Narrowboat Glass Fire Door Cleaning

One of the real joys of a solid fuel stove is relaxing and watching the flames flicker through the glass window. Unfortunately the glass is often too dirty to see through so needs constant cleaning. Here’s a solution to your glass cleaning problems{{{0}}}

Written by Allan Cazaly nb.Pengalanty

I have a diesel “Corner Bubble Stove”

stove glass cleaning

My stove door glass, (After over 5 years of use), has become yellowish, the glass seems to have
changed its surface texture and has what is a crazed surface that can be seen in certain light
reflections

It didn’t matter what I did, I could not clean the glass to look like “New” again

The glass seemed to attract the oily soot from the fire and soon went blackish again

NO! I don’t have incomplete combustion!

My “Blue” flame burns properly after lighting, due to my special anti-downdraught flue (German
Manufacture) and a good installation

Recently, I gave this some thought to my problem and wondered if there was anything I could do to
improve the situation without going to the expense and trouble of replacing the glazing in the door

I lifted the door off the stove and washed it with warm soapy water (Fairy liquid) together with some
Lever Brother’s “Cif” cream. I used green abrasive pads and have used Brillo pads in the past

As usual, I ended up with the same crazed finish with the “yellowish” tinge to the glass. My thoughts
turned to the Fast Cutting Paste that I used on my cabin sides paintwork to “rejuvenate” the finish
and decided to try this 3M product as last resort

The result, after two applications and plenty of elbow grease, seemed to give the glass a “sheen”
that it had previously lacked after my normal washing. It still had a slight yellowish tinge and I could
still see the crazing reflections in certain light conditions, so I was somewhat disappointed, after
spending over an hour trying to “Smooth” the glass surface. I polished both sides of the glass

I was disappointed; I thought that all the time spent was wasted.

How Wrong Can You Be?

I replaced the door on the Bubble stove, after I had finished the “polishing” exercise, and when it
was refitted to my stove, it did look somewhat cleaner, so all was not lost.

The weather turned again and became colder, (Just like British weather does), so I lit my Bubble
stove – What a transformation!

– The result was amazing!

– Gone was the yellowish look

– The glass door looked just like new again

-The Blue flame was clear to see

– No sooting up of the glass, even after a week of lighting twice a day for a couple of hours

– The glass seems to have a “non-stick” surface and I it has stayed clean for over a week!

I am delighted with the result; so delighted in fact, that I have written to the 3M Company, telling
them of my findings

If anyone has experienced the same discolouration problems that I have been putting up with for so
long, I would recommend you to try the above method to improve the situation for yourself

I cannot guarantee that you will be successful but my experience should give you the enthusiasm
to “Give it a Go”

The additional plus, (By using 3M cutting paste), is that it seems to have non-stick properties in a
hot environment. My fire is usually at about 180o Celsius when alight and there is no suspicion of
any soot deposits (Flue gas temperature varies between 100o and 180o dependent on valve control
setting

The product used:

3M Fast Cut Plus No: 50417

It is expensive at about ?21.00 in a litre plastic bottle. The chances are you may have this product if
you have ever tried to extend your paint job on your boat. It is an excellent product