Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Hi all ... this week I acquired (for free!) a fully-working electric range cooker. It looks very nice in our kitchen and I'm looking forward to experimenting with the sort of complicated dishes you can only do with two ovens, four hob plates and a griddle :spin: :D

There's only one, very wee snag ... all four of the hob plates show evidence of corrosion. One of them is significantly pitted. The range is no more than 8 years old (judging by the (c) date in the instructions) but has clearly been very well used and not so well loved. :(

I have done some googling on the subject of repairing hob corrosion and all I have found is pages dealing with Agas and Rayburns (and even these don't answer my question at all, despite promising to in their introductions - frustrating!)

The best I can understand is that you can apparently use a fine grade emery cloth to smooth a hob plate (on an Aga, at any rate), before cleaning and oiling with a proprietory bottle of whatever.

Does anybody here have any experience of cleaning rust off an electric cooker hob plate?

Thanks in advance .... :)

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Can you not replace them.
Cleaning them might do more harm than goog?

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Spares suppliers seem not to stock hob plates (those I've seen so far anyway). The top of the cooker appears to be a sealed unit. Besides, the plates are far from dead. They just look permanently dirty! Replacing them would be a little extreme.

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

I don't think you will have much luck trying to use emery, or similar, there will be too much metal to remove to smooth the plates completely.

- initially I would try polishing them up with a brass cup brush on an electric drill, obviously the pitted surface will still be pitted, but it should look a lot better.

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Fine grade emery might be ok for removing surface rust but it aint gonna get rid of the pitting. For that I think you'll probably need to take the hob plate to a machinist and get it skimmed. Then you finish it off nicely with some of this.. www.dmpb.co.uk/hpr.htm
That's all very well if you have know a friend of a friend who can do it on the cheap otherwise it might be cheaper & easier just to get a new replacement hob plate (if they are still available).

AGA suggest this: "The hob surface can be restored reasonably easily in situ by using grinding paste and an oilstone or suitably shaped flat piece of steel. But, what ever technique you use, donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t get the paste on the enamel surface!"
Which is just great if you've got very big biceps and several days spare to grind out any significant pitting ;).

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Wet and dry abrasive paper maybe?

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

I think I'll attack it with emery cloth, seeing as nobody seems to believe that would actually damage the hob plate.

None of the various spares websites I have visited so far stock hob plates. It appears they are not seen as a part that needs replacing (or perhaps they just can't be replaced?).

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

just be careful to keep everything perfectly square & level - the last thing you want is a wobbly pan that isn't making good thermal contact with the plate. ;)

- and if the element starts to show, it's time to stop :erm:

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

element .... zoiks! How thin are hob plates? I was thinking they must be a couple of centimetres thick at least. I'm only thinking of skimming a millimetre off them, if that!

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

You might want to try one of the Mycal De-solv-it heavy duty citrus cleaners and a wire brush.

http://www.mykal.co.uk/pages/semi_aqueous.htm

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...sp?SKU=SA00734

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

The newer the thinner I would guess - but you will be ok with a millimetre :)

- we need a 'tongue in cheek' smiley ;)

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

And a relieved smiley ... :erm: :D

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

We used to have one of them but it got censored!

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

How about cleaning the hobs up and then applying a high temperature paint such as on http://www.calfire.com/section.php?s...=new&section=3

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

You will never in a month of sundays take off 1mm with emery cloth. You will be extremely lucky even to take off 0.1mm and even then not evenly.
Emery is only good for removing loose surface rust. The grinding paste and oilstone method is better for getting rid of slightly deeper corrosion and keeping the surface truly flat but even that has its limits when you have deep pitting.

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Aha ... now, grinding paste and oilstone is something the Aga DIY website I found was talking about. Do you know any more about that, such as where I would get the kit? Is it something I might find in B&Q?

When I said a millimetre, by the way, what I really meant was 'just a little bit' ... I wasn't planning to scientifically remove a mm of the surface. I know it'd take forever ... :disturbd:

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Grinding paste you can get from an autoparts shop (valve grinding paste, usually you get course and fine grades in two halfs of a tin). The tins tend to be small so you might need a couple at least.
The oilstone I'm not sure. I would think somewhere like Machine Mart (they may have grinding paste there too, in larger tins). You don't want one that's too small because the idea is to grind the hob plate flat (for best thermal contact with your pan of curry! ;) assuming of course you are using those flat thick bottomed pans which you're supposed to on a flat hob plate).
Oh, and you grind in a figure of 8 pattern rather than back'n'forth or circular.
EDIT: Those common little oilstones about 1" x 3" are pretty useless for this job. You probably want something the size of a beermat.

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

Oil-based whetstones are so old hat these days. You could try a diamond based one from DMT or similar - they just need a little water as lubricant. The extra coarse (black) ones don't half shift some metal.

http://www.dmtsharp.com/

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

i wounder if you could get them machined back to a good surface :erm: , ok so i was only guessing :disturbd: :D :D :D

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

I too mentioned that earlier. Saves a lot of arm work.

Re: Restoring corroded hob plates
 

sorry i missed that :disturbd: , i will go off and :sniper: myself quietly :erm: :D :D :D