Cleaning an iron.

[whiskywill]

A clothes iron, that is not a plane iron.

Has anybody tried any of the proprietary iron cleaners to remove what is, I assume, some melted on polyester on the soleplate of my iron? I have tried denatured alcohol, white spirit, cellulose thinners, oven cleaner, MEK and methylated spirits but none will touch it.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Unless the iron has a non stick finish I'd carefully scrape it off with a razor blade scraper or scalpel and finish off with a green or brown 'Scotchbright' pad.

Do it with the iron cold

Regards Mick

 

[Bm101]

Hi
Do it with the iron cold
Regards Mick

Think Spindle's got it spot on with the razor, but the white pads are a little softer and might scratch your iron a bit less.

 

[RogerP]

Belt sander

 

[Racers]

Plug it in and let the heat soften the plastic and scrape something smooth and wipe on an old Tshirt etc.

Pete

 

[Mark A]

I've heard rubbing a paracetamol tablet on the plate when it's hot removes stains. Don't ask me how it works, but apparently it does.


EDIT: Didn't read the bit about polyester. Not sure how much success you'd have removing that with paracetamol.

 

[Bod]

Argos.

Bod

 

[Jonzjob]

Whack it up as high a temp as it will go and wipe it across a rough cloth such as some old sacking if it's a non stick jobbie. Failing that then give it a soak with some acetone, but do it in the open air or you ain't going to need a beer in the evening!!

Paracetamol? Try it for the headache SWMBO will be giving you 8) 8)

 

[whiskywill]

Hi

Unless the iron has a non stick finish I'd carefully scrape it off with a razor blade scraper or scalpel and finish off with a green or brown 'Scotchbright' pad.

Do it with the iron cold

Regards Mick

Unfortunately the iron has a non stick surface so I'm reluctant to scrape or use anything abrasive.

 

[whiskywill]

EDIT: Didn't read the bit about polyester. Not sure how much success you'd have removing that with paracetamol.

I'm assuming it's polyester as it is primarily used for ironing cotton/polyester shirts.

 

[whiskywill]

Failing that then give it a soak with some acetone,

That could work. I will sacrifice some of my nail varnish .

 

[Jacob]

Easier to scrape off if it's warmed up just a bit.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I'm not sure Acetone is aggressive enough, but it probably can't hurt: if not, try xylene on it when cold (with kitchen paper, gloves, and plenty of ventilation).

Frankly, I've given up with ours. It (Tefal) also has a non-stick ("ha ha!") surface, with a ridged paint pattern on it, making proper cleaning almost impossible. The worst thing is the burned bits of fluff that get into the steam system through the holes. I use steam; SWMBO doesn't, meaning black stuff is ejected all over my shirts if I'm stupid enough to try he steam system.

Although nominally non-stick, ours is just painted, so I can use cream cleaner (sparingly) to polish of the surface. Brasso also works well, as does Autosol (the stuff used for honing paste on my wet grinder's leather wheel). Obviously you don't want it getting u into the steam holes, as it will come out again, but it can be done with care.

I have a 1960s Morphy Richards iron which I keep for veneering, etc. But it's so much better than the current domestic one, it gets pressed into service occasionally for steaming trousers etc., with a damp clean teatowel.

 

[Robbo3]

I have a 1960s Morphy Richards iron which I keep for veneering, etc. But it's so much better than the current domestic one, it gets pressed into service occasionally for steaming trousers etc., with a damp clean teatowel.

OT
Ditto, but mine's light blue.
Even managed to source a new temperature control knob a few years ago.

 

[stuartpaul]

Is it 'ironic' that you got something stuck to a non stick iron?

 

[NazNomad]

I can't help with your problem, I just wanted to point out how impressed I was at the amount of guys who pretend to know what an iron is. :-D

 

[flanajb]

Funny post. My Wife was asking me the same thing last week. I do keep telling her that printed t shirts should be ironed inside out.

 

[Jonzjob]

I forgot earlier, but vefore we moved over I used to do a lot of RC model glider flying and building. I have a small iron that's used to put the poly heat shrink covering on and it often gets the glue or poly stuck to it. Not too much of a problem, but when it gets too much I put it on as high as possible and use a bit of rough cloth, sacking or such like, and wipe it off on that. After all, it's the heat that got it on there so it should take it off me-thinks 8) 8)

 

[whiskywill]

Thanks for all of your advice. I considered all suggestions and.........................bought some of this off eBay.

It's brilliant stuff that removed all trace of the sticky brown streak that was on the iron.