EASIEST way to RESTORE Cast Iron Cookware WITHOUT fancy equipment!
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- One of the easiest and efficient methods used to restore cast iron cookware, used by nearly all cast iron enthusiasts.
The skillet in this video went through:
1) Lye Bath (carbon removal)
(Video coming soon)
2) Vinegar Bath (rust removal)
Here's how to build a vinegar bath: • Removing RUST from cas...
3) 5 Rounds of Seasoning
Here's how to season your cast iron: • The EASIEST and most E...
Dude, you are one of the best in the CI community. I appreciate the time and energy you put into your video to educate us
Thank you, I really appreciate that! And I’m glad you can recognize how much time and effort went into making this video 🍳
Agreed. So much good information in his videos and no nonsense.
Maaaan, you're cold blooded. This is ANOTHER straight up demo. Great job Chris.
🤣 thanks for watching and the support!
Whoop WHOOOOOOOP C Duuuub😎👏💯
Chris, your vids and communication are on par with the best in advice across my years of doing this. My friends have stated I should have posted vids just like this years back and may still but, I applaud you on very finite and quality instruction, the exact way it should, and I do it myself. KUDOS.
Thank you my friend, I appreciate that greatly!
This is the best video out there for cast iron restoration. Thanks so much for the effort you put into it!
Aw thanks!
I have watched many videos on this subject, yours are the best. Unfortunately in the past I have made a few mistakes but now I feel confident I am better educated.
Love to hear this! Good luck on your restorations 🍳🔥
Chris I just subscribed and requested notifications for all of your uploads. I spent an hour viewing practically useless videos, and finally yours popped up. I’m glad I decided to watch this; very informative.
Ah man I love hearing this! Thanks for subscribing! My main platform is TikTok so if you’re on there make sure you look me up!
Chris I was looking for a way to leave a review maybe I didn’t google the right thing.
With that said 5 stars. Both the video series and the compound.
I have always had a love to cast iron growing up in South Louisiana. I had several pieces that belonged to my grandparents and several pieces I bought here and there for really cheap.
All that to say these all went through hurricane Katrina and suffered some rust, luckily that was all. I had cleaned them and “re-seasoned” them by just heating them up on a seafood boiler.
They have now all been restored to their former glory because of all of your great videos.
Let me know here to do a Google review or something and I’ll be happy to.
Also some of us need a tub of your compound. lol.
Heyyy Chris! Good to see you on the Tube and I just subscribed! I’m here to properly restore my cast iron because it is SHIT. Lol. Thanks for the knowledge my guy!!!
Haha welcome! Just subscribed back- I need to get on your level of subscribers!
Wow!!! Totally amazing! Gives me hope that my mother's large cast iron skillet can be saved!!
Get on it!
One area I’ve struggled with is something I had hoped you would touch on more. Even when I use cold water after my scrub/rinse, I still get noticeable flash rust on the piece when I dry it. Do you have any special tricks to work with this? I have resorted to letting it fully dry, and then scrubbing with steel wool and acetone and drying and then another couple rounds of acetone and dry rags.
Thanks for this video. I have some cast iron that needs restoration badly. I do have one question. How do you safely dispose of the used lye water? I live in an apartment complex, so I'm hesitant about pouring a dangerous chemical down my sink or bathtub.
Lye is also used as a drain cleaner, so you could just put it down the drain. My check out my “how to build a lye bath” for all the details, including how I dispose of it.
I'll be restoring cast iron using this method likely once in a blue moon. When scrubbing the pan after the lye bath, are you using an SOS pad with soap inside or are you using clean steel wool with dish soap?
Where do you dispose of the lye bath mixture?
I’ll make a video deviated to the lye bath, but you can use this over and over so you don’t have to dispose of it for a long time, but if you want to, pour vinegar in it to neutralize it and throw it on a part of your lawn you don’t like.
When you've stripped something to bare iron do you always dry it with a paper towel before seasoning? Will using the stove to finish drying a stripped piece always cause flash rust?
