestion.

btw- i was about to suggest soap on the outside of it, but then i saw you already know that. then i was about to suggest steel wool, but you know that too. guess you outsmarted me there lol

[ICanCanoeCanU]

Salt and small drops of vinegar then scrub using ice cubes. Repeat process a few times.

[jhawk]

I have had good luck using a nylon scrubber or Scotchbrite pad with a paste of baking soda and water. Bon Ami cleaner works well, too, if you have it locally. SOS pads (soapy steel wool) is okay if you don't mind some minor scratches.
I'm sure "helpful" comments like "don't burn it in the first place" are meant to be amusing, but anyone who has ever cooked over an open fire would know that getting blackened pots is inevitable unless they are coated. It isn't a burned pot--it's a pot with the natural byproducts of burning wood.
I personally don't bother coating the pot with soap or anything. I clean the outside of the pot as best I can in camp when I clean the inside and place it in it's own stuff sack (plastic grocery sacks work fine, too) to keep the soot from getting on anything. Cleans up fine at home. I don't mind it being blackened and I can get it shiny again if I want to.

[Billiken]

Here it is folks;

Carbon Off
www.carbonoff.com

Comes in aerosol or liquid.
Not cheap. And not suitable for young scouts.

The 19 oz aerosol can is $13.

Except for the scratches and dents, our cook kits look new (even under the upper rim or edge).
Not a spec of black/carbon anywhere.

[ams]

1/2 lemon sprinkled with salt. Easy enough to have when camping.

Another thought is the aluminum foil I use to clean the inside of the Dutch Oven. Warmed pot has better results.