# Cast Iron Woes



## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

Howdy y'all! 
Got a few questions maybe someone can help me out on.

A few years ago I bought a cast iron muffin pan that was in the shape of fish. Lots of detail work and such down in the muffin holes. Well low and behold when time came to season it, I used a solid shortening and it gummed up in all those fine crevasses. Cleaning it out has been a nightmare and I haven't made much progress. Any way to restore it not involving a toothpick?

Second, I found an old pan in the house we restored. No label or anything on the bottom. We stuck it in the wood fire and burnt off all the old seasoning. When we removed it, just the outside not the inside has a strange appearance, as if it had been shaped by hand maybe. It almost looks wavy. It isn't warped or anything and is solid as it ever was, I'm just kinda curious if this is common place? Thanks a bunch


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## okiemom (May 12, 2002)

I have one that is different flowers. yikes!!!! I still don't have all the junk out. needless to say it is not used.:happy2:


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## Skamp (Apr 26, 2014)

Sandblast, if you can find someone to do it, will clean the detailed one. Make sure to be ready to season almost immediatally after that is done. A dremel, with a lot of work also. 

Not sure on the second part, got pics?


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

The second pan almost sounds like a "hand hammered"

As far as first one, I agree sand blast it, or spray with a heavy coat of easy off oven cleaner, then wrap in a black trash bag and set it outside for a day. Take it out of the bag, spray it again, let it sit 20-30 minutes, then wash it.
Then reseason it properly.

Oh, don't breathe the fumes from the oven cleaner, and would be best to wear rubber gloves.


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## anahatalotus (Oct 25, 2012)

Well if you don't have a sandblast try boiling it. Hopefully it will loosen up all the particles. I've done that with a small skillet and it worked but I'm not sure it would work in your case. Good luck either way, nothing beats cooking in cast iron other than cooking in cast iron in a woodcook stove.


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## swinters (Apr 17, 2009)

Don't sandblast it! I restore cast iron cookware and have seen quite a few pieces ruined by sandblasting. Get a can of oven cleaner (I get it at the dollar store) and a couple of plastic shopping bags (or similar) and spray the pan real well, then put it in the plastic bags and put it somewhere at least overnight. I usually check mine a time or two and spray a bit more cleaner but it usually works okay when I don't. When it has sat and liquefied the oil/grease just rinse it and then wash it in hot, soapy water. If it still has buildup on it just spray it again. Usually the second spraying will only take an hour or so. When you season the pan you want light coats and hot temperatures (400F), and the pan goes in the oven upside down. I put a sheet of foil on the bottom rack to catch drippings. You'll get plenty of smoke so turn on the vent fan. I put the pan in the cold oven and then set it to 400F and when my oven says it's preheated I set the timer for 1 hour. When the hour is up I leave the pan in the oven and let it cool with the oven. I repeat it at least two more times. You'll get a good seasoning with almost any oil or grease and corn or canola oil are just fine. It should be a matte black color when finished. If it won't be used for an extended period you can wipe it or even season it with mineral oil so it doesn't turn rancid. Mineral oil is perfectly safe with food. It's found in several places in the stores, including on the laxative shelf since drinking a bunch of it does just that. The small amount used for seasoning isn't even close to enough to do anything so is fine.


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

Swinters,
That was some good info, thanks. I don't have any in bad shape but my children sometimes say MOM can you fix this.
Nancy


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## Skamp (Apr 26, 2014)

swinters, can you elaborate on the reasons for not sandblasting? Maybe I just got lucky, but I have three pieces that I had sandblasted (mainly because of rust) and they turned out fine.


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## susieneddy (Sep 2, 2011)

why wouldn't you stick the first one in a wood fire and let it burn off. We use coconut oil to season our cast irons. We find it works better than solid shortening


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

My husband did that to one of my pans and I just burned it off on the bbq. I used to have one of the corn stick pans but it got lost in a move and it was hard to evenly season. Now I season uneven pans like that upside down to make sure the fat doesn't pool.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Why not to sandblast: The particles make micro dents on the smooth surface on the interior of the pan, impairing its performance.