Thanks for your videos! I've been using your tips to restore a piece for the first time. I have a question however. I soaked the piece in the lye bath for 48 hours and the vinegar bath several times, but there was still a few black/dark gray areas that wouldn't come clean in either bath. These areas were very hard and rough, unlike the rest of the seasoning. Steel wool would just disintegrate trying to scrub those spots. It turned out the vinegar softened those areas up a bit, so I was able to soak in vinegar and scrape it off with a flathead screwdriver, then I repeated that until it was finally clean. Is there something I did wrong with the baths? Thanks
Hey Ethan, thanks for following! Email me some pics so I can get a better idea of what you’re talking about. CastIronChris88@gmail.com
I come back to this video constantly but have 1 question... what are your thoughts on evaporust instead of vinegar? Have tried it? From what I've seen, evaporust wont damage the cast iron and only reacts with the rust.
I'm fairly new to cast iron restoration. I want to soak up as much knowledge as I can.
I've seen a video where a kid soaked a rusty skillet in a vinegar bath for an entire week and then seasoned it and cooked in it and it looked like it was just fine.
I've also seen a few videos where people would coat their skillet with a baking soda paste, then pour on a little vinegar and then scrub off all the rust and old flaky seasoning. I've done this method myself and had success, except for one piece where the old seasoning was actually really good and would not scrub off. 🤷♂️
I also left a Wagner Ware skillet in a vinegar bath for over 12 hours before reading that you shouldn't leave them in for that long.
Can you explain why it's OK to do multiple 40 minute vinegar baths, but not ok to do one for several hours or days? In my "un-knowledge" it seems like multiple 40-minute baths would eventually be just as hazardous...
I don't mean to challenge what you've said; I truly seek only to understand why a long soak in vinegar is so bad, and if I've inadvertently ruined the few skillets that I've cleaned this way.
Hey Mike, vinegar is acidic and can eventually damage the iron. You want the cast iron in the vinegar bath long enough to remove rust but not long enough to damage the iron. Vinegar can damage the iron and affect the way it seasons after a long enough time, but it's not accumulative. Think of it like holding your breath: you can't hold your breathe for 10 minutes or you'll die but you can hold your breath for 1 minute, 10 times with no issues.
Some restorers swear you can't leave cast iron in vinegar for more than even just 20 minutes, I think that's silly. Do I think you'll destroy a piece leaving it in for a few hours? Probably not but doing short soaks assures no damage will be done, especially on rare pieces.
@@cast_iron_chris thanks. So if I understand correctly, you can do as many short vinegar baths as you want and you're not running a risk of permanently damaging the iron?
Followup question:
I've shifted to doing a lye bath now to get rid of the crud, and vinegar like you say just for the rust. I just did a Wagner Ware #10 that had a HUGE rust circle on the bottom when I first took it out of vinegar. The rust scrubbed right off though! I think I put it through 3 rounds of vinegar and on the 3rd one, there was no more rust, but I didn't scrub all the dark discoloration away. (I thought as long as all the rust was gone, that was all that really mattered.)
When I seasoned that pan there was a big spot that was totally a different color.
Did I mess up? Is there still more rust in there that I didn't get? Or do I just need to do a better job scrubbing off the discoloration? Or does it just happen sometimes after a pan has had that much rust, and everything's fine and I just have to live with that spot being a bit lighter color?
(And what DOES happen if you don't get all the rust out but then you reseason the pan and start using it? Will the remaining rust continue to grow like a cancer? Or does proper seasoning prevent more rust from forming and more or less make the pan safe for years to come, until the next time somebody strips it down to bare iron?)
I'm toying with either reselling this piece or giving it to a family member, so I'd really like to know beforehand if it's safe to give them as is, or if I should re-strip it and start over...
Thanks
If I am doing this on a Griswold Enamel Base cast Iron.
Can I still submerge or should I just pour a portioned down mixture of Lye into the pan.
Chris!! I think i messed up. I didnt know you made videos and did not do enough research and left my ci in vinegar for almost 26 hrs. Do you think its a boat anchor now or can i recover?
How do I know if my pan needs restoration or just a good cleaning (incl rust removal)? Great info! I inherited lots of these from my grandma
Chris - another quick question. If I have to wait a day between the last vinegar bath and getting it in the oven for seasoning, is there a method to keep the pan from flash rusting?
If you’re done with the vinegar bath, towel dry it and get it oiled up for the first round of seasoning, then put it in the oven whenever you’re ready.
