r/CastIronRestoration

Need some help here! Bought my first Martin yesterday, a #5 skillet. Looked like it was in good shape but threw it in the lye and e-tank anyway because other people’s grease is gross.

After just a few hours the black was basically gone but the texture was a little rougher than I anticipated. I didn’t know exactly what to expect but most of my other old cast iron is smooth so thought it was a little odd.

This morning, I pulled it out of the e-tank to check on it and there were literal bubbles in the finish. I know iron doesn’t do this so wondering if maybe someone painted it black and the e-tank is stripping it?!? It’s just so weird that it went from black to gray to bubbles.

Please see the attached photos (1 and 2 are before any treatment; 3 and 4 are after lye and 8 hours in the e-tank) and let me know if you’ve ever seen this before or what you think caused it. Will try to provide updates this evening when I pull it from the tank again.

Found at a rural yard sale and promptly restored. The owners owned an old farm and thought this would be a good chance to bring it back to glory. Really happy with the results. Re-seasoning to follow!

This is followup to previews post about cleaning cast iron by electrolysis

I’ve recently been given permission to attempt to restore an old pot bellied stove that belonged to my great grandfather. It’s has almost all of its original parts but I suspect it’s might be missing a few.

I’m specifically looking to identify the brand, model, and potentially any blueprints or patents

Came access a huge lot of pans left out to rust. Found a couple of Griswolds including one with a wooden handle and one that looks like it's nickel plated that the finish is peeling off of. Most of these are marked Taiwan or have no visible markings at all, though they could just be hidden by the rust.

How would you go about restoring these efficiently? Is electrolysis the way to go? Have you ever attempted several pieces at a time?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I bought this waffle iron at a local flea market and plan to restore it. The handles are slightly bent to one side. Is there a way to safely straighten them? My gut tells me it's too risky. Are the studs cast?

Update

I bit the bullet, applied some heat, and using a bench, very carefully bent her back reasonably straight. Considering this a score for 75 bucks. It's my first waffle iron. High base appears free of cracks. Don't know a ton about these.

Can someone tell me how to blacken this piece. It's losing its patina. I live in an apartment so I only have an oven.

Okay so this was an old one I had that had some food caked on. It’s a small mini one so I guess I forgot about it for a long time. I salt scrubbed, baking soda scrubbed. Then overnight soaked in vinegar. I scrubbed again, lightly oiled, and put in the oven for an hour. Still looks like this. Is it done?? Sos

Asked around for advice on fixing my cast iron pan (someone said it might be rolled steel?) and someone claimed that the big red spot is heat damage and I shouldn't be cooking with it anymore. But I love this pan!

My fiancé had this sitting in the garage for a year or so. Then, he let it sit in the grass outside filled with rain water. The rust is all over the outside and inside.

He is adamant that this can be fixed but I’m not so sure. The first photo is how it looked when I brought it in. The second is after baking soda pasta (water and baking soda), dawn dish soap and then two SOS pads. What do we do next? I’ve seen a load of TikTok’s but none that were this bad.

Picked up 2 Lodges today at Goodwill. $45 for both, new to this don’t think I found a crazy deal but going and getting breakfast then finding some cast iron at Goodwill makes for a good Saturday. Cheers.

Home hobbyist and newb here. I’m trying to achieve as nice of finish as possible.

Photo is from a seller on eBay that claims to use flaxseed oil but his methods are “proprietary”. I’m not trying to compete or even sell my iron BUT I am refinishing quite a few pieces to give away as gifts and would like them to look as nice as possible. Does anyone have the magic formula to get this sheen and smooth finish?

My methods:

1. Soak in lye bath with intermittent scrubbing until all carbon is gone. The harshest scrubber I use is a Brillo pad.
2. Put in e-tank until any rust is gone or at least 12 hours if no/minimal rust. At this point the iron is as free of any foreign materials as it can be.
3. Wash in cold water with dawn. Towel dry.
4. Immediately oil (Barlean’s Organic Flax Oil) to prevent flash rust.
5. Heat in oven to 200 degrees F until up to temp.
6. Wipe oil clean w/ dry rag x2.
7. Heat to 500 degrees F for one hour.
8. Let cool in oven.

I repeat steps 5-8 (with oiling and wiping clean upon skillets reaching 200 F) until I start to get the sheen I’m looking for but I can never get anything as smooth looking as what’s in the photo.

Any advice to get that perfect finish I’m looking for?

P.S. I know flax oil is prone to flaking if not done correctly. I’m also open to Crisco or grapeseed as long as I can get a silky smooth finish.

This is my weekend haul.

All cleaned up. 3 rounds of grapeseed oil. Ready to go. I love the swirls in this one.

Found this old BSR Red Mountain #3 at an antique mall.

It was pretty crusty looking when I got it.

After running it through my e-tank, it cleaned up quite nicely... but then I clearly saw the cooking surface 🫤

I've included a close-up of the area among the pics.

It feels like there's a dip in the metal like some of it is missing there, and it won't take seasoning like the rest of the pan does.

I'm tempted to do a light sanding on the area to see if the area looks good below it, but I'm hoping someone else has a less destructive idea.

Anyone have a different idea on how to handle it?

Here's one not seen often. Picked up at a flea market. Cleaned up nice.

Sadly, it does have a slight crack near the handle. I don't normally keep cracked skillets around, but this one I think I will. Likely even use it for "light" duty.