# Help! What happened to my All-Clad pan?



## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

I bought my first All-Clad pan a few weeks ago and after it got a bit gunky from cooking, I dusted on some Barkeeper's Friend with some water and let it sit. (I know this wasn't exactly as per the instructions.) When I tried to wash it off, a white residue would not come off! I tried scrubbing it and even boiling some water in the pan, but nothing is working. I'm attaching a photo. What did I do!?





  








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jes269


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Aug 26, 2014


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

jes269 said:


> dusted on some Barkeeper's Friend with some water and let it sit. (I know this wasn't exactly as per the instructions.)


Instead try to get the pan dry or almost dry, dust a couple Tbspn Barkeeper's Friend, and, if the pan was completely dry, just a tiny amount of water (1 teaspoon perhaps) and start scrubbing with a blue pad. Be patient and keep scrubbing right on the area that has the marks.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

Thanks. Is this some special blue pad? I just bought one of these:


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I have had allclad for more years then I can remember. Haven't seen that yet. I personally think a good seasoning would do the trick, it looked like a sauté pan. right? I don't think you want to make the clad more pourus


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

jes269 said:


> Thanks. Is this some special blue pad? I just bought one of these:


I don't know about these but at least it says they're non-scratch for stainless steel so you should be alright. For reference, here are the ones I use myself:





  








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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

Retrying the Barkeeper's Friend did not work! Does seasoning involve putting oil on the pan and heating? You think that will work without making things worse?


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## dcarch (Jun 28, 2010)

Perhaps you can inspect it with a high power magnifying glass. It is possible that is not residue. That may be corrosion.

There is no such metal as "stainless" They are all just stain resistant in varying degrees.

Corrosion can be caused by chemicals, or in this case it is possible, if indeed that is corrosion, that was caused by galvanic action by two dissimilar metals in an electrolytic solution. For instance if you leave a spoon of a different metal (or alloy) in the liquid long enough, pitting can occur.

You may have to use a fine grit sandpaper to remove the blotches.

dcarch


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Before doing anything else call their customer service department.

Odds are they have seen this problem a zillion times.

Start off by asking if anyone else has called asking about this.

Could be a defective lot and if so they will replace with another pan.

mimi


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

Bar Keepers Friend contains oxalic acid which is highly corrosive to stainless steel

http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/files/file/MSDS_BKF_Powder_1_1_14.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Keepers_Friend

I suggest you use it again with water to remove the stain but don't let it sit long. You may have already damaged the surface beyond repair though.

Luc H.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

If it is a weird stain of some kind, try my simmered dishwasher detergent recipe - 1/4" water, tsp of D/W detergent, simmer for a few minutes WITH VENT FAN ON HIGH.  That has taken out any stain that I have so far achieved, some of them pretty impressive.

If it's minor corrosion, do you guys think a fine automotive rubbing compound might work it out? With a lot of elbow grease.  If that works, then season it.

Mike


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I'm curious, I have had, I believe the mc2 for years. The skillet never had the bottom as the regular pan. Do ya'll keep you sauté pans

bright and shiny? I have 2 that are well seasoned and never had a problem unless I tried to clean them. Sticking.

After use a little salt and re oil. Not nice to look at but work great. just saying


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

I have three that get almost daily use. A small sauce pan & two saute pans, one is copper clad on the outside & has a nice patina. I don't try to keep it all shiny. They all hang on the pot rack with the other pans.


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

MikeLM said:


> If it's minor corrosion, do you guys think a fine automotive rubbing compound might work it out? With a lot of elbow grease. If that works, then season it.
> 
> Mike


actually Mike, rubbing compound is a great idea. You can also use Glass-ceramic cooktop cleaning cream; it's basically food grade rubbing compound. Very useful to remove many stains on glass and steel.

Luc H.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

So, I was unable to get the weird stain from before off. Now I have another, even bigger problem! I was doing a stir-fry the other day, and this happened. It looks like burnt oil. I can't get it off. Why is my pan having so many problems? Is this seriously my fault again?

Thanks.





  








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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I'd be proud to own that pan.  It has finally lost its factory virginity and is starting to look like a real experienced piece of cookware.  Sincere congratulations - that is not a problem but more a badge of honour.  Keep using it and it will improve even more!


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

Oh? I did not realize this is normal. Thanks!


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

Girls are raised differently than boys, so this isn't sexist to say, but an observation on the results of sexism: Men tend to go with functionality over appearance. Women will think the pan needs cleaning, matching handles, etc. The pan you show us now is slightly more protected from salt erosion, and should perform more along the lines of a non-stick pan.