So essentially, oil it up and it won’t flash rust.
Is that steel wool that you are using to scrub after the vinegar bath? And, if so, what grade of steel wool? I have 0000 steel wool. Is that too fine?
Hello. I was wondering if there are any other simple techniques to restore cast iron pans without using Lye. Thank you so much! 😊
Hi! You can use Easy Off oven cleaner, but that also contains lye. I’m curious, why do you want to avoid lye? Or is it that you want to avoid making a lye bath?
Electrolysis is also a fantastic method but is unnecessary if you just want to restore one piece.
@@cast_iron_chris We live a clean/toxin-free life as best as we could. I know that sodium hydroxide is a harmful substance. I also know that cast iron is porous. So if it can absorb water/soap, and oils, it could also absorb the lye. That raises some concern for me. 😕
@@Neetz422
Hi! I'm a soapmaker, which means that I regularly work with sodium hydroxide, and I definitely understand your concern about it, but maybe I can help. 😀
NaOH (sodium hydroxide) is a chemical that neutralizes really fast when it's exposed to air and moisture. It's even used when making certain foods and snacks like lutefisk and pretzels. 😁
The lye bath that you put your cast iron skillet in is very, very caustic, and it will burn your skin and severely damage your eyes if you accidentally get it on your skin or splash it in your eyes, so you should definitely use proper protection (goggles and gloves) and make sure no kids or pets can get into the tub of lye.
When the skillet is done in the bath and you have scrubbed and rinsed it, there will not be any NaOH left in any pores, and if there would be (which it won't 😜), it would not be detrimental to your health whatsoever, because the only thing that would happen is the tiiiiniest lowering of the pH of your food, even waaay less than just using a single cherry tomato in a whole pot of stew. 😜
Don't let your fear of lye residue keep you from restoring your cast iron to its original glory! 🥰 You can do it! 😁 💪
Oh, and the lye water that's left when you're done can be used as a very efficient weed killer that is completely eco friendly. Just don't spread it where you want to keep the soil healthy, because it will kill the soil's microdiversity at the exact spot where you put it. I've used it on those tufts of grass in my gravel driveway that are impossible to pull up for example. 👍
@@attesmatte Your response answered a ton of questions for me. Thank you so very much!
@@slhemp3556
I'm so glad I could help! 😀👍
Greetings! I love your content and am currently in the process of restoring two pans with this method. One of the pans has been in the lye bath for almost 5 days and STILL has layers of old polymerization and crud that are stuck to the bottom of the inside of the pan. I've taken it out and scrubbed with SOS three times already. I added more lye to the solution. Any other recommendations? For reference, the other pan I'm restoring came out of the lye bath after 48 hours and was more or less good to go - then went through two vinegar bath dips, and is now in the process of seasoning. Thanks in advance for any help!
I know you didn’t ask me, but I followed his instructions with some ancient pans I was restoring, and a couple of them ended up spending 2 weeks in the lye bath. Since he said it doesn’t damage them, I just checked on them/scrubbed them down every 2-3 days and in the end they turned out great.
Let em soak. They won't go bad in there so the longer the better
Might be a dumb question but I haven’t found an answer otherwise, what do you do immediately after taking it out of the 450° oven? Do you let it cool for a bit? (If so, for how long?) Do you use gloves and add oil then wipe off oil then wipe off further and immediately put it back in?
I periodically bake my cast iron at 425ish for one hour, I use avocado oil for the seasoning oil. I set the oven timer for 1 hour plus whatever I think is needed for preheat. The oven timer will automatically shut off when done. I just let it/them cool in the oven over night. My absolute favorite at the moment is an old Wagner 9" skillet that I found at an overpriced "antique" store. It doesn't have the heat ring but it cooks better than anything else I have!
After an hour turn the heat off and let the pan cool down in the oven as it cools down. That part usually takes just as long or longer than the seasoning part. Then hit with a tiny bit of oil, grab a paper towel and try to wipe as much of that oil away as if it shouldn't be there. And then you're good.
