Kitchen stoves: white enamel, like a white Mercedes – care is needed…

The burners and oven on my glass ceramic stove work properly, but the enamel on the rim of the worktop is cracked, so the stove looks unpresentable. It seems to be a trifle, but it spoils the mood! So what is really behind the beautiful and sometimes incomprehensible names of enamels?? And how to properly handle them?

Consultants: Kirill BURMYSTROV, ARDO Product Manager Pyotr LOBACH, Process Engineer at “Brestgazapparat” Joint Venture.

NO ONE LIKES A DIRTY JOB

There is a saying: “he who does nothing is not mistaken”, if it is slightly rephrased and addressed to the stove, it turns out something like – “he who cooks nothing is clean”.

Indeed, stoves live a busy life, in which there are creative successes – delicious soups, porridges, pancakes, casseroles, and everyday misses. When the bustle of cooking is left behind and cooked food gets on the table, the stove surfaces look like battlefields left behind – crumbs, puddles of spilled broth, drops of spilled cooking fat, soot, etc. Cleaning and tidying up becomes the logical conclusion of work in the kitchen.

Needless to say that few people like this work, what a pleasure to stand on one’s knees and “rip off” charred remnants of runaway roasts from the bottom of the oven or wash off “traces” of chicken from the walls – grill. It is our negative attitude towards these mundane tasks that makes manufacturers look for ways to make these processes as easy and pleasant as possible.

It must be said that there is indeed progress in the field of care, in what it manifests itself? The first, in the new more practical designs, greatly simplifies the hassle. Here are examples of actively used techniques in ovens:

– Removable elements, some of which can be washed in the sink or dishwasher, such as: doors, guides, bottoms of ovens

– hinged grill

– even planes: the walls and the inner surface of the door.

The second point – renewed or radically new materials and coatings.

GLASS, THAT’S ALL!

The hob surfaces can be made of only a few materials: enamelled steel or stainless steel. The cooking table of an electric stove can be made of vitrified clay. But almost every stove has enameled areas.

The enamel is a vitreous coating whose task is to protect the surface from aggressive influences, preventing corrosion.

In production, enamel is applied to the metal in one or more steps in order to produce a thin but very durable layer of. Two types of vitreous enamels are used for plates. On the outside, resistant, including to chemicals, and beautiful on the inside, mechanically, heat- and acid-resistant.

The main components of almost all enamels are quartz sand silica , borax, feldspar, soda. Together they give a transparent base, which is unthinkable without the use of substances – silencing agents, such as aluminum oxide, titanium, alkali and alkaline earth metals, lead, zinc, fluorides. These components make the enamel glossy and beautiful.

The enamel is applied with or without primer. In the primer coating are added special components for example, cobalt and nickel oxides , which ensure good adhesion between enamel and metal. Next comes the covering enamel, which has all the necessary properties, including decorative.

* Enamels can be called vitreous, glassy, silicate and even just glass!

MAGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS

The technology of enameling process includes two independent stages. In the first one, the frit is produced. For this purpose, all constituents of the future enamel – charge, are fused in a furnace at a temperature of more than a thousand degrees. The hot mixture is poured into the water, where it, cooling, forms pellets. Then they are grinded in mills to a powder. This semi-finished product is made at specialized enterprises.

The coating of products, in this case stoves, is done in the factory. There the powder or slicker is applied to elements, say, cooktops, wall, ceiling and bottom panels of ovens, door details. This is done by spraying the air, and the process takes place under the influence of an electrostatic field.

By adjusting the characteristics of this field it is possible to control the thickness of the spraying. In general, the method ensures even settling of the powder, with the powder being thinner on a flat surface and thicker in corners and overhangs, as required. The next step is firing. Melting point – more than 800 degrees. Also works with the remaining layers, if any.

*Powder enamels are high melting temperature resistant enamels.

GLADING TREATMENTS

The stove enamel provides a dull opaque coating, with the composition and firing method giving it a special smoothness. Let’s look up from the Ushakov dictionary: “smooth – having an even, rough surface”, moreover, with a minimum number of pores.

Another property of smoothness is good reflection of light from the surface – gloss, so the coating shines and even looks lacquered. The smoother the coating, the alas, only theoretically! it is harder and more hopeless for contaminants to cling to it, which means that surfaces are easier to clean.

