Old cast iron pans

[BGreen]

I just came across three old cast iron frying pans in one of the out buildings. I gave them to my nephew and told them he could throw them in the fire and the rust would come off. Now I'm second guessing myself. I do remember this right, don't I? My dad used to tell me that's how to clean an old one that's been left unattended for too long.

[wvbreamfisherman]

That will burn off any seasoning that's left and loosen surface rust.

I've restored old cast iron by sanding the inside clean and smooth, down to the bare metal, and reseasoning.

I vastly prefer to use animal fat (lard or bacon grease) to vegetable oils for seasoning.

[CozInCowtown]

To salvage old cast iron from rust just put it in the sink with hot water and a brillo pad or steel wool and scrub the H*** out of it.
When done season it in the oven and it will be ready to go!!

[Cappy]

I'm a lil to lazy to use Coz's method, So I use a wire wheel on a drill. Ya gotta buff it clean inside and out, oil it up, then do as recomended either park it in a oven or chunk it in a fire. But buff, scrub, and what ever ya need first then recure. Some of the old coots around here recomend boiliing salt water in the pot to clean it, but a wire buffing wheel on a drill or grinder makes short work of it.

[dinosaur]

Gee, and all this time I've been using a sandblaster when I could have been getting some exercise.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Only problem with a sanblaster is the surface texture can be pretty rough.

That's the biggest advantage of sanding (of course, I don't have a sandblaster at the moment either...).

[Cappy]

I aGREE FISHERMAN. Also with new cast black iron the inside bottom may be rough, in a case like that I use a hone and some mineral ooil to polish it clean. Lots a folks dont realize that well cured black iron was the first non stick surface and when treated right is almost as good as the new pans.

[DuctTape]

I just joined.

I am an avid outdoorsman and also happen to collect and restore cast iron.

Please do not use sandpaper, wire wheels etc... as this can damage the surface of the iron. Old cast iron is valuable partially due to the smoothness of the inside surface. Please do not take any chances with it. Same with fire to clean. While it will work, if one build a monster fire and tosses the pan in, there is risk of warping the iron. The best way to clean off the carbonized gunk is with lye. You can soak cast iron in a lye bath indefinitely. To remove rust use vinegar, but carefully as any acid will eat the iron if left too long. Wash, then dry in a warm oven. Season with the lightest coating of oil you can apply, then wipe it off. Back in a hot oven to cure.

[BGreen]

Wow. This is great information here, and I had no idea people did things in so many ways. I've never bought lye before. Is that difficult to find? I suppose I start looking at the hardware stores or online. Thanks for all the tips. You all know so much more about these old pans that I do.

[Theo]

Originally Posted by BGreen

Wow. This is great information here, and I had no idea people did things in so many ways. I've never bought lye before. Is that difficult to find? I suppose I start looking at the hardware stores or online. Thanks for all the tips. You all know so much more about these old pans that I do.

Now a days, lye can be hard to come by due to its use in making meth.