The Home of Quality French Copper
As tin lined copper pans are used and age in our kitchens, the surface of the tin can become dark, sometimes a little patchy in color and in some cases of unused pans, go a little ‘furry’ on the surface. This is all perfectly normal from regular use and aging tin. Sometimes we feel after polishing our copper outsides, that we would like our tin linings to have a little lift? Sometimes we look at our pots and think – what is the insides could match the outsides? Darkening tin is usually the price we pay having wonderful copper pots with tin linings but there is a little trick we can use to take away some of the oxidation that occurs on tin.
Should you feel that you would like a lining that is more shiny and lighter in color, then use the galvanizing method outlined below.
Should you wish to use this method, your pan should be clean and free of food residue and oils – the tin surface needs to be in contact with the solution
What you will need:
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons or 50 grams of table salt or salt without any iodine or other ingredients (so not unprocessed sea salt)
3 Tablespoons or 50 grams of Sodium Bicarbonate
1 Sheet of Aluminum Foil
Method
1. Fill your pan almost to the top with water place on your stove and bring to the boil.
2. Turn off the heat and add the salt and sodium bicarbonate
Let this dissolve in the hot water
3. Fold the aluminum foil so it has several layers and fits into the pan.
4. Immerse the foil using a wooden or nylon spoon – caring to keep your fingers out of the hot solution.
Wait for around 20 minutes and the darker oxidation on the tin will transfer over onto the foil.
The secondary effect is that the oxidation on the pan becomes easier to remove so the inside of the pan will need a wipe with a dishcloth and then a good wash in soapy water. Should the water level be visible there may be a ring formed on the inside of your pan – try to get the solution to the highest point you can to minimize this.
If you pan is heavily oxidized, you may need to repeat this process to get the lightest possible tin.
As with all tin linings – never scrub or use abrasives!
©NormandyKitchenCopper 2024
Normandy Kitchen Copper 
Hello Chip
As we are in France we don’t come across Wrights Silver polish but we do have silver polishes to use. All polish like this has a certain amount of abrasives added in so if you are using it on tin then it will be at your own risk. However, I have heard that folk who wish to maintain their shiny interiors do use these silver polishes to good effect – usually only for decorative pieces however. I would much rather use the method above to clean older, unused pieces and regularly used ones can be brightened by merely continuous use. I will explain. As a general rule any acidic foods will brighten tin – tinned tomatoes for instance, can brighten tin considerably and can remove black marks associated with frying eggs (and getting them stuck!) So, in short if you want your tin to stay bright, regular use and a mild acidic ‘spa’ every now and again!
I hope this helps!
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I did the bicarb and salt with the foil. It worked amazingly well. I used it on a forty + year old tin lined “Made in France” covered saute’ pan about 2.5mm thick. very nice pan that has become a work horse in the kitchen. Almost all of my chicken dishes start in this one. So glad it looks as good as it works!
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Hello Chip!
What great news – perfect. It is always a pleasure to renovate and old friend in the kitchen!
Best as always
Fid
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I’ve been told that Wright’s Silver Polish can be used to brighten up the tin as well. Is there any truth to that? Does Wright’s have any abrasive in it? If It’s useable, is there a method to doing it?
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