cast iron issue


 
G

George Curtis

TVWBB Olympian
I got 2 small rectangular cast iron casserole pots ? evidently it was a small kit sold by crate and barrel.
this is the best I can do for a pic https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/aa/97/91/aa9791b216afd5cb19784de28d219420.jpg
it was just the little pot, no lids. so I saw a bit of rust and tried to scrub it off. decided to use some
vinegar over night. I was surprised that it took off the so called non stick surface. kinda looked like thick paint.
so I decided to take off all the interior coating so filled both with vinegar. today I found this horrible black
stuff floating in the pots. cleaned it all out and wanted to scrub the remaining yuk out with a small piece of
copper scrub. well the rest of the black whatever came out but there was a lot of grey sludge. hmmmm.
so I scrubbed and washed and repeated over and over and still get this grey stuff similar to clay.
so now I'm stopped. not sure I want to use these anymore because I have no idea what they did nor
what they used. most likely some toxic junk. kinda sad. any one ever see something like this ?
thanks,

george
 
well, after a bit more cleaning i added more vinegar again. within seconds it started to bubble. just like the vinegar was eating something.
after an hour i looked at it again and i get this grey deposit on my finger when wiping across the bottom. i'm starting to think that the ci
is of such poor quality that the vinegar is eating the junky part of the cast iron. thus the residue. i really wanted to use these in my ga
so i'm a bit heartbroken right now. shall see.
 
Not doubting you but I kinda doubt vinegar of any strength is enough to eat ci. Ya, probably take off whatever coating was on there but all that sludge coiming off, it is weird.

I doubt it was Lodge though (hard to read the label on your pic).

Being a Canuck, I won't buy anything but Lodge. Buy American!
 
Assuming you're up for re-seasoning if you clean it up, maybe try the oven cleaning technique to strip everything off and see if that works.
 
no, it is labeled "castware" and then china. i knew it was chinese but had never seen little ones like this.
approx size is 4x3x2 inches. lodge does not make anything like it. so i shall see as i keep going.
thanks guys,
 
If it is bubbling, then acid in the vinegar is reacting with something on the metal. Did you buy these new?
I think I would either get them sandblasted, or go with the oven cleaner, or perhaps a long trip through a hot grill.
 
Bought used but looked hardly used. Last nights soak produced more sludge. After cleaning I coult still get some grey residue on my finger. It's black if using a paper towel. I will continue just for giggles but doubt I will use them. I see lodge does have something similar and will seek those out. Remember, this is to use in my ga.
 
I'd throw them in the oven and hit the clean button,if that don't clean them throw them away any buy some thing else good luck
 
MikeCantell said:
I'd throw them in the oven and hit the clean button,if that don't clean them throw them away any buy some thing else good luck
Click to expand...

Of every idea offered, I think this is the best. Don't waste any more time or effort on this if the oven clean doesn't work.
 
Well, I put new vinegar in them and about an hour later had a good layer of foam but it was mostly white, non of that black sludge. Really does make one wonder what kind of junk they are using. These are the only chinese ci I have. Never again. Thanks for all the advice.
 
well, overnight the vinegar turned to that black sludge. but to me it shouldn't have because there was no paint or whatever in the inside.
so my conclusion is that the acid was just eating the poor cast iron. I cleaned it all up and I have raw cast iron on the inside.
so now its in the q at 500 or so degrees and we shall see. I'm doing this just as an educational process.
 
Seems like the vinegar might just be disolving the residue / seasoning.... Probably nothing to worry about but I'm only a recent (3-4 years) CI convert.

Rich Dahl just swore by flax seed oil... I read about that too a few times. I say clean it up, sand it with a wire wheel (check to make sure it's food safe), clean, & season...... if you're really worried. Maybe just clean & season after your burn off.

Speaking of burn off - you could set it on a hot bed of coals & fill it with hot coals too - what would work better than that??????? Keep the lid off so the fire has plenty of air.

Keep us posted.
 
Who knows. Maybe the coating got stripped off that's suppose to keep the lead and mercury sealed in.
 
The usual protocol for CI cookware rust removal with vinegar is a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water for a soak of 30 minutes followed by a scrubbing with a stainless steel brush or pad, then rinsing. This can be repeated as necessary. Full strength vinegar can be used judiciously, but only leaving it on for a few minutes before scrubbing and rinsing. These protocols are considered safe and non-destructive by CI collectors. 24 hours in straight vinegar is the problem here, as it will erode the iron. Apparently, it also removed the factory "seasoning" or lacquer in the first round.
 
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Are you sure they're cast iron? Sounds more like aluminum. It will easily wear away, leaving gray smears on paper towels. It will also react with acid like in the vinegar.

From the size you describe it sounds more like they were intended as serving containers or maybe candy dishes. I can't imagine what I'd ever cook in something 4x3x2.

I would want to be absolutely certain what they're made of before tossing them in the oven on the clean cycle. You could end up with a real mess in the bottom of your oven if they are made of something that won't withstand the heat. A friend now has a big blob of aluminum in the bottom of her oven because she left some foil in there at too high a temp.
 
Although its handles like bakelite or tempered steel will not, bare cast aluminum alloy like Magnalite will withstand SCO temps. It's considered impractical for repeated cookware cleaning use, but those who do use it for stripping CI tend to only run it for an hour or two.
 
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