> Seasoning is desirable on cast-iron cookware and carbon steel cookware, because otherwise they are very sticky to foods and rust-prone. It is generally not desired on other types of cookware either for cosmetic reasons or because the chemical composition of the pan already results in a non-stick surface.


- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning_(cookware)

'cosmetic reasons'


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

It's burnt oil. It will scrub off with some barkeepers friend or similar. It's part of why a saute pan is not ideal for stirfrying.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Yeah. And it's not a manly pan. It's a dirt one.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

More seasoning? Just as long as this is normal…





  








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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Definitely not "normal". My 10 year old stainless steel pans don't look shiny and new, and they have a bit of gunk attached around the rivets that hold the handle - but they don't look anything like yours: they don't have tiny spots or huge marks. I chose not to season them. 

I think you should ask yourself a question: do you intend to season your pan or not? 

Yes? Then this doesn't look like a proper seasoning. Research seasoning and do it right. 

No? Then you shouldn't have burnt oil like that spotting the bottom of your pan. 

You can clean that pan with a nylon pad, some BKF, and a lot of patience. I've done it before. Just make sure you have plenty of time.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

I didn't "intend" to season it. I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?

Also, what is the disadvantage to seasoning them?


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

jes269 said:


> I didn't "intend" to season it. I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?
> 
> Also, what is the disadvantage to seasoning them?


You probably should have washed it out or at least wiped it out between the fajitas and chicken breast. Bio sourced oils polymerize or harden from heat and time. The results you got were as if you seasoned with too much oil.

Disadvantage to seasoning is how meat will sear, how you wash or care for it, and how flavors can carry over.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

Hrmm. I'm not sure that wiping it out would have gotten much of the gunk out. And I can't wash a hot pan. I suppose I'm a bit confused about how people cook on All-Clads without constantly ruining them by accidentally seasoning them improperly. Doesn't this happen every time you use oil?


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

jes269 said:


> I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?


I've had this issue before (and I had to use a lot of patience to get my pan back to what I call a normal state). Here's what I learned from my own experience: heating the pan even on low or mid heat for extended period with the presence of a thin film of oil at the bottom of the pan and no food on top of that oil = you're creating those "seasoning" kind of marks.

So maybe after you tossed the peppers and onions, there was a nice film of oil on the entire surface of the pan, then when you put the chicken breast on, you developed marks where there was no chicken?

I haven't had that issue again in years, taking the following precautions:

- only pour a little oil where you're going to place your item(s), making sure you don't have oil covering empty areas of the pan.

- if you have oil all over your pan you should have items all over your pan.

- if you've used the pan for peppers/onions, resulting in oil all over your pan, and only want to cook a chicken breast that's going to occupy half the pan, then wiping the pan isn't enough, you need to wash the pan, put less oil, only enough to cover about half the pan, and place the chicken on top of the small oil patch.

- it is preferable to use the right size pan for the job, so if your chicken breast will only occupy 1/2 the surface of your pan, then you really should be using a smaller pan.

- the small dots on the side walls of your pan are, I believe, projections that occurred when placing an item in a pan with oil that was too hot, then those oil dots cooked onto the surface of the stainless steel, much like seasoning again.


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## jes269 (Aug 26, 2014)

French Fries said:


> I've had this issue before


Thanks. That was helpful. At this point I only have one stainless pan; it's my first. I'll try to be more careful in the future. Maybe I'll brush the chicken with oil directly, rather than put the oil in the pan. I'm still not sure how to clean a pan that is hot; I know that pouring water into it can warp the pan.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

The pan would have to be very (too) hot to be warped when you add water. Adding water to a hot pan is a classic technique to deglaze the fond, I do it all the time. If that doesn't clean your pan (in your case it won't) then let it rest for a while, but in your case I'm pretty sure you'll have to go BKF and nylon pad, and start scrubbing for a long time, I'm afraid. I've also used 0000 steel wool in the past to eliminate stubborn marks like that.


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## full sack (Oct 19, 2014)

I have All Clad pans from over 20 years ago, and one I purchased recently.  The old pans don't stain like that, the new one does; they must be using a different alloy now.


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## full sack (Oct 19, 2014)

jes269 said:


> So, I was unable to get the weird stain from before off. Now I have another, even bigger problem! I was doing a stir-fry the other day, and this happened. It looks like burnt oil. I can't get it off. Why is my pan having so many problems? Is this seriously my fault again?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> ...


I've soaked pans, in that condition, overnight, in hot water and Cascade. Almost all of the discoloration disappeared.

Be sure to clean it well afterward. You don't want to eat food with any Cascade residue.


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