Years ago I found a pair of yellow Fiesta dinner plates at the thrift store with utensil marks all over them. Some kind soul recommended that I try Bar Keepers Friend to clean them up and I passed, choosing instead to use 0000 steel wool, baking soda and a lot of elbow grease to achieve the same result. Today, I eat crow.
I should have just listened. I'm always so skeptical of "miracle cures" that I thought, "no way it's that
easy". It is. Simple as that. It took so little effort to clean the silvery knife marks off these plates
that I felt physical embarrassment upon their demise. The photos above and below have been
enhanced (to exactly the same degree - all four) to better show the difference after a light quick
cleaning with the scouring powder.
So now, you don't have to put those amazing dinner ware finds back on the Goodwill shelf just
because they have utensil marks! Get yourself a can of Bar Keepers Friend to keep around the
house. No telling what else it'll clean up. I've got tons of stuff to try it on. The funny thing is, I
found this pair of Franciscan Starburst dinner plates at one thrift store and the can of BKF at the very
next! Serendipity? I'll take that, thanks!
Below are the same photos as above but un-enhanced, you know - for full disclosure or whatever. Of
course, the BKF doesn't pull out the actual scratches in the porcelain, but without the discoloration
they are much harder to notice. Plus, now you've got "fancy" dinner ware that you won't be afraid to
actually use!
Good to know! I've been wary to try an abrasive on my dishes, but do have a can of this, and will try it on - you guessed it - a yellow fiestaware plate with knife marks! Thanks for the recommend!
ReplyDeleteHi Mod Betty.
DeleteGlad to be of service! I found those Starbust plates so cheap that I figured I couldn't do much harm if they got ruined. Now they look good enough to put in my booth!
Funny, I posted the same tip on the Mid Century Dinnerware and Mid Century Refinishing, Restoration and Rejuvenation Facebook groups on June 10. I even used a piece of Starburst for the demo pictures. Great minds thinking alike...eh?
ReplyDeleteHi Bopfish.
DeleteWhat a coincidence! I'm just glad you aren't throwing a fit saying I'm stealing your good ideas. Though now I kinda wish I had a Facebook acct. so I would have known you just did this...and with the same dishes! That too weird.
Wow, big difference! I didn’t really see it until I viewed the pics in flickr and that stuff really worked well. Maybe I’ll try some on my toothpaste. -midmichigan
ReplyDeleteIf you're ever worried about the BKF taking color off an item, or scratching it, be sure to use it with a super wet sponge - so it's more pasty and less grainy. I use it on Pyrex stuff all the time and have never had a problem losing the shine or whatever, but I'm careful to use it very wet.
ReplyDeleteBKF is the best! I've used it for years and buy it in bulk. Love the dry and the liquid. The liquid works as well at cleaning a smooth-top stove as the far more expensive cleaners dedicated to that purpose. For example, 26 oz of BKF soft cleanser on Amazon is $6.83, while 20 oz of Weiman Glass Cooktop Cleaner is $15.58.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, I'll be trying this.
ReplyDelete