# Pan coated with plastic residue--any hope of recovery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510 "2014-06-10T22:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/1 "2014-06-10T22:47:54Z")
Ack! We were boiling a piece of my wife’s medical equipment, made of plastic, to clean and sterilize it. It was supposed to boil for five minutes. But we forgot, until a nasty smell began to emanate from the kitchen–when we discovered that the water was entirely gone and the (stainless steel) pan was full of melted plastic. The equipment of course has to be replaced. Now I’m wondering about the pan. Much of the bottom is covered by I-don’t-know-what, plastic residue no doubt–something dark and unpleasant-looking. Is there any good way to get it off? It is not yielding to the actions of an ordinary sponge, not that I expected it would. If you have any recipes for fixing the problem, I would love to hear them. Screwing up the equipment was bad enough, and if the pan can be salvaged that would be a Good Thing. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/2 "2014-06-10T22:59:27Z")
Perhaps heating it again will loosen the stuff so you could scrape it off with something like an old credit card? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/3 "2014-06-11T00:31:24Z")
Credit cards plastic so I’d not expect it to be too effective. A wooden scraper perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/4 "2014-06-11T00:35:54Z")
Depending on the type of plastic, putting the pan in the freezer might make the plastic brittle enough to crack into pieces which may be easier to remove. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/5 "2014-06-11T01:33:06Z")
Throwing it in the freezer might work. Letting it soak in some acetone or mineral spirits or some other solvent may soften it. You might just end up being best off going outside and hitting it with a blowtorch or putting it on a grill and attempting to burn the rest of it off. Then you can worry about trying to remove the remainder. First, I’d consider the pan a total loss, that way you don’t feel like you’re ‘ruining it more’ every time something doesn’t work and if something does work it’ll be a bonus. Just boiling some more water in it might soften the plastic enough to pull some of it up with a wooden spatula. I doubt it, but it’s probably the most innocuous thing you can do. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/6 "2014-06-11T01:39:19Z")
If it doesn’t all scrape out just cook it into ash on the grill. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/7 "2014-06-11T01:45:29Z")
Industrial sand blaster. That’s what I use to refinish my SS cookware when something tragic happens. ---
**Author:** ![here\_and\_there](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@here\_and\_there](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/here_and_there)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/8 "2014-06-11T11:47:00Z")
Boil water in it, then cool the pan… repeat… repeat… At some point the plastic might stick off, because plastic and pan expand differently. Don’t know how many repetitions it will take… It’s probably not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/9 "2014-06-11T13:16:59Z")
Why not plain old steel wool? Or sandpaper? ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/10 "2014-06-11T15:11:51Z")
What sort of plastic was it? Some plastics will dissolve or at least soften in common household solvents like acetone. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/11 "2014-06-11T16:51:12Z")
Put bug spray in it. DEET will dissolve plastic. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/12 "2014-06-11T19:33:14Z")
If it’s a teflon-coated pan, it’s a loss. IF the teflon hasn’t already melted/sloughed off, any sort of heat sufficient to melt the plastic residue certainly will. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-coated-with-plastic-residue-any-hope-of-recovery/690510/13 "2014-06-11T20:05:02Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Industrial sand blaster. That’s what I use to refinish my SS cookware when something tragic happens. Ah, the Red Green approach to doing the dishes.