Old black Victorian 'stove' - How do I polish it?

Actiongirl_2

We have a cast iron 'range' in our kitchen. It is a listed house we bought last year and as we have been knocking out walls etc (with full council permissions!) there has been no point in cleaning it.

We are now ready to freshen the room and the stove is covered in builders muck, stuff from the chimney. Assuming I can get all that off, how do I then polish or blacken the stove?

It is the kind of thing your granny's granny would have had - a wood burner with hot plate and hot tap.

It doesnt work, we just have to keep it as it is listed. I shall probably put cookery books on it.

Any advice would be welcome!

Thanks
AG

valk_scot

Go to a good old fashioned ironmonger...they'll have the modern equivelent of blacking, which is just like black boot polish to use...you brush it on then buff it off.

You'll need to get the muck off first of course and I would suggest just washing it with washing up liquid, water and a scrubbing brush. BUT make sure you dry it off well...use a hairdryer or fan heater. Otherwise you will get rust. It's best to wash and dry it one day then polish the next, not leave it for weeks between.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

You can also get the ready impreganted cloths with the blacking on it.
The last one's I got were from Lakeland but they don't do them now so I'd be interested to know if anyone knows where you can find them.
They're realy good just rub over the warm,clean stove and it blackens up great.

ChocClare

The name of the brand you're looking for is Zebrite which comes in a yellow and black tube. If you can't find it - and I'm not convinced they still make it - you can get Stovax, which has replaced it. They sell it here if you get stuck http://www.ukclassifieds.co.uk/stovax_black_grate_polish_zebo_zip_zebrite_black_lead-o32321.html

purpleivy

We used something called Zebo on our fireplace.

ChocClare

Incidentally, once you've cleaned it "properly" with Zebrite or equivalent, then you can just use WD-40 on it to keep it clean - just spray on and polish off - works a treat!