intrepid_camper wrote on May 8^th, 2012 at 6:45pm:

...or if I really want them clean something like Zip-strip paint remover will take the black off pretty easily

I've never understood cleaning the outside of pots but admittedly, mine was getting a bit heavy. A wire wheel barely scratched the stuff. I'm going to miss the patina though. ;D

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Attached is a before and after shot I did for comparison. Didn't have any zip-strip so I used lacquer thinner and it seemed to work well plus I have a ton of it and don't need it any more. What remains didn't come off with citristrip or any other solvent I have on hand.

It's really ugly now but it's over 10% (0.7oz) lighter. I was mostly curious how much weight that stuff added. Now I wish I'd have measured how long it took to bring a couple of cups of water to a boil before and after.

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I am really going to have to do that with my coffee pot. Good idea to weigh it, I too have wondered about boil time with a quarter inch of insulation. Believe I am on year 8 or 9 without ever cleaning it. Oh if coffee pots could talk.   

Someone in another thread on stoves vs. fire mentioned the old trick of smearing a light film of detergent on the outside of pots before putting them on the fire.  I have used this technique for years and it is a great way to keep pots clean with very little effort.  The carbon that normally builds up directly on and adheres to the pot  builds up instead on the film of detergent which can then be easily wiped away. 

I have pots for the fire & pots that are never for the fire.

Every few years the fire pots get a scrub with oven cleaner.  Yeah, all that creosote build up will affect weight & performance.  It's also messy, but if you aren't getting dirty you aren't having fun!

The soap idea is neat.  I just never think of it at the right time.

I mentioned the soap trick in another thread.  Another way I've heard about involves using DEET.  Don't know that I would do it, and not sure if they were using 100% DEET or what.  I guess with a little acid, you would get rid of the scorch, as well as a little of the pot.  How's that for weight savings?!!!!!

Bug spray (DEET) is good for cleaning tree sap & tar.  It's a solvent.  I'll use it on my knife & saw when they get gummy.

That was my fire pot. It    (You need to Login or Register from the time I light the fire until it assists in putting it out. I don't use soap on it because I refill it in the lake. It's one thing to avoid the soot slick but I couldn't do that with a soaped up pot.

I also have a stove only pot. After 30 years it's bottom has a brown and blue patina that doesn't come off. It's more like the oxide is stained and I can only assume it heats up faster now than it did when the bottom was new and shiny.

That's a fantastic photo and suitable for framing.

interesting comment about "deet."  On one particularly "buggy" trip i used some deet to fight the bugs off.  what little was left on my hands took the finish off my paddle.   >:(  Why wouldn't it clean your pots?