It is here that it is worth recalling the many types of enamels known as “easy-cleaning” enamels. They are used only in ovens their main feature is the special attention paid to the surface, which ensures a minimum adhesion to dirt.

The terminology used may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer, e.g. Easy Clean for Asko, Activemail for Blomberg, Enamel 2000 for Bosch, GlanzEmail for Siemens, clear`n Clean for Zanussi, Durastone for De’Longhi.

Mechanical resistance is also an important property of enamels. When developing, they try to find a formulation that provides the greatest possible resistance to impact, abrasion.

*For specialists, the terms “easy-to-clean, fine-pored, super-smooth, super-glossy, high-glossy enamel” refer to different types of enamels. For the average housewife, all of these concepts mean one thing: specialists promise that the stove is easy to clean.

YOU DON’T WANT SOUR?

For enamels used in the kitchen, it is very important to be resistant to all kinds of substances, especially acids. This is the property defined by EN122, the European Committee for Standardization CEN . It determines the resistance of the coating to aggressive or mechanical attack by acid. A system of grades is used: from low D to high A and AA.

Class AA: no change in appearance.

Class A: minor changes in appearance.

Class B: medium variations in appearance.

Class C: partial loss of appearance.

Class D: total loss of initial appearance.

Kirill Burmistrov, the ARDO company manager, told us about how the testing is conducted: “The acid resistance of enamel is its ability to resist the action of acid of certain concentration under specified conditions without subsequent appearance of defects on the surface.

On the sample submitted by the company in the laboratory conduct an exposure to citric or acetic acid and evaluate the changes in the appearance of the enamel, as well as the time during which the defects are not noticeable.

For example, our AA-class enamel was exposed to the acid for 20 minutes, which is exactly twice as long as the AA-class enamel 10 minutes . It should be noted that experiments are conducted with acids with concentrations much higher than those available in the household, so there is no need to be frightened by words like “defects” or “changes in appearance”.

* If the manufacturer specifies a class of enamel it means it is acid resistant.

LET’S DO A KITCHEN CLEAN-UP DAY

All fine properties of the enamel are necessary, first of all, to make it easy to care for. But no magic can prevent greasy drips from sticking to the surface, crumbs from sticking, escaped food from sticking.

The smoother, i.e. finely porous, the enamel is, the less dirt will penetrate it. The “state-chumazu” situation will be corrected by an ordinary detergent for dishes. Dried dirt should first soak up a little. Powders and pastes with abrasive particles such as calcium carbonate and hard metal sponges should only be used if they are compatible with the instructions of the stove.

Dried and burnt stains are washed out with special compounds for ovens based on alkali. Aerosol cleaners and grill cleaners as well as particularly active agents should be used with care. Do not use stain removers and rust removers. A vitrified clay scraper can sometimes be very helpful – it simply cuts off the deposits on the enamel.

Enamels easy to clean, in spite of the name, too, have to wash, only not so intensely, but still do not put off even this unpleasant exercise “for a long time”. The earlier you start cleaning, the better and easier it will be. Contamination is more quickly removed from a surface that has cooled to safe for the skin.

If you do not want to scrub the oven, help:

Ammonia. Apply to the dirt, such as with a paper towel, leave for a couple of hours. You can use the vapor of this substance, especially if a lot of dirt has accumulated.

To do this, pour ammonia into a dish, add a little water, so that evaporation lasts longer, close the door, it is a good idea to seal the cracks with painter’s tape.

Let it cure for a few hours then proceed to wash, dirt can easily be removed with a sponge.

Newspaper. You need to take newspaper, fold it into several layers, abundantly wet it with water and soapy composition, put it to the dirty place and slightly heat the oven. After a few minutes, start cleaning.

Soda. A lump of baking soda or soda ash is applied to the stain, then heat the oven. After it has cooled, proceed to clean it.

ALL COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

As you can see, enamels combine very practical qualities and decorativeness. Moreover, they have a very large color palette, and over time almost do not fade. For exterior finishes, the most common color is white.

