I just recently bought a new copper pan and the directins say to wip the
surface with acetone to remove the laquer( or whatever it is) that's
applied to keep it shiny while in the store. OK, went to the
supermarket, got a bottle of acetone, and went to work. But how can I
tell if the finish is removed or not? (Short of setting the pan aside
for a few months and watching what areas tarnish). It looks not
different, of course, from before I when I rubbed it with the acetone.

Just curious, what brand of copper cookware is this?

--
Michael Harp
Pinehurst, NC
http://CopperPans.com


On 1/29/04 9:53 AM, in article , "Ellie News"
> wrote:

> I just recently bought a new copper pan and the directins say to wip the
> surface with acetone to remove the laquer( or whatever it is) that's
> applied to keep it shiny while in the store. OK, went to the
> supermarket, got a bottle of acetone, and went to work. But how can I
> tell if the finish is removed or not? (Short of setting the pan aside
> for a few months and watching what areas tarnish). It looks not
> different, of course, from before I when I rubbed it with the acetone.
>

Don't know. I doubt it's made for export. (I'm living in France) The
only mark I can find on it says "Fabrication Francaise". I bought it at
the local Géant store in Carcassonne - they had tons of it as a
Christmas special. It seems like good stuff - at least 2mm solid copper,
tin lined (which I prefer). And the price was extraodinary - a large
skillet was about $30.

Michael Harp wrote:
> Just curious, what brand of copper cookware is this?
>

That's a very good price, but it's tin lined. Why do you prefer that? I
generally like to preheat a skillet and you can't do that with tin...
--
Michael Harp
http://CopperPans.com




On 1/29/04 1:01 PM, in article , "Ellie C"
> wrote:

> Don't know. I doubt it's made for export. (I'm living in France) The
> only mark I can find on it says "Fabrication Francaise". I bought it at
> the local Géant store in Carcassonne - they had tons of it as a
> Christmas special. It seems like good stuff - at least 2mm solid copper,
> tin lined (which I prefer). And the price was extraodinary - a large
> skillet was about $30.
>
> Michael Harp wrote:
>> Just curious, what brand of copper cookware is this?
>>
>

Hot pan, cold oil, food doesn't stick is a myth. It's hot oil, period. So
just put the oil in the pan when its cool. The oil will smoke and warn you
long before you melt the tin. Also, go easy on heat. Copper is very
conductive and heats up fast.

My biggest objection to tin is that it's so hard to get pots rettined
nowadays. Once this was a common and inexpensive service, but now the few
remaining retinners fancy themselves artistes instead of tinkers and charge
a king's ransom.



"Michael Harp" > wrote in message
...
> That's a very good price, but it's tin lined. Why do you prefer that? I
> generally like to preheat a skillet and you can't do that with tin...
> --
> Michael Harp
> http://CopperPans.com
>
>
>
>
> On 1/29/04 1:01 PM, in article , "Ellie C"
> > wrote:
>
> > Don't know. I doubt it's made for export. (I'm living in France) The
> > only mark I can find on it says "Fabrication Francaise". I bought it at
> > the local Géant store in Carcassonne - they had tons of it as a
> > Christmas special. It seems like good stuff - at least 2mm solid copper,
> > tin lined (which I prefer). And the price was extraodinary - a large
> > skillet was about $30.
> >
> > Michael Harp wrote:
> >> Just curious, what brand of copper cookware is this?
> >>
> >
>

Once you heat the pan, you'll know rather quickly whether you got the
lacquer off or not. If you missed any, the laucquer will harden into a
brown varnishlike coating that is very hard to remove and then it wlll be
too late.

You can test whether the lacquer is still there by rubbing a paste of baking
soda and dish detergent onto a spot of the pan and leaving it overnight. The
baking soda should darken the pan (copper cleaner or lemon juice &salt or
ketchup will remove the tarnish). If the lacquer is intact, it will protect
the pan from tarnish.

Another recommended method for removing lacquer is to boil the pot in a
solution of 1 cup washing or baking soda to 2 gals. water. Obviously you
need an even bigger pot to immerse whatever pot you are boiling.

Commercial paint and lacquer removers as sold in paint stores are also
effective.


