Restoring cast iron

[Moserkr]

Surprised no one said salt and dish soap. Just use a healthy amount of both and scrub with an abrasive pad. This removes rust and old seasoning. Oil and bake for an hour at 350* to season. Done. This is literally the method recommended by the Lodge cast iron brand. Had to do it to a whole rusty set and they came out looking new.

 

[OleRedbeard]

Like a few others have said.. soaking in vinegar for a few days works great.. depending on the make of the pan after that is done you can take a wire wheel to it and get it cleaned up really well.
If its not a older decent quality pan the best thing you can do for it is take a grinder to the insides and grind it down smooth. Most cast today is pretty crappily cast comparted to the older stuff available and has quite a bit more small pits than the older stuff. Most of this can be removed by grinding it smooth with a wheel grinder. Once that is done you can season it fairly fast and it will hold the season much better and be almost completely non stick after a few uses.

 

[Hem]

Hell yea! It’s not much effort to restor a cast iron and it could be worth a lot or it could be worth nothing. But just think of the stories a 100 year pot can tell! I’m anxious to see the results.

I'll give it a whirl. Easy steps first.

 

[perma]

I’d try some dawn dish soap with warm water and a steel wool. Get the rust off, soak it off and heat it over a stove until dry. Repeat as needed. When done, use a thin coat of grape seed oil or veggie oil and fill the pores and bake to 350 deg. That’s how I did the skillet I found in a campground next to a river.

Full of envy, I love that pot. Might go pick one up myself.

 

[Hem]

Before and after. @Gellar
Mostly happy with it. Fighting off urge to strip it again and polish the iron.
I soaked it in vinegar for a day, scrubbed it, then did the oven cleaner/ garbage bag.
Two seasonings brought it to this.

 

[Gellar]

Before and after. @Gellar
Mostly happy with it. Fighting off urge to strip it again and polish the iron.
I soaked it in vinegar for a day, scrubbed it, then did the oven cleaner/ garbage bag.
Two seasonings brought it to this. View attachment 333296View attachment 333297

Looks good! Any clues to brand or age of it? I have one similar I use for deep frying.

 

[Hem]

Looks good! Any clues to brand or age of it? I have one similar I use for deep frying.

No clue.
Just says 3 qt on the bottom.