Lime build up on pots

Bonsai Barry

Recently I was given a few used training pots. There is a lot of lime build up around the bottom of the unglazed ones. I've used bleach and a product called "Lime Off" without much success. Even a tree in training deserves better than this.

Any suggestions?

Barry

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Aaron_K

Hmm. One of the housewives I think this one

Limescale is a pain in the backside to remove, aside from something abrasive and a healthy dose of elbow grease. Try soaking the pots for a couple of days in a scale remover such as the type used in kettles or in the washing machine. This should hopefully break it down enough to be removed with ease. Failing that, you could try wire wool.

Regards,

Aaron

jhill

Hey Barry,
Have tried soaking them in white vinegar?

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John

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Will_Heath

Barry,

Check out this thread.


Will

jzak

I've tried the vinegar route as well as 3% muratic acid. Recently i got a Yixing pot that had a lot of liming. I tried to toilet bowl cleanser called Snobol and it worked like a charm. You can find Snobol at most any major supermarket. good luck. john

bonsaikc

I'm not sure why you would want to remove water deposits even from show pots. Older pots that show years of use in the form of stains and lime (withing reason) have what is called a patina. After cleaning the pot of excess dirt, we oil the unglazed ones with walnut oil (easily obtained by crushing walnuts in a sock). Removing the patina from an antique pot is equivalent to refinishing a Louis XIV sideboard because the finish was stained.

Chris

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JohnQuinn

Well, there's 'patina', and then there's just nasty pots, like the link posted by Will, above. ;-)

There are, of course, some fantastic examples of aged pots with a fine patina at the Kokufu shows. One thing I find desirable in a new pot is a sheen or texture which mimics a patina developed over time. I have a couple of pots made by Milan Klika which come to mind...you just want to turn them over and over in your hands.

rockm

There's "antique show pot" and there's "show pot."

Unfortunately the stains on most show pots in the west are simply ugly. Cleaning white stains off a thre year old pot isn't going to have much impact on its artistic or intrinsic worth. It will simply make it look better.

Anyone tried a pressure washer with a little vengar added?

007

I've been told to use mineral spirits . . . have not tried it yet though.

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