Restoring (not seasoning) very old Cast Iron


 
Don Cash

Don Cash

TVWBB Gold Member
My mom was going through my 92 year old grandmother's shed today and found an old cast iron dutch oven and cornbread pan. They were given to me. Not sure how old they are but potentially very old...

Anyone have any advice on restoring them. I know how to season them once all the gunk and rust is gone so I'm looking for the best way to get it to the point of seasoning, not how to season. There was a thread here a while back but I can't find it now. Most of what I have found through the search is seasoning and removing minor rust advice. I need more.

Googling reveals some options; elbow grease, electrolysis, lye bath, oven cleaner, sand blasting, etc. Any advantages to any of these, any other options? Any potential for damage in sand blasting? Keep in mind I'm lazy and cheap
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Here's what I got. They look in better shape in the pics than they actually are but they aren't too bad and definitely salvageable to almost new condition.

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Thanks in advance!!
 
The bottom of the dutch oven looks like serious cancer. I beleave a 200 grit wet dry sand paper would take off the surfaces rust on the rest of it. With a little work, nothing too back breaking. You might want to take a wire brush and stiff scraper to the bottom to check how deep it has gotten.
 
Don,
Those don't look that bad at all from the photos... Are you confident that what appears as a light coating of rust won't dissipate with some steel-wool? Maybe it's how the photos are appearing but it doesn't look "that serious to me.
Looks like the more serious issues are on the exterior (a good thing) so perhaps a bit of sandpaper is in order, then followed by George's suggestion of vinegar & salt. If you feel it's hopeless, I'll email you a shipping address.
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Thanks, guys.

George, thanks for the link. That's pretty much what I found with my google search. You ever done any of those methods? What do you think abut sand blasting vs wire weel and elbow grease. A friend of a friend who may be able to do it for me. Too harsh? Any potential for damage?

Jeremy, I just looked at the bottom again and it's not too bad. I think it was sitting on newspaper for decades and all that flaking is just rust colored paper stuck to the bottom. It seems solid with a little pitting and discoloration.
 
I was given a pan that was pretty bad off and was wondering how to clean it up cheaply, as you are.
I read somewhere to soak rusty cast iron in Coca-Cola....so I gave the pan a good soak (about three hours) in a cooler with two or three 2 liters of Coke poured into it to cover the pan....gave it a good scrubbing with steel wool....and it cleaned up perfect!
After seasoning, the pan was like new.
Kind of makes you wonder what Coke does to your stomach...
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I have had an old Dutch oven of mine that I use camping sandblasted. It came out like new. They used a fine sand I believe. It will get down to bare metal and need to be seasoned immediately.
 
don, i have only done the salt and vinegar on light rust. i do have a project that will need me to setup the electrolysis method. not sure i like the sand blasting method. the soda method or shell blasting method might be better.
 
I'm glad I found this thread. We bought a CI dutch oven last year at a flea market. Chinese made,but it only cost $3. Needs to be cleaned up bad. I think I might try the coke methos
d this weekend!
 
I think I started the thread that isn't here any more. The CI pans that I acquired had some accumulated grease/gunk (they had been sitting underneath a gas grill for a couple of years) and surface rust. I put lit charcoal in each one to burn out the gunk. Then I sanded the crap out of them with heavy sandpaper, and they were ready for seasoning. I'm also lazy and cheap, and it worked for the skillets while not compromising my ideals.
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I thought this was interesting enough to add to my favorites here on the site. Now it's got me looking for a cheap charger and some garage sale cast iron treasure. Enjoy. <a href="http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&f=2871078595&m=7401015816" target="_blank">Cleaning and seasoning vintage cast iron
</a>
 
What George says.

Go to wags site. Ask for help in the cleaning/restoration section.

You can even get a good assessment of overall value, circa, mfg., etc. You also might ask if someone is willing to clean them for you.

They look like either Wagner or older Lodge to me. Still made the old way with quality materials and casting methods no longer used for CI cookware.

Frankly none of your stuff posted looks bad. I think they will clean up nicely.

Don't do anything to them until you do that research as you can really impact value by doing the wrong thing. They are pieces of history.

You don't need to use any aggressive methods that entail grinding, blasting, strong abrasives and sanding. Dipping in a lye bath will remove all the crud and residue. You may need to use a stainless scrubbie and re-dip but yours don't look bad. Then into 50/50 vinegar solution to remove rust. Electrolysis does it all in one step and is lots faster but more expensive to set up. Then re-season.

Once they are restored, they are high quality CI pieces better than you can buy today. Thing is you can use them and they won't loose value. Pretty cool.

I am a Wags member and in stead of building my own electrolysis system or putting together a lye tank I had my stuff done by another member that was close by. Once they are done all you have to do is maintain them properly. Easy to do.

I use one or another piece of vintage cast iron every week.

DO NOT SANDBLAST use a grinder, throw them in a fire, self cleaning oven, coals etc they will never season up properly/evenly and it will reduce value of the piece. It will/can also cause discoloring and high heat methods can risk warping or cracking them. Once you see one done via lye dip/vinegar bath or electrolysis you will understand.
 
Reminds me that I got to pull out an old skillet and griddle (both Lodge's), check them, clean them, reseason, and start to use again.
Weekend project.
 
You'll definitely be happy with both. That size DO looks like around a #9. That's been my go to DO for all kinds of cooks. It gets used often.

And the corn bread pan is pretty cool too. Have one and use it when I want the crust around all sides. Also good for scones.
 
Several years ago I found a small Wagner fry pan that was salvaged from a sunk boat! I had no idea what it was st the time but I worked it over with a SOS pad and coated it with some crisco and baked on the BBQ for a few hours, after that I cooked bacon in it for about three months straight before I used it for anything else! Today hands down the best CI skillett I own!! Can cook almost anything in it without sticking! Good luck old cast iron is worth the work!!!
 
I sure hope they are cleaned by now and being used to sear some great meat! When I inherited an old cast iron pan that my grandmother was going to toss I soaked in vinegar for an hour and then scrubbed it with steel wool. Restored it to new and just needed to be re-seasoned.
 
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