Contact of a crude feed with one or more catalysts produces a total product that includes a crude product. The crude feed has a total content of alkali metal, and alkaline-earth metal in metal salts of organic acids of at least 0.00001 grams per gram of crude feed. At least one of the catalysts has a pore size distribution of at least 230 Å. The crude product is a liquid mixture at 25° C. and 0.101 MPa. The crude product has a total content of alkali metal, and alkaline-earth metal in metal salts of organic acids of at most 90% of the total content of alkali metal, and alkaline-earth metal in metal salts of organic acids of the crude feed. One or more other properties of the crude product may be changed by at least 10% relative to the respective properties of the crude feed.