It goes well with almost any wood fronts except very dark and bright “red” under wax, varnish, transparent or blind paint, glossy or matte plastics, film. White is a universal color. It’s smart and beautiful, always “supported” by other white kitchen elements such as sinks, frames and window sills, countertops and cabinet fronts, wall and floor tiles. White is characterized by such a curious concept as whiteness.

Whiteness is the ability of the surface of the material body to reflect standard light. White enamel is made by adding metal oxides, or special compounds. As a result, enamel reflects light like a mirror. The reflection coefficient of good enamel is 65-75%, and at best 80-85%. An important quality of white enamel is resistance to yellowing.

The second most popular color is brown. Its “success” is due, above all, to a successful combination with kitchen fronts of natural wood: oak, cherry, birch, pear, beech, maple. Brown blends harmoniously into the interior. On such surfaces are not particularly noticeable flaws of care, such as crumbs not removed in time.

No less convenient is the color black, although, it is not often found in catalogs. But stoves painted black create a brighter, juicier ensemble with furniture, including cherry and wenge. Its job is to create a bright contrast.

Enamel colors are obtained by using well-known from time immemorial additives – various metal compounds, for example, green – copper oxide, purple – manganese oxide, black – a mixture of iron oxides, nickel, manganese, cobalt and chromium, burgundy – oxides of chromium and tin.

Oven finishes are chosen more for practical reasons. The preference is given to dark: shades of gray and brown, black.

from Internet forums

: Easy-clean enamel oven..

“I have an oven with easy-clean enamel, and it’s only recently, so it hasn’t had time to get dirty yet. But once pie dough leaked. I noticed it not immediately, but only when from the strong temperature at the bottom of the oven it is already baked.

Imagine, wiped off this mess with a spoon and a rag with absolutely no effort! But the dough that dripped on the glass door, I grated for a long time and smeared all sorts of chemicals.”

“I have experience cleaning simple enamels and so-called “easy clean” enamels, but the oven with the latter really cleans much better.”

“When buying, I specifically chose a stove with easy-to-clean enamel, and I still can’t get enough of it. Smooth, beautiful, but it is a pity to get it dirty, as soon as something gets dirty I immediately undertake cleaning, probably that is why there is not so much of a hassle.”

“The stain on my enamel easy clean I can not clean any means, really I started it, I should have taken care of it immediately, and I forgot and only a week later decided to scrub, so now I live with it for a couple of years.”

“The oven has a special easy-to-clean enamel. I decided not to run it and after the first frying of the chicken I took the tried and tested Mr. Muscle and tried to remove the splashes of fat from the walls. What was my surprise when the white cloth I was rubbing with stayed just as white, and all the grease was in its original form, as if it had become part of the enamel. I have been using this product for years, so far even the most neglected oven or stove has been cleaned in one go, no worse than the commercials.”

“We have a stove with easy-clean enamel, well, it’s not easy at all! Maybe the usual Soviet stoves are even worse, but here you literally have to pull them off with your teeth and they do not come off at that !”

Suggestions!

When installing the stove in the kitchen, the enamel is scratched, is there any way to restore it, the stove is brand new, it’s a pity!

To fix the defects on the stove top you need to choose heat resistant enamel, and pay attention to its properties – glossiness/mattness and color it is better to use the table of colors, taking the cover or flap with you . It is most convenient if the enamel is in an aerosol can. Then a masking tape is put around the scratch with a small margin of undamaged surface, the place is degreased and then the enamel is applied in an even layer, after drying another layer can be applied.

Table: Enamels and their effects

	Max temperature, °C	Mechanical damage	Chemical effect	Properties	Possible defects
Enamel for exterior board surfaces	100-120	Cleaning the surfaces, maybe a bump from dropping items	Contamination from food during cooking, the use of cleaning products	Mechanical, chemical resistance, flexibility	Chips, cloudy surfaces, scratches
Enamel grids	320-340	Moving the dishes, cleaning, changing the factory geometry	Mechanical, chemical resistance, high-temperature and flame resistance, flexibility	Abrasion, chipping, scratches
Oven enamels	250-280	Surface cleaning	Sticking and curing of dirt at high temperatures, use of cleaning agents including strongly aggressive ones such as grease remover	Mechanical, higher chemical resistance, high-temperature resistant, resistant to direct flame action for the bottom and ceiling of the gas oven	Surface opacity, scratches, ingrained, unremovable dirt