Dishwashered mixer parts - now discoloured

Wire brush, perhaps with brass rather than steel wire. A suede brush would do, if you can still get them.

Washing? We did that once to a garlic press which turned out to be aluminium. Scrubbing it with a pan scourer removed the worst (so the garlic came through white). Then 6 months or so of hand washes got it back to something approaching its old self - which was admittedly already old and tired.

AlO2? possibly strong caustic, better an acid of some sort... vinegar/lemon juice rhubarb or maybe a de-scaler?

I tried vinegar, but that had no effect.

The black stuff does come off with a scourer, but now that the original shiny finish has gone, it discolours very easily. :(

Maybe time to try a spot of DIY anodising or find a firm that'll do it, or, look out for a replacement on eBay?

Tim

Are we talking about the K beater or the whisk, I wonder?

The K beater is a casting, I'm not sure what sort of alloy. Perhaps it's not actually aluminium.

The way to get the polish back might be to polish it with a reasonably powerful buffing wheel and a standard polishing compound. You might be able to use a dremel on the inside surfaces. It all depends on how pitted the surface has become as to how long it would take.

I'm pretty sure my K beater survives a dishwasher.

Mezac.

Of course. Pot metal. Zinc alloy.

Ours is nearly 40 years old. They have probably changed the coating to make them dishwasher-safe. Ours isn't.

I've buffed it up as best I can, and we've agreed it won't go in the dishwasher again. I was tempted to lacquer it now that it's cleanish, but I can't find a food-safe lacquer.