I've got two cast iron pans (a frying pan and a grill pan) that haven't been well looked after. One is greasy and a tiny bit rusty, the other is just rusty. Surface rust, mostly.
How can I rehab/resurface them and get them back in the game?
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August 05, 2019, 05:06 PM
smschulz
Clean off the rust, wash and dry them. Coat them with olive oil, grapeseed oil or similar, put in the oven 250 -300 degrees for an hour.
August 05, 2019, 05:24 PM
280nosler
You can clean then with a wire brush attached to a drill to loosen the rust. Hot, and I do mean hot, water wash with limited soap, quick rinse, then hand dry and put them back on the stove to heat up. Make sure all water is gone, and pan is warm to the touch, and season with grapeseed oil for high smoke point cooking. Season them upside down at 375 in an oven.
Put oil on liberally, heat, remove, wipe down excess oil, put back in, and keep wiping until you are getting almost no oil, then go back and start with oiling liberally. Do this twice and you will have some good cookware.
August 05, 2019, 06:33 PM
erj_pilot
The be all/end all of cast iron restoration and maintenance:
Starting to wonder if Scott Paper Towels sponsors him...
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August 05, 2019, 06:39 PM
Outnumbered
Easy peasy. Spray with oven cleaner and wrap tightly in a bag for a several days to remove all the carbon/organic material, then rinse outside with the hose. Alternately, you can do a lye/cold water bath. Either way, wear rubber gloves and eye protection, and do this outside; this stuff is nasty, but effective.
For the rust, mix enough equal parts cold water and white vinegar to submerge the pans for 12-24 hours, using a plastic bristle brush occasionally to break loose the top surface of rust, and repeat. Then rinse with copious amounts of cold water to neutralize. If you leave the pans in for upwards of a couple days, the vinegar will begin eating the metal, so don't wait too long. As soon as it's rinsed, dry it in a warm oven, then immediately begin the seasoning process; I prefer good old fashioned lard.
Anyone tried Evapo-Rust on cast iron cookware? It certainly removes rust well on tools.
_________________________ “ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne
August 05, 2019, 07:52 PM
barndg00
I used the electrolysis method described here to restore a couple corn stick pans, two Dutch ovens, and a couple large frying pans. I did use the oven cleaner method on a couple to get rid of the organic material. Be aware, when you are finished, they need to be dried and coated immediately to prevent new rust from forming, as they are completely bare iron.
Originally posted by 45 Cal: One self cleaning cycle in your oven is all you need Did it for many decades. Evapro rust is for tools and machines.
This. Don't spend money on it when your oven almost certainly has this feature. I follow this with a super scrubbing with Dawn and stiff bristle brush, then heavy rinse and dry over heat to get all the moisture out.
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"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving." -Dr. Adrian Rogers
August 07, 2019, 10:56 AM
Stlhead
Bake a rusty pan in the oven for as long as you like, it will still be rusty when it comes out.
August 15, 2019, 12:55 PM
slabsides45
Got an add on question to this thread, since it's quieted down some. OP, hope you don't object.
I see that different people season their cast iron with different products: lard, bacon grease, Crisco, olive oil, etc. Some swear olive oil ruins the pan, others that it's fine if used correctly.
To my question: I've never read that someone uses multiple products to season their pan (or re-season after use). Do any of you use multiple oils/greases to season at different times, or is it strictly one product only?
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"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving." -Dr. Adrian Rogers
August 15, 2019, 08:56 PM
joatmonv
quote:
Originally posted by slabsides45: Got an add on question to this thread, since it's quieted down some. OP, hope you don't object.
I see that different people season their cast iron with different products: lard, bacon grease, Crisco, olive oil, etc. Some swear olive oil ruins the pan, others that it's fine if used correctly.
To my question: I've never read that someone uses multiple products to season their pan (or re-season after use). Do any of you use multiple oils/greases to season at different times, or is it strictly one product only?
One product only. Peanut oil. Olive oil is a low smoke point oil. Deep fry a turkey, what oil do you use? Works for me but my grandmother used Crisco.
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