"Cleaning" surface of an iron.

[no_hypocrisy]

I have a really nice clothes iron, probably 1960s vintage.

I made the mistake of using it to dry out carpet in my car. Polyurethane/plastic was part of the fibers and some of it stuck and lightly coated the metal surface.

I don't want to even use fine sandpaper on it without asking for your ideas on how to salvage the situation. I'm concerned about scratching it.

Or did I inadvertently ruin it?

I really appreciate any ideas you have.

[Paper Roses]

1. Did you try 'Goo-Gone' and rubbing hard with a towel?

Let it sit for a while and redo the liquid, keep rubbing.

My iron has a steel base and that worked for me on a section with a melted plastic bag. If you iron has a teflon base, I'd still try that.

I have used plain 000 steel wool(not SOS) on my iron base with no trouble.
Good luck.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. WOW and THANKS!

[northoftheborder]

3. I would try turning the iron to lowest setting, to remelt the plastic,

then iron over very fine steel wool, or a terrycloth old towel.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I have also used steel wool on mine. And when I have finished,

I always take wax paper and "iron" it, then iron a paper towel to give the iron easy movement on fabric. The goo-gone sounds like a good idea I have never tried, but it can't hurt. I hope it works, these old irons are so superior to new ones.

[northoftheborder]

5. Yes, the old irons are much better.

I have my mother's iron; it is at least 40 years old, she was still using it when she died. It of course does not have steam (she had another iron with steam). But this good old iron is great for ironing dampened clothes. It's weight and higher heat really make cottons look slick!

She had several old irons in her huge hoard of things, which I had never seen before. (They might have been my Grandmother's). One still heats, has points on both end, like the old stove-heated irons, and must have been one of the first electric irons.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I love antiques, that iron sounds great. You gave me a memory,

a very endearing memory, of my mom. Monday was laundry day, Tuesday was ironing day. After laundry, she would sprinkle the cottons and put them in the refrigerator for the night to iron damp. Thanks for the memory.

[northoftheborder]

7. it really tells my age, but....

When I first learned to iron, it was with that old non-steam iron of my mother's. She taught me to sprinkle the clothes with water, (they were all cotton in those days) roll them up in an old table cloth or sheet (before plastic) for several hours, then iron. (She ironed all my father's starched shirts, and I think a lot of my dresses were starched also.)

When I started keeping my own house, I of course had a steam iron, and seldom sprinkled clothes. For years I used the steam iron and spray starch to iron (still some all-cotton but gradually a lot of no-iron, polyester, dacron, knit etc..) Finally, after decades, children grown, I went back to wearing mostly cotton and linen which of course really needed to be ironed. After I discovered I had completely ruined a brass table near where I always ironed, (and steamed and sprayed) I decided to try the old method of sprinkling! I've never looked back! The ironing actually goes a lot faster not having to stop and spray every part; I will save up all my cottons and linens, and, I even wash silk, sprinkle, roll into plastic bag, put in the frig till the next day, get a line-up of good movies, and iron away. The clothes look great! (I do NOT starch, however! nor do I iron sheets, pillow-cases, towels, jeans.....as I've known some perfectionists to do!

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Did you get your iron clean? What worked? nt

[no_hypocrisy]

10. The Goo-Gone and Steel Wool didn't do it.

I'm going to try the low setting and rubbing with the steel wool next.

[Sienna86]

9. We always used waxed paper

to make the iron move more smoothly.

We had a sprinkler bottle used for cottons. We would sprinkle the clothes, hankerchiefs, pillow cases, etc. then place them in the fridge overnight.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. OK, it's clean, shiny, and smooth as a baby's bottom.

What I did:

1. Painted Goo-Gone on the surface.
2. Waited a few minutes.
3. Turned the iron on very low for a few minutes. There was some light smoking.
4. Wait for iron to cool a little. Used the edge very gently of a small screwdriver to draw up a wedge and peeled off pieces of the plastic.
5. Repeated #s 1-4.
6. Final step was to gently go over any remaining small patches with the 000 steel wool pad (sans soap).

LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE NEW!

Thanks everyone!!!!!

[Curmudgeoness]

12. Thanks for letting us know what finally worked. Glad you got it clean. nt