restoring cast iron

peter pepper

peter pepper

hey i've been looking at buying some more cast iron cookware. i noticed the more used and 'beat-up' the piece looks on ebay the cheaper it goes for. I was wondering has anyone here restored a very used piece. I see you use a light steel wool to scrub and remove rust. I also see where it's recommended after this to put the pan in your oven on the self clean cycle. Then let cook, season, cook, repeat till you are satisfied it's good and seasoned and ready to go. Does this really work? Can I get a cheap piece that looks like crap and get it looking 'new'. I am mainly talking about rust and baked on burnt stuff - I would avoid anything with cracks, chips, dents, etc. Major damage.

Any help?

-PP
 
Unless it's got some sort of historical relevance, or even better it was your Gramm's cast iron, I'd say to avoid it.
Seriously, cast iron isn't that expensive and it's pretty easy to condition a new skillet.

If you really want to, though, check out the yellow pages and see if anyone offers shot-blasting or sand blasting. That would take the rust and everything else off of it and you could just recondition.
 
Yeah....after they rust, the only solution is to bead-blast it to remove the corrosion.

The baked-on/burnt stuff is a good thing.
 
Another thing to avoid when buying used cast iron would be warping. However, most of the quality name brands don't have this problem...
 
I would never bother with a rusty pan. Spend a few extra bucks on a nice seasoned piece or a new one. They are cheap as old chips considering that good cast iron will last at least a couple of lifetimes.
 
I revived a very good cast iron griddle pan my mum had lying around. It had a bit of rust on it due to her putting it in the dishwasher each time and not seasoning it properly afterwards. She also didn't like it very much since it scratched her induction rig. I happily relieved her from that burden :) I have easily removed the rust by alternately using one of those metal(wire) spunges and a mixture of salt and groundnut oil. I coated it with oil and put it under the grill for creating a nice black non stick coating on it and to make it oxigen proof :)

I must say that it had only just started so show a bit of superficial rust signs, just some speckles. It's still one of my best pans. Virtually indestructible.

I wouldn't personally buy a rusty pan (as in covered with rust), but a little rust is easily taken care of.
 
so a little rust and some grime can be taken care of. I'll keep this in mind in case I see something for a good price, but a little worn.


Mr. Arboc: you are right in that a good majority of the newer items from say Lodge on ebay aren't huge steals. by the time you add s&h you might save a couple of bucks - I too would rather spend the few extra dollars and get it brand new. If you are looking for old CI though you might pick something up at a decent price - like old Griswold or Wagner.
 
In South India, we season any type of new or old rusted or factory fresh skillet/pan by a simple method.

First we clean it with simple rubbing with ash of wood and clay using coconut fiber.
After that, we heat it on stove and rub half large sized onion for ten to fifteen minutes while it is stll on stove.
Dont worry about smoat, just add a spoonful of cooking oil and spread it evenly on pan surface or skillet.
If you want, you can cook a omelette and throw it away.
Let it cool. DO NOT WASH THE PAN/SKILLET EVER WITH DETERGENTS OR SOAPS.
Always dry clean with only tissue paper or gentle fiber rubbing.

You will be able to use the pan/skillet for decades.
I have a skillet which is amost 40 years old.

NJA
 
peter pepper said:
so a little rust and some grime can be taken care of. I'll keep this in mind in case I see something for a good price, but a little worn.


Mr. Arboc: you are right in that a good majority of the newer items from say Lodge on ebay aren't huge steals. by the time you add s&h you might save a couple of bucks - I too would rather spend the few extra dollars and get it brand new. If you are looking for old CI though you might pick something up at a decent price - like old Griswold or Wagner.
Click to expand...

You could check for local garage sales, estate sales, and Mom and Pop hardware stores for cast iron.
Flea markets used to be cool for stuff like that, but now it's all these get rich quick knuckleheads buying cases of cheap crap from websites to resell instead of loads of locals selling stuff.
 
Skydiver said:
You could check for local garage sales, estate sales, and Mom and Pop hardware stores for cast iron.
Flea markets used to be cool for stuff like that, but now it's all these get rich quick knuckleheads buying cases of cheap crap from websites to resell instead of loads of locals selling stuff.
Click to expand...

yeah I'll just have to wait till spring - not too many flea markets / garage sales when it's 14F out.
 
Each spring, I have a decent size bonfire (ticks off the Fire department but it's legal as long as I am grilling or camping out) and through my cookware in it. It gets red-hot - literally! Let it cool overnight, clean it off with soapy water, apply a very thin coat of vegetable oil and stick it in an oven until it is done.

Mike
 
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