# Care for cast camp cookware?



## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

How do you clean and care for your dutch oven and other campfire cookware after a campout? :shrug: I have some really nice cookware, but it wasn't taken care of properly and needs much cleaning . Any tips would be appreciated. :help:


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

Cast Iron should never see soap! If it is properly seasond then all you do is to wipe it out and put a little oil on it and that is all. If it is realy dirty just alittle water on it will make it come clean. If it is not properly seasond the best way to get it clean is to use a sand paper on the inside and get down to the original finish then season it. It is natural to have particles build up on the pan but they burn off with use. When properly seasond it will become a no stick servace on the pan.


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## Hillbillybob (Jul 30, 2007)

I agree no soap. If you must clean off rust and stuff I will give you the process that My dad taught me to take a cast Iron pan or skillet from a rusty piece of junk to something anyone would be proud to have in their kitchen. Now you will need to make a wood stove of some kind if you don't have one.
Build you a hot fire in the stove that will burn for several hours and then put in you Cast Iron wear and shut the door. Now let the fire burn until it goes out. After the stove is cool take the cast iron wear out of the stove and use the wood ashes with water to clean the inside and outside of the cast Iron wear. After you get it clean and bright you will need 1 lb of good bees wax hopefully with the strong smell of honey. Heat your cast iron wear hot, remove from stove and apply the wax to the inside of your cast iron wear. The hot cast iron will suck the wax inside the cast iron seasoning it as good as you will ever get it. You now have a seasoned cast iron wear that you can fry, boil, bake or anything else in and will be non stick. This is a one step seasoning for new cast iron wear also. Just heat the cast iron wear hot and apply the Bee's wax, USE ONLY BEES WAX for this one step seasoning of cast iron wear. Bees wax with a strong honey smell works the best.
Now if you ever forget and leave your cast iron wear on a stove top and burn the seasoning out of it, just clean the white residue out of the cast iron wear with wood ashes rinse good and re season with bee's wax like before.
Hillbillybob


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## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

I've heard of the wax seasoning method but never done it. My dad showed me a couple of ways to clean rusty cast iron using either sand or steel wool to scrub it. The method I prefer to use is to scrub the cast iron with steel wool using a circular polishing motion all the while rinsing it under water. When the water stops rinsing away brown and stays clear I heat the pan in the oven to get it thoroughly dry. Then while the pan is still hot I brush on a heavy coating of cooking oil or fat, let it sit in the oven for half an hour at 175 degrees F so the pores will expand and absorb the oil. Then I take it out and wipe out all the excess runny surface oil and stick the pan back in the oven and let it cure for 6 to 10 hours at 250*F. I have a large collection of cast iron cookware of all sizes that is over 60 years old and the older it gets the blacker and shinier it gets. I re-season it all about once a year just to keep it in good condition. And I will admit that there have been times when I have used dish soap on some cast iron to get rid of fishy smells that absorbed into it, but I wipe it with oil and heat it for a couple of hours afterwards any time I've had to use soap to clean it and it comes out okay.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Sandpaper Steel wool? Things Grandma didn't have. I was taught to heat the iron on the fire and rub salt in it. When the iron gets dirty I just put some water in it on the fire till it boils. Wipe it clean and put a little cooking oil on it. Just my .02


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## tryinhard (Jul 19, 2007)

Where do you get the bees wax at?

I have been buying cast iron skillits and stuff for a couple of years when I can find them. I have been using a drill and wire brush wheel to get some of the nasties out and then seasoning them with bacon grease. I know there had to be a better way.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

i use any abrasive, sand ,sandpaper , emery cloth , steel wool ,scotchbrite pad , i have used salt just getting the rusted spots to bare metal then i heat and season with lard , my grand mother seasond with lard , her mother seasond with lard but like someone said you use what you have and around here everyone had lard

but i was looking on a site for griswald cast iron and for thier colections of antique cast iron they use lye and water and let the peices hang from wire in a tub of lye water this cleans the black crud and residue so the markings can be seen then if there is rust they use vinager and water 

with the lye they said you can let it soak for days if you want it won't hurt it but with the vinager don't go more than about 2 hours as it is an acid and is disolving the corrosion you don't want to loose good metal to it.


but the wood stove and wood ash makes good since as wood ash has some of the same chemical properties as lye 
i have used a fire before but it was not a wood stove it was a very hot camp fire then we seasond with lard but i will have to try the bees wax


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## Hillbillybob (Jul 30, 2007)

tryinhard said:


> Where do you get the bees wax at?
> 
> I have been buying cast iron skillits and stuff for a couple of years when I can find them. I have been using a drill and wire brush wheel to get some of the nasties out and then seasoning them with bacon grease. I know there had to be a better way.


Look around for someone raising honey bees and they should be able to sell you bees wax. Be sure and pick you up some honey at the same time. Honey good on everything.
Hillbillybob


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## paulaswolfpack (May 22, 2006)

coke the real stuff will clean the rust off I did this to my mommas old cast iron it was rusty from sitting many years in the basement when she died my sis put a for sale sighn on 2 banana boxes full for $5.00 I threw a twenty at her and said shame on you for wanting to sell it I got some old rubbermaid tubs and filled them with coke now some needed to be scrubed but for the most part came clean.If its real bad put a wire brush on your cordless drill and clean then season. Please enjoy your cookware,paula


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## roolover (Jul 16, 2007)

I've used the wood ashes to clean dutch ovens when camping. I use my cast iron at home daily, and if I have a mess I just boil water in it with the top on until the burned-on stuff loosens up and then use a scrub brush. If it's really bad (such as sugar burns), I put baking soda in the boiling water and that really works well. Then I re-oil and heat on the stove.

I was not aware of using bees wax, Hillbillybob. Gosh, I wish I had known about that when my dad and I kept bees.. there's nothing like the smell of warm honey wax!


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