Cleaning titanium

[orthofingers]

My son and I just returned from a quick overnight trip up Mt. Greylock in western Massachusetts. We stayed at the Peck's Brook Shelter and when preparing our evening meal, the beans burned slightly when heating them in a SnowPeak 700 over the open fire. I've scrubbed the titanium with an abrasive sponge and an SOS pad. It hasn't made a dent in the stain/burned bean deposit. Any ideas on how to best clean it. I'm reluctant to use course sand paper because I figure the scratches might just encourage and attract more food deposits in the future. Thanks.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

Soak it, try again, and learn to live with what remains.

[rhjanes]

take it home, fill with H2O. Put on low heat and get a very slow boil going. See if that doesn't "cook" off the burned stuff. This often works.

[Time Zone]

IDK about titanium, but Barkeeper's Friend is pretty amazing stuff with similar ghosting on stainless steel.

[orthofingers]

I soaked it overnight in hot soapy water and scrubbed it today with the abrasive sponge and then the SOS pad. No happiness there. I suppose I could put it in the oven and run it through a self cleaning cycle. Ya think that would somehow damage the titanium?

[MuddyWaters]

Minimum letters

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[fastfoxengineering]

simmer baking soda in it for 20 minutes, then rinse and scrub, and repeat if necessary.

You learned the hard way. High heat + Titanium + Not enough water = scorchd everytime

the stainless steel scrubbie also works well

its probably not all going to come off. your cup just has a patina now.

[cmoulder]

At this point, whatever remains is not going to adversely affect future use of the pot. If you manage not to burn anything else, repeated use going forward will see the deposit diminish over time.

Chalk it up to patina, character, trail cred, lesson learned, storytelling material, etc. It will always bring back good memories of that particular trip.

[perrymk]

Is it metal discoloration or black char? I am not aware of any way to undo metal discoloration. Black char can be addressed if you insist.

No one has mentioned chemical warfare so I guess it's for me. Try either acetone (fingernail polish remover) or a stronger paint remover. Paint remover is not the same as paint thinner, although paint thinner might work, just not as well as remover. If you can find a paint remover with methylene chloride that's about as toxic as one can get. It also removes just about anything. Try wiping it on at first. You may have to let some heavier charring soak a while. Use in a well ventilated area, wear nitrile gloves, and dispose of according to bottle directions. If it's a small amount (and I anticipate your application is small) most will probably evaporate. These are dangerous chemicals, but as I used to tell my chemistry students, pumping gasoline in your car is just as dangerous as anything we will do in the lab. Before anyone gets too worked up about evaporation, starting your car in the morning puts out far more toxic fumes than a little paint remover. I'm not saying it's healthy; just keeping it in perspective.
I'm all for leaving a little char behind as it's harmless and makes it look like you actually use your gear.

[Time Zone]

couple milder approaches than the Bar Keeper's Friend I mentioned above:

Bon Ami - powdered cleanser - IIRC claims to be "no scratch"
Comet - powdered cleanser, claims to be "no scratch" these days, but it does have bleach.

Sometimes these will get out the same things I might turn to BKF for, but they often require a bit more elbow grease. I'd start with Bon Ami and see how you do.

Note, Bar Keeper's Friend is probably not a good choice for anodized aluminum; there's a cautionary note on its label regarding this. I didn't see anything about its applicability to titanium on the label.

[Gambit McCrae]

It is more or less stained. I have used an evernew pasta pot for years now. First outing with it to Roan Highlands I decided I needed to cook a meal in it. of course it burned on the bottom. The Ti bottom is still, and will forever be black. It is clean as it will ever be, which is perfectly clean. But the Ti has kept the black burned look. My suggestion to all would be to only us your Ti pot for boiling water/ coffee. The metal is just too thin to be a good component for putting actual food in for cooking.

[HooKooDooKu]

simmer baking soda in it for 20 minutes, then rinse and scrub, and repeat if necessary.

This...
I recently read about using baking soda for getting tea stains off plastic. It worked so well I tried it in the pot we normally make tea in. It not only cleaned the tea stains off the pot, but cleaned it so well, I tried it with the underside of the pot and was surprised at how well it cleaned years of burned on stuff on the bottom of the pot.

[Cheyou]

IMO
TI for boiling water
Aluminum for cooking

[Alligator]

Not directed towards titanium bit I've used Barkeepers Friend (BKF) on my stainless steel pots' bottoms and I will say it works wonderfully. We also have an integrated sink--no lip with the countertop--that we use it on and it works great there there too as something about the sink material encourages browning of the sink. The sink is not metal but the BKF is kind to it. Anyway though, I use a ti pot with my firefly wood stove which blackens the outside. I very much hate getting that black soot all over everything. (I know a bag helps.) I use Blue Wolf and it takes the soot off real good. It's heavy duty, a degreaser, the spray bottle may not need dilution but the gallon jug does. Also wear gloves and use in a ventilated area, it's like using oven cleaner, which is another option.

[Alligator]

couple milder approaches than the Bar Keeper's Friend I mentioned above:

Bon Ami - powdered cleanser - IIRC claims to be "no scratch"
Comet - powdered cleanser, claims to be "no scratch" these days, but it does have bleach.

Sometimes these will get out the same things I might turn to BKF for, but they often require a bit more elbow grease. I'd start with Bon Ami and see how you do.

Note, Bar Keeper's Friend is probably not a good choice for anodized aluminum; there's a cautionary note on its label regarding this. I didn't see anything about its applicability to titanium on the label.

The company encourages buyers to use "BKF" on the label. I was so happy with the way it cleaned my pots that I went and put "BKF" on my shopping list. When I got to the grocery store, I couldn't figure out what the hell the acronym was for .
.

[QiWiz]

If you put the empty pot on your stove (do this with Ti, never aluminum) and heat it, the deposits will burn and turn to ash and can then be easily removed with a damp cloth or paper towel once the pot cools. There will be discoloration of the titanium, but this will not matter a bit to the pot's function.

[orthofingers]

I tried simmering with baking soda this morning. No love there. The stain/deposit remains. Actually, at this point, it's more of a stain than a deposit. I doubt whether it will affect either the taste or safety of anything that's cooked in it going forward.

[orthofingers]

Thanks QiWiz. I'll try that. Like I just said, I don't think the stain will affect anything but at this point, my curiosity won't me let this thing die. I'll report back on the result.

[OCDave]

Titanium is a non-reactive metal. Use a strong acid or base and allow it to dwell over time. Avoid sanding, scouring or other mechanical means of cleaning.

An aternative, toss it and get yourself a $4 IMUSA cup. Physical properties of titanium make it a poor choice for any cooking method other than boiling water or dilute broth.

Good Luck

[OCDave]

Titanium is a non-reactive metal. Use a strong acid or base and allow it to dwell over time. Avoid sanding, scouring or other mechanical means of cleaning.

An aternative, toss it and get yourself a $4 IMUSA cup. Physical properties of titanium make it a poor choice for any cooking method other than boiling water or dilute broth.

Good Luck

Correction, Titanium is not totally NON-REACTIVE but with most consumer cleansers your cup should be fine