When do you use electrolysis vs. lye & vinegar? Or do you use all three methods? Great videos, Chris!
hey Chris, I had a question for you regarding restoring a pan. I followed one of your RUclips videos and I think it's going well. however, there is still some black marks on the inside of the cooking surface and the bottom side. it's smooth, so I'm not sure if it's just iron discoloration or what, but I can't seem to get it off? is this a problem or will the new seasoning I put on just cover it up? thanks and I highly appreciate your content!
Hey pal, sorry for just seeing this! Shoot me some pics on Instagram or email me castironchris88@gmail.com
Have you ever restored a chrome plated cast iron pan? Just got a Griswold 8 chrome plated and wondering if there's any tips you have for it or is it the same process?
What’s the special seasoning?! Wondering if I should wait to do mine until I can buy this..
Probably won’t be “ready” until the fall. Have you seasoned cast iron before?
Working on stripping 6 skillets now and will be seasoning them soon! I actually emailed you and will be sending you some pictures tonight as they are being stubborn.
it looked like a bees wax had a bee on the container
Chris my e-tank's performance depends on how clean I keep the anodes and if the water is. I started experimenting with filters that I could hang the piece inside that would still let the electricity pass through. Some fabrics weren't a tight enough weave to contain the crud but what worked the best was a pillowcase. I needed a larger diameter filter so my wife made us two from a bed sheet. I zip tied mine to pool noodle but you can clamp it around your support bar for the skillet. It's worth doing because my tank stays much cleaner longer. Every few pieces I spray out the filter and get that stuff out of the tank. It's like a coffee filter, the water will stain but no crud or solids. And why did I add a comment like this to a non e-tank video, I have no idea. lol
Something else I've found works just as good as lye but easier to handle is Purple Power cleaner. Walmart has it near the auto section in gallon containers. It isn't as cheap as lye but you can put your hands in it. I also use a pillowcase in it. There that's a little more appropriate for a non e-tank video. Didn't think I could save it did ya, me neither. lol
When I'm mixing Arm & Hammer or any powder in water I use a long paint mixer in a drill. Add the powder slowly with the mixer turning and it shouldn't clump.
Out of interest, as a chemist, I looked up the safety data sheet on purple power. I wouldn't get it on my hands either if possible. Manufacturer says it is pH 12.5 (very alkaline) and contains 1-5% of both sodium silicate and diethylene glycol dibutyl ether. But is an interesting alternative.
@@Rockhunter329 This is very interesting that you knew to do this. Here's a good comparison PPower vs Awesome at any Dollar Store. I need to soak one in Awesome, both are good cleaners but not so great when it comes to mouthwash. This will also make sense, I soaked a test piece of aluminum in PPower for 3ish weeks and it does start eating away at the aluminum. The only thing that works well on aluminum is leaving it where ya find it. Hats off to the aluminum guys, I won't be driving up the price.
@@turdferguson5300 You can a SDS on about every commercial product. But if something is in there at
Another question…was doing 4-5 vinegar baths to get all that deep back blotchy rust spots out a cosmetic choice? or is it unsafe to proceed with seasoning after a single vinegar bath if it only gets the obvious surface rust? Basically, is it safe to season over those deep blotchy rust spots?
In this case- aesthetics. If that was in the cooking surface, you definitely want to get it off.
I have a large antique cast iron end table that i got from my dad's backyard and I'd like to restore it. I has alot of rust and too big to go in a tub similar to yours. What are my other options to restoring it? I can send a pic if you like?
if you bend some old wire coat hangers on the handles it makes it easier to remove the pans
How would I season cast iron that is brand new, but not preseason? I have a few pieces I was given and it has a waxy coating on it. I've tried scrubbing with steel wool, but I feel there is likely a more efficient way to get through it.
I’m not sure what you mean by a waxy coating? You said brand new, like store bought brand new? If so I personally wouldn’t anything, just use it. And make sure you watch my “how to season” video here you RUclips.
is electrolysis a better process if you have the capability?
Did you even watch the video?
You seem nice.
@@ZonalJump97
How often in between seasonings is it recommended? Wait until it completely cools off?
Not super important, but generally if I’m trying to crank it out, I’ll let it cool down just enough to safely touch it then oil it up for the next of seasoning.
How do you discard the leftover lye?
Geeeeeeeently pour it down your sewage drain, preferably in small batches to aid against splashing. Wear ALL PROTECTIVE gear including quality eyewear protection and durable chemical resistant gloves.
