Reconditioning Cast Iron

DaQatz

DaQatz

Awhile back I mentioned I had inherited some old cast iron when a family member past. The first time I saw these pans they were a thing of beauty. The sides had some lumpy char, but the bottom of these pans were like a mirror. They are the pans she had used ner everyday since she got them as a wedding gift, in 1943. To say the least they were very seasoned. In the last year of her life she became to ill to care for herself. So my mother moved into her house with her, and cared for her. Despite my calls of warning, she insisted on washing the pans with soap. After my grandmother past, I got the pans. However after a year of being washed with soap and water the 69 years of seasoning was well... shot.

I decided to restore the pans. To do this I needed to strip off the old seasoning, and start again from scratch. I also did not want to damage the pan. So I choose to use electrolysis to clean them.

The pans starting condition.

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It looks scratched up, but it's hard to see the real damage so some close ups.

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This is what I call "Soap erosion"

A better look at it here.

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It flakes and pits the previously mirror like seasoning.

The sides of the pan also had some "char lumps" on the sides. This was just from long term use, and did not affect the usablity of the pans what so ever.

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Some of the old "shine" the bottom of the pan used to have can still been seen here as well.

Ok on to the electrolysis bit. To do this I bought a plastic bin from walmart, and for my current I used a power supply from a defunct laptop(19v 4amps). I used Sodium Carbonate(NOT Bicarbonate) as my electrolyte. The amperage was pretty low, and the buildup on the pan was pretty thick. So the whole process took about a week.

In the tank.
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And the after shots.

Clean bare iron.
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Seasoned up.
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Been used a few times.
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Remember, no matter how much char, or rust is on a cast iron pan. It can be cleaned.
=)
 
I hope this doesn't sound daft, but do you connect the positive or negative to the pan?
And what do you use as the other electrode?
 
roper2008 said:
So after you cook something in it, how do you clean it?
Click to expand...
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I spray mine with water and wipe dry - if there is something that is stuck I will put water in the pan and boil the bits loose or use coarse Kosher salt and a paper towel - its very easy but like you read dont use soap.
 
Lawrence said:
I hope this doesn't sound daft, but do you connect the positive or negative to the pan?
And what do you use as the other electrode?
Click to expand...

The negative(cathode) is on the pan. On the anode I used a scrap iron rod.

I still have more pans to do. I'll likely post more updates, and before after pics.
 
Very nice post. Since getting an induction range I'm pulling out my old cast iron pans more and more. It's amazing how much more accurate the heat distribution is over SS pans. The old lady still won't let me know cook with it unless I put a towel under the pan though.
 
That was cool! I had an old skillet a friend gave me, I used a Oxy/Acetylene torch to burn the char off it took about 10 minutes, then I emery clothed and wire wheeled it, took about 60 minutes.
 
I use a very low tech way of reconditioning cast iron. I like to buy them at yard sales and those who are selling them let them go for little money, and I make sure to point out how black and pitted they are to get the price even lower, IF I can.

I put them in my oven on the floor of the oven, below the lowest rack setting. Usually NOT in the summer though because I tr to avoid the oven! I use my gas oven regularly to make pizza on cool/cold nights to heat the house, roast chickens, etc... After a few cycles the black crust disintergrates and turns into a powder. I am left with a rusty-ish, smooth pan. Scrub that with brillo and soap to clean, place on burner to dry, and then clean with kosher salt and oil until the rust is gone. Then season again in the oven. They never get soap after that...

In the hot weather, if I remember and have some pans, I just place them on top of my coals after cooking for the night and that begins to strip the gunk off until I can get them in the oven or cycle them that way too.

Thanks for the thread. Glad to know I'm not the only one who likes old cast iron pans!
 
Nice work, keeping the decades of dings and scrapes while removing the abuse of soap.

The ones I have acquired don't have sentimental value, so I just burn off the character, wire wheel on a drill (the paint removing kind) and slowly re-season.
 
I have a couple of these that look like the first pic. I thought that was how they were supposed to look :crazy: .

Also I was told to oil them after use to keep them from rusting....? No?

Looks like I need to clean them manually though, wire wheel on the angle grinder seems like my best option.
 
We down South just throw them over a mesquite fire, upside down if need be, let it get nice and burned. Let it cool, wipe off what you can, put it back on the fire with some water, let it boil and wash off what you can when the water gets cool enough. That's pretty much it. Salt also helps because it works as an abrasive but you don't get any of that Ajax/Comet taste which you shouldn't be using anyway.

I like to oil (lightly) mine in the inside and flip them over to store them if they don't have a cover or just put the cover on if they do have one.

If they are super rusty, might need to do it a few times.

If you use them regularly, you really don't need to oil them.

Same thing applies for my carbon steel wok.

If you rinse these things IMMEDIATELY after each use, they are actually very easy to clean.
 
This is *awesome* thank you!! I love my cast iron skillet but it was getting a little pitted.

I always 'season' it with a little olive oil (paper towel soaked with oil, light rub on pan) which keeps it from rusting, but I was wondering if there was anything I could do about the pitting.

Great tutorial - I'm totally gonna try that.
 
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