Any ideas as to the removal of stains on enamel?

[Paper Roses]

I want to sell my hardly used George Forman rotisserie. Bought a few months before my husband died 7 years ago. Used--I think--6 times. The exterior behind the vents has discolored from heat. This great little machine works wonderfully with a small chicken or as a rotisserie for chops, veggies etc.
It is in immaculate condition except for the discoloration on the exterior behind the vents. I want to clean this off if I can find some way to do it.
Any ideas?

[Arkansas Granny]

1. Could you use a little Soft Scrub or Bartenders Friend?

They are very mildly abrasive. I would test it on an inconspicuous spot first.

[GeorgeGist]

2. Magic eraser?

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Toothpaste with whitener?

[Denzil_DC]

4. Standard oven/barbecue cleaner?

I've used caustic gels (which stay put even on vertical surfaces) with good results on enamel before now, even on a heavily caked second-owner oven - not very environmentally friendly, and you'd need to ventilate and wear gloves, but you shouldn't have to use much. I just left it on for the specified time, then scrubbed off with water and a soft plastic scrubbie, then repeated the process if it didn't take everything off, using a metal scrubbie very gently and carefully on small problem areas.

If you go for this, you should obviously test it on an inconspicuous small area of enamel first, in case it mars the finish.

If the heat's been too great or the enamel's been scratched by previous cleaning, the enamel may be unrescuable anyway, but as long as it's clean and out of sight during normal use, it may not matter too much.

[Warpy]

5. It's probably discoloration from grease aerosols

so my best advice to preserve the finish completely is to wait until summer, spray it down with household ammonia and tie it up in a black trash bag in full sun until late afternoon. At that point, you should be able to wipe it right off as heat + ammonia + grease produce the saponification reaction, meaning the hard grease turns to soft soap. It will likely not smell very nice the first time you turn it on as all the stuff you couldn't reach inside the vent cooks off, so plug it in outside the first time.

Any abrasive cleaner, even toothpaste, will remove the surface shine of the enamel over time, causing the grease deposits to occur more quickly. About the only suggestion I've read here that can be tried now is the Magic Eraser. Oven cleaner might work, but again, it has to be heated in order for the saponification to occur and uses more dangerous lye in place of ammonia.

[Denzil_DC]

6. Good suggestion. Another thought - maybe a steam cleaner,

if the OP has, or can borrow or rent one (perhaps there's other cleaning it would be useful for)?

Depending what's behind those vents, she might have to be careful in giving it a period of warm ventilation afterward to make sure no moisture that had gotten inside would cause an electrical short.

The cleaning product I had in mind above is nastily caustic, but it cleans oven grilles very well without heat, just needing an overnight soak and a hot water rinse and some gentle brushing. OTOH, it's a rotisserie, so it's got built-in heat! Just switch it on for a few minutes, switch it off, then apply the gunk.

Maybe the way to go would be to try a sequence of products, going for non-abrasive ones, from the more innocuous to the more aggressive, and see what might shift it.

Or she could do what the folks who sold me our oven did - not clean it at all, probably on the basis that I was going to give it a damn good clean myself before I let food anywhere near it!

[LiberalEsto]

7. My new favorite cleaner is baking soda mixed with a bit of cooking oil

Just make a paste of them and rub it on the stained area gently with a finger or soft cloth.

It's great for removing price sticker residue too.