I'm after a cleaning agent that'll thoroughly clean mild steel without affecting the colour, does anyone know anything that might be suitable?

 

My usual process after forging is: sand it to bring out the texture, clean with household washing up liquid using the scouring pad side of a normal sponge, food safe finish it.

 

Cleaning it that way is a laborious process that takes several goes but it gets me there in the end however yesterday I was having problems with one bowl where regardless of how many times I cleaned it every time I started smearing vegetable oil over it to start the food safeing process the tissue came up dirty...despite no dirt coming off on the dish cloth whilst drying it. Needlesstosay I'm not food safeing that bowl.

 

The reason I don't want the colour to be affected is because I need the crevices that are created by the ball pein to stay dark so the contrast between the sanded and non-sanded areas stays sharp. I'd really appreciate any tips, thanks.

just tell the customer that your bowls are a good source of iron? 

 

:P 

The dark color from heating is surface oxidation - "Surface" coloring that is only on the surface, by sanding you remove the high spots for your contrast look. Even if you polish the surface and heat color it like the rainbow of tempering colors - they are still on the surface only and susceptible to removal by any abrasion. Use over a long time will acquire a natural color.

That's the nice thing about cast iron cook ware. You can rinse it free o food particles, and by heating it to cooking temp it is rendered more or less steril.
As long as the base metal is food safe, the oxides formed in the forge should also.
Have you tried picketing the peice in viniger? It will resolve some of the scale, and darken the peice.

Vinegar lightens my work as it takes it down to the bare steel so black forged stuff become light silvery grey.

Charles, are you saying that I shouldn't be worried about the black surface oxides because mild steel isn't poisonous?

I haven't tried pickling, would the vinegar need to be hot?

I wouldn't think mild steel would be any more toxic than cast iron or stamped steel cook ware.
As to the vinegar, heating would certainly make it work faster, but room temp works just fine. If the patina is to light heat the piece to get a dark oxide (temper) color and oil it hot. Won't save you much in time but I bet it will save you in labor.

Thanks again Charles, you've helped me a couple times around these subjects, cheers very much.

Your welcome, you probably ow my grandmother the thanks, she gave me her love of the kitchen, and cast iron and steel cooking gear.
Sence we're on the subject of thanks, over the last few years I've learned a lot from other members here, Glenn and the other members deserve a large measure of that thanks, if not the lions share.