Sam’s Club Oven Cleaner question


 
R

Richard in NS

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Is it safe to use Sam’s oven cleaner on the inside of the Weber Q grills on the aluminum? I am worried that I might get it on the outside and it would strip the powder coating off. Any suggestions or advice?
 
I have had zero problem using Sams CLub grill cleaner on Q grills. That coating on the lid is not paint. It is powder coating and much more resilient than paint.
 
It etches bare aluminum, and may dull or remove paint. Probably safe for use on powder coating, like Bruce says, but test it on an inconspicuous area first. Google sodium hydroxide (aka lye) for more info. Dawn Power Dissolver, or Carbon-Off, both of which I have yet to use, may be a better choice.

Oh yeah...be extremely careful with Sam's. If you get it on your skin, rinse it off immediately with plenty of water. Lye feels greasy and doesn't rinse away easily. DO NOT get it in your eyes! It is called caustic soda for a reason.
 
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Ed Pinnell said:
It etches bare aluminum, and may dull or remove paint. Probably safe for use on powder coating, like Bruce says, but test it on an inconspicuous area first. Google sodium hydroxide (aka lye) for more info. Dawn Power Dissolver, or Carbon-Off, both of which I have yet to use, may be a better choice.

Oh yeah...be extremely careful with Sam's. If you get it on your skin, rinse it off immediately with plenty of water. Lye feels greasy and doesn't rinse away easily. DO NOT get it in your eyes! It is called caustic soda for a reason.
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Sounds like this cleaner needs to be handled with care. I'm going to look into Dawn Power Dissolver, or Carbon-Off (thank you for the suggestion Ed Pinnell)
 
Walt said:
Sounds like this cleaner needs to be handled with care. I'm going to look into Dawn Power Dissolver, or Carbon-Off (thank you for the suggestion Ed Pinnell)
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They ALL need to be handled with care. Use the Sam's and stop worrying. Basically ALL these cleaners are a Lye solution (very strong alkali). It's how old Granny Clampet made soap. Lye, lard and wood ash. Cook them together and they become soap
 
LMichaels said:
They ALL need to be handled with care. Use the Sam's and stop worrying. Basically ALL these cleaners are a Lye solution (very strong alkali).
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Well, yes...and no. No, minor point but they are not all lye-based. Carbon-Off and DPD are alcohol-based, but heck yes, 100% you need to handle all of them with care. They all can do serious damage to skin and eyes. Sam's is good stuff and cheap...you can't beat the price if you use a lot of it. I have a bottle of DPD but haven't tried it yet. Carbon-Off is priced way beyond my budget.
 
I would lay odds none of them are alcohol based. Alcohols is useless for that type of cleaning. There may be some in it used as a dispersant but that would be the only purpose of it. Also it would evaporate far too quickly to work. Take a look at the MSDS sheets. Both show the corrosive portion being Sodium Hydroxide. They just use different dispersal liquids
 

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I think we may be on the verge of belaboring a minor point, LMichaels, and we probably lost our audience a long time ago. Whether it be lye or something else, use it with extreme caution.
 
Thanks everyone. I have used the Sam’s Club before and yes, I was very careful. I did a firebox that I was stripping to paint so did not care if I got it on the outside. I am now just trying to clean the inside of a Q lid and did not want to strip the powder coat if I got it on the outside. I will try a small spot on the back to see if it strips it off.
 
Richard in NS said:
Thanks everyone. I have used the Sam’s Club before and yes, I was very careful. I did a firebox that I was stripping to paint so did not care if I got it on the outside. I am now just trying to clean the inside of a Q lid and did not want to strip the powder coat if I got it on the outside. I will try a small spot on the back to see if it strips it off.
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I used it on my red lid with no issues. It didn't clean up the stains like I had hoped, but it did no harm. Here's a before and after pic (dusty)
 

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It's a 2007 Q120 without the thermometer, p/n 516001

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It was very well used when I bought it and the guy didn't speak much English but he was trying to tell me there was a problem with the gas valve. When I took it apart the screws had backed almost completely out of the valve bonnet. He didn't look like a Weber enthusiast so I don't think it was painted or powder coated, but who knows? I only paid $25 for it, maybe because he might have thought it was broken, and I was thinking I might have to paint it, but it turned out good enough for me. It might have had a later lid put on it at some time, I suppose. Here's a pic of the underside when I bought it.
 

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A warning - if you have anti-glare coated eyeglasses - DO NOT WEAR THEM when cleaning your grill with a sodium hydroxide based grill cleaner - I ruined a pair of glasses when cleaning my grill on a slightly breezy day.
 
Very good info. I don't think my glasses have that coating. Besides, I really don't wear them while cleaning grills, but I will certainly keep that in mind. Hopefully you can get a new set of lenses and keep the frames....usually it is the frames that are real expensive.
 
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