When I dump mine, I'll probably first neutralize with citric acid. Be sure to use lots of water afterwards as there's lots of sludge if you've used it for long.
Thank you!!!
how do you dispose of the dirty lye water once finished? It's safe to pour down drains?
It’s used as a drain cleaner, so yes. But a lot of gunk sits at the bottom so I usually neutralize with vinegar and dump it in the corner of my yard. But they last a long time, so you don’t have to dump after stripping just one pieces. I keep mine for quite a long time.
@@cast_iron_chris I just soaked my cast iron for like 3 days. One of them still has a thick layer of old seasoning inside the skillet. I cleaned it off as best as I could, do I just let it soak in the lye so more and try again in another day or so?
Can I use a different oil, like canola or veg oil, or do I have to use grapeseed or something like that. I know you have your product, but I only have those oils in my house today...so...
Either of those will work
How do you dispose of this stuff when you’re needing to make new?
You can keep using the lye bath over and over for a long time. When you do decide to dispose of it, I like to pour vinegar in it to neutralize it and I toss it in the corner of my yard.
Some other channels saying after the cleaning you should heat it up then apply first oil. This is confusing me as there’s no definite answer to be found. Some say heating it up cause the last of the water to evaporate and the pores in the metal to open up so it’s better for the first oil. Others like yourself say to oil it while cold and if you heat it up it will flash rust. I need to restore 2 large BBQ sections.
One is a grill for burgers etc and the other is a hot plate. Both are 42cm square so they don’t fit in many barrels but I’ve got myself a 72L flexi tub and they fit into that. Just waiting on the Sodium Carbonate arriving. 😅
The first rounds of a resto I don’t heat up the pan. Generally, all the rounds after, I apply oil to a warm pan.
@@cast_iron_chris
Ok cheers, I’ll go with a cold oil first round then. Chemicals arriving tomorrow.
what grade steel wool should i use and which ones should i avoid? i don’t have access to SOS pads :(
Try using grade 1 or 2, don’t press down Tok hard at first, and see how you make out.
How do you dispose of the lye water afterwards?
Watch my recent video!
@@cast_iron_chris I can’t see the video :( what’s it called?
how long does the lye solutions last for?
What % vinegar is that? We only got the concentrated kind wherei live.
5%
what about ventilation? I know you don’t want that stuff touching your skin, what about breathing it? Looks like you’re in a basement. Am I safe to leave a lye bath in the basement for weeks?
Besides the initial chemical reaction between the lye and water(minor) there are no fumes with the lye bath. Leave it there for years if you’d like.
What steel wool grade do you use?
Right now I’m currently using SOS pads
Can this method be applied to all cast iron pieces, like car parts?
I have seen videos where they do it similar to this, plus electrolysis tanks as well.
Hey Chris, I've been using your information to care for my cast iron for a while now with great success! The only difference I'm experiencing is that the color of my pans stay more bronze. They also don't seem to be getting any darker as I use them. I would prefer them to be black. Are you able to share some insight on why that might be? Thank you in advance and keep up the great work!
Hey Cody, were these restoration or did you get them new, pre seasoned?
One specifically is my field. I seasoned it 3 times right out of the box, and another one was a "restoration" but I used a wire wheel (before I came across your tik tok lol) but it is a lodge
@@codybennetch3612 email me some pics so I can get a better idea: castironchris88@gmail
What do you mean by a number 2 or 5 plastic?
high density polyethylene or polypropylene, plastic tubs and things usually are marked with a number inside of a triangle
Why not just leave the vinegar working for a day as well?
Can damage the cast iron and affect the way it seasons
KEEP VINEGAR NEARBY IN CASE YOU SPLASH LYE ON YOUR SKIN.
very good work a better video of restoring one of the best video jamieoklahoma
The lye scares me a little. It is very caustic.
Granny Clampett makes all her special recipes in cast iron with lye. It gives her medicine jug that unique bouquet. You'll have to find your own bear grease for lye soap renderin'.
Has anyone here done this procedure in an apartment?
Sand blasting is superior to the dangerous Lye method.
Would’ve been stamped with “ERIE” if it was between those years you claimed.
That’s a Wagner homie, not a Griswold.