"Ellie News" > wrote in message
...
> I just recently bought a new copper pan and the directins say to wip the
> surface with acetone to remove the laquer( or whatever it is) that's
> applied to keep it shiny while in the store. OK, went to the
> supermarket, got a bottle of acetone, and went to work. But how can I
> tell if the finish is removed or not? (Short of setting the pan aside
> for a few months and watching what areas tarnish). It looks not
> different, of course, from before I when I rubbed it with the acetone.
>

I find that the tin sticks less than the stainless. And I also find that
I don't have to preheat the pan. I've read that tin conducts heat almost
as well as copper, whereas stainless doesn't. I find that to be true in
my personal experience. I have one copper skillet lined with stainless
and I hardly ever use it because it sticks so much. I have a similar
copper skillet lined with tin and it's a joy to use. It heats and cools
almost immediately and sticks hardly at all.

Michael Harp wrote:
> That's a very good price, but it's tin lined. Why do you prefer that? I
> generally like to preheat a skillet and you can't do that with tin...

If you live in the northeast of the US, you might check with a fellow in
South Boston who does retinning. His name is Walter Darmetko and he will
accept things by mail. Sorry I don't know his exact address or phone number.

Jack Denver wrote:
> Hot pan, cold oil, food doesn't stick is a myth. It's hot oil, period. So
> just put the oil in the pan when its cool. The oil will smoke and warn you
> long before you melt the tin. Also, go easy on heat. Copper is very
> conductive and heats up fast.
>
> My biggest objection to tin is that it's so hard to get pots rettined
> nowadays. Once this was a common and inexpensive service, but now the few
> remaining retinners fancy themselves artistes instead of tinkers and charge
> a king's ransom.
>
>
>
> "Michael Harp" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>That's a very good price, but it's tin lined. Why do you prefer that? I
>>generally like to preheat a skillet and you can't do that with tin...
>>--
>>Michael Harp
>>http://CopperPans.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>On 1/29/04 1:01 PM, in article , "Ellie C"
> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Don't know. I doubt it's made for export. (I'm living in France) The
>>>only mark I can find on it says "Fabrication Francaise". I bought it at
>>>the local Géant store in Carcassonne - they had tons of it as a
>>>Christmas special. It seems like good stuff - at least 2mm solid copper,
>>>tin lined (which I prefer). And the price was extraodinary - a large
>>>skillet was about $30.
>>>
>>>Michael Harp wrote:
>>>
>>>>Just curious, what brand of copper cookware is this?
>>>>
>>>
>
>

Jack Denver wrote:
> Once you heat the pan, you'll know rather quickly whether you got the
> lacquer off or not. If you missed any, the laucquer will harden into a
> brown varnishlike coating that is very hard to remove and then it wlll be
> too late.

Interesting, because this is exactly what the directions that came with
the pan say. But I first used one of these pans without reading the
directions (which were on a very tiny slip of paper attached to the
wrapping, not to the pan and very easy to miss) not even thinking that
it might have a lacquer coating. Anyway, the pan did not darken and no
such burnt-varnish coating appeared. So perhaps the pan wasn't realy
coated at all, but then it had no signs of tarnish and had been in the
store for a while. And another pan that I bought and haven't yet used
has been hanging ón my wall since early December and has no signs of
tarnish, making me think that perhaps there is a coating on it. But then
again, a confiturier I bought has not tarnished and it supposedly has no
lacquer coating on it at all. An amusing mystery all of this. If these
pans are not coated, which I suspect, then I wonder what has been done
to them to make them so slow to tarnish.


>
> You can test whether the lacquer is still there by rubbing a paste of baking
> soda and dish detergent onto a spot of the pan and leaving it overnight. The
> baking soda should darken the pan (copper cleaner or lemon juice &salt or
> ketchup will remove the tarnish). If the lacquer is intact, it will protect
> the pan from tarnish.
>
> Another recommended method for removing lacquer is to boil the pot in a
> solution of 1 cup washing or baking soda to 2 gals. water. Obviously you
> need an even bigger pot to immerse whatever pot you are boiling.
>
> Commercial paint and lacquer removers as sold in paint stores are also
> effective.
>
>
> "Ellie News" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I just recently bought a new copper pan and the directins say to wip the
>>surface with acetone to remove the laquer( or whatever it is) that's
>>applied to keep it shiny while in the store. OK, went to the
>>supermarket, got a bottle of acetone, and went to work. But how can I
>>tell if the finish is removed or not? (Short of setting the pan aside
>>for a few months and watching what areas tarnish). It looks not
>>different, of course, from before I when I rubbed it with the acetone.
>>
>
>
>