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## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

Thanks guys all the info has been helpful. I guess if you use oven cleaner it won't hurt you? I know I certainly don't like breathing the stuff when cleaning the oven. I could burn the first one off, but I was hoping I might find a way to work with out a burn off. Oh and here are pics of the wavy appearance of the other pan. It is a work in progress. I'm having trouble finding time to work with it. Oh and here are some of the fish pan
View attachment 29923
View attachment 29924
View attachment 29925
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View attachment 29928


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

That skillet is a hammered finish skillet. I have a couple like that and a third that is nickle plated.


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## renienorm (Nov 2, 2013)

I took an old messy cast iron pan to a place that makes tombstones and they sandblasted it for I think $5. Well worth it.

renieb


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## Fla Gal (Jul 14, 2003)

The Wagner And Griswold Society has a site, one page, that tells you how to remove the gunk and how to remove rust from cast iron skillets. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds like this is the easiest way to take care of both these problems.

http://www.wag-society.org/Electrolysis/lye.php

The one thing I disagree with is they say to use mineral oil to coat the pieces. Even though mineral is safe for human consumption I won't use it because it's a byproduct of the petroleum refining process. Not only that, it's a process that keeps the pans from rusting and isn't a way of seasoning them.

I have some cast iron skillets I need to season. I'll use lard and do them in the oven, upside down.

You've had a lot of good suggestions, I hope you find one that works well for you.


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## vulcan500rider (Apr 28, 2014)

Someone just posted to Reddit about using electrolysis to take the seasoning off of a cast iron pan. Here's a link to his imgur log of the process: http://imgur.com/a/IcEWX


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## DunDunDuuun (Nov 11, 2013)

This man shows how to restore using a self-cleaning oven.

Idk if this will help you, but thought I'd mention it, in case it would.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs[/ame]


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## ct01r (Jan 21, 2014)

vulcan500rider said:


> Someone just posted to Reddit about using electrolysis to take the seasoning off of a cast iron pan. Here's a link to his imgur log of the process: http://imgur.com/a/IcEWX


We use our self cleaning oven to clean cast iron. Just put the cast iron on the oven racks, and set the oven to the cleaning cycle. We typically set it for an hour. We've done this to pieces that were left in the barn for years, and pieces that were bought at flea markets that had layers of gunk on them. We've never had any problem with having them look like new when they were done. Having said that, be aware that some people have had their cast iron crack in the self cleaning cycle. My thought is that there was probably a defect/crack to begin with that they didn't know about, and the extreme heat made it worse. 

This is just my opinion, and I know the practice is wide spread, but I personally wouldn't use oven cleaner on cast iron. The iron is porous, and I'd be afraid of the chemicals soaking into the pores and not completely washing out. As I said, I know thousands of people have done it that way with no ill effects, I'm just paranoid.

Anyhoo, after the self cleaning cycle is done, let the cast iron COOL DOWN! before you pick it up. I know that sounds stupid, but it's cast iron, and will take awhile to cool down. When it's cool, wash off the ashes and season it your favorite way. We do canola oil on low heat and it ends up like teflon. Good luck! Curt


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

I never knew that one could put cast iron in a self cleaning oven.
Thanks for the video, found it interesting and thanks for the tips.

I always clean and re-oil after each use anyway, but sometimes I do have a sticky spot, now I know how to get rid of it.

Nancy


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## CrackPotBobs (Feb 11, 2016)

I know many of you are more concerned with cooking in cast iron more than the collecting of it. 

Sandblasting, burning in a fire, power tools and such like will harm the iron from its value as far as collectability. Fire pit method may even cause heat damage which causes the seasoning not to stick as well as the possibility of cracking and warping.

Simple lye will dissolve the old build up and 50/50 water/vinegar soak at short intervals with scrubbing with steel wool will take away minor rust.


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## Tim59 (Apr 14, 2016)

I use a etank


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