Cast iron. Can I save this?
- Thread starter mtmuley
- Start date
Potsie
Well-known member
Totally saveable. There’s lots of YouTube videos on reconditioning an old cast iron pan.
Mostly just a lot of elbow grease to sand out the rust and polish it, then reseason.
Mostly just a lot of elbow grease to sand out the rust and polish it, then reseason.
D
Deleted member 16864
Guest
It would probably be more fun to introduce it to your little friend, the 300 RUM. So yes, or no, it’s/isn’t salvageable.
I'll look. More fun to ask HT guys. mtmuley
I could hit it at 1K. But I want to cook breakfast at elk camp instead. mtmuley
Gellar
Well-known member
That doesn’t even look bad to me. I’d say wipe it clean with hot soapy water, use a bristle brush or scratch pad to get any hard spots off and reseason.
D
Deleted member 16864
Guest
Pretty sure I’ve had eggs with more rust.
I've had coffee with bugs and pine needles. mtmuley
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
That doesn’t look bad. @Gellar nailed it. I’ve used soapy water and a brush, or steel wool if it really needs it. Then reseason and you’re ready to cook.
Gellar
Well-known member
If there’s grease spots stuck to it that I can’t see you could soak it in a lye bath or just coat it with some oven cleaner. If it’s pitted from rust you’d have to do electrolysis on it. Like mentioned, there’s YouTube videos on all of that. But honestly from the picture you posted I think you’ll be good with wiping it down and reseasoning.
Gellar
Well-known member
That’s the best kind.
I don't see any pitting. I will do the cleaning and reseason it. mtmuley
D_Walt
Well-known member
Throw it in a campfire for an hour, brush off the rust, re-season. Cast iron is great if you use it regularly and make sure it stays seasoned, it’s lousy if it is anything less than completely seasoned. We cook on cast iron at home almost everyday, I take the same skillets camping as I use at home.
D
Deleted member 16864
Guest
Reminds me of some interesting instant coffee I helped make at Spotted Bear lake one night back in the 90’s. My Dad and some of his friends were packing in a case of beer in a cooler but we knew from the singing we heard shortly before the made it to camp it was all gone. That lake had some monster cuts in it.
Sanding it and throwing it into a campfire are great ways to ruin it. Both are unnecessary and will damage it. Sanding will ruin the finish, making it more difficult to get seasoning to adhere. Throwing it into a campfire has great potential to warp and crack it.
Get the seasoning off first, then remove the rust, then re-season it.
Remove seasoning:
Buy a can of Easy-Off oven cleaner with the yellow cap. Spray it down good and seal it in a trash bag overnight. Rinse it off the next day and scrub as needed with a scotch bright steel pad. Do this again if there's any seasoning still stuck on.
Remove rust:
Soak it in diluted vinegar for 30 minutes at a time, scrubbing the rust off with a steel brush or scotch bright steel pad.
Re-season:
Rub down with crisco, rub off as much as possible, bake at 400 for an hour. Let cool. Repeat once.
Get the seasoning off first, then remove the rust, then re-season it.
Remove seasoning:
Buy a can of Easy-Off oven cleaner with the yellow cap. Spray it down good and seal it in a trash bag overnight. Rinse it off the next day and scrub as needed with a scotch bright steel pad. Do this again if there's any seasoning still stuck on.
Remove rust:
Soak it in diluted vinegar for 30 minutes at a time, scrubbing the rust off with a steel brush or scotch bright steel pad.
Re-season:
Rub down with crisco, rub off as much as possible, bake at 400 for an hour. Let cool. Repeat once.
D
Deleted member 16864
Guest
Who doesn’t like a Crisco rub down!?
This method seems like a lot but it’s mostly hands off. As a cast iron user for 20 years I honestly have seen it and ignored it until this past winter.
It’s oven time and mostly hands off. In my opinion flax seed oil works best. Similar to winmag but maybe in the oven coated a few more times.
Slick as snot and don’t need to touch up for a long time.
It’s oven time and mostly hands off. In my opinion flax seed oil works best. Similar to winmag but maybe in the oven coated a few more times.
Slick as snot and don’t need to touch up for a long time.
