Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation removing rust from large cast iron griddle

No exp. on the above but I thought I would look it up for you.

Give it a go ???

http://lifehacker.com/remove-rust-stains-with-a-lemon-juice-and-salt-paste-1617604882

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https://www.google.com/search?gs_ivs=1&q=citric+acid+to+remove+rust#tts=0
I use citric acid in another hobby and it's available in powdered concentrated form in your grocery store. Look in the canning section.

Why hasn't anybody mentioned this ...

Soak it in ... wait for it ...




























































HOPPE'S # 9

The foodie cops would be all over that !!

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listen to ^^^^

this past summer, i used the lye/water, vinegar/water soak on close to 10 pieces i inheirited from my aunt. the lye/water will also remove any crusty areas. vinegar/water soak will remove rust.

there are plenty of videos to watch.

bought my lye from lowe's as you can still find the proper kind. 20 gallon rubbermaid tote as well.

no sand blasting, no wire wheel. if old stuff, will ruin value.

This ^^^^^ I have several nice Griswold pieces that folks had given up on. No need for overnight rinse in vinegar/water solution though. Half an hour is plenty.

Well, good advice....all over the map but hey, more than one way to skin...whatever you like to skin. Once the oven option went flat I attacked it with a combo of straight white vinegar, water and a large steel brush. This removed probably 90% with a few patches of stubborn rust remaining. Got it coated with oil right now and I'm thinking get it on the stove and get real hot. Any preferences for seasoning to get that last bit of rust of and get it ready for eating. Not crazy about buying bacon to use it and throw it away. Any difference between seasoning with beef fat versus pork fat? Or do I need to get all the rust off before trying to season?

To the Hoppes lovers....I did crack a bottle and let the scent fill the shop while I worked.

The Lye works very well to remove any proteins, i.e., years of crusty cooked on fats and foods, it doesn't do a lot with the oxidation (rust).
Spraying it down with oven cleaner and running it through a self cleaning oven cycle works well too.

The two best ways to deal with rust are electrolysis or burn it off in a fire. Electrolysis is by far safer on the piece as far as risking cracking it. But If care is taken in the pre heat/ post heat process burning it is fairly safe too.
You just have to be certain the entire piece heats up and cools off very evenly and slowly. It doesn't have to get red hot, just hot enough to get the cast to expand enough for the oxidation to release as it cools back down.

If you use a wire brush use a carbon rather than stainless or brass.

You can make a simple electrolysis tank with a battery charger, plastic container and arm n hammer laundry detergent. There is tons of video on youtube that explains how to do it.

You really need to deal with the rust issue completely before you try to season it. It's the oxidation that you can't see, almost at a molecular level, that will affect the way it seasons out in the long run.

Won't heating it up remove that last bit of rust? Maybe heat it up, let it cool and brush and wash then reheat and season. Everyone talks about putting it in a campfire to remove rust? This camp stove is a commercial model, it will get it hot, isn't that enough to finish off the rust? At this point I'm talking more about discoloration in the finish than obvious rust. Isn't the expansion of the metal the reason the rust is released from the finish?

Can you post some pictures?

If you heat it on a camp stove, be careful to heat evenly so that you do not induce stress that can warp or crack a large piece such as what you have. You want to avoid localized heating.

Putting in a campfire works for rust removal because it is a reducing combustion that is chemically the opposite of the oxidation that caused the rust.

Sandblasting will remove good CI and damage mfg markings - don't do it.. A wire wheel will too, but an un-noticable, insignificant amount.

You can scour it with ajax, comet or similar with a brillo pad or a nylon scrubber to remove small amounts/areas of rust. Rinse well, dry and heat to avoid flash rust.

At a minimum wash well with soap and water, rinsing well and drying completely before seasoning.

Get it as clean as you want, or clean as possible PRIOR to seasoning. The seasoning will seal in the rust until you start over.

Seasoning will be a bit problematic since it won't fit in the oven. You can season with about any cooking oil or shortening. Everyone has their favorite. Wipe it on covering all parts, and remove any excess. Get it hot enough to *almost* smoke and let the oil harden. Again, even heating is your friend. Do this a few times.

Go here to Cee Dub "Butch" Welch's site. He is a retired Idaho game warden who is a many years Idaho back country Dutch Oven cook. Great method and not too much work.





L.W.

rust adds a nice flavor to the food

+ 1

What say the experts ?

I wouldn't have a problem using CLR as a final rinse provided ...

The griddle was clean down to bare iron and there was no "seasoning" left. It will get into the rust pits that are difficult to absolutely clean with abrasives.

Don't let the CLR dry - keep it wet - and a good wash/scrub with hot soapy water will remove any residue.

It's not as strong or effective as naval jelly in removing layers of caked up rust so it wouldn't be a good choice to tackle a crusty cast iron from the git go.

Not an expert - more of an enthusiast.

CLR is not needed and I would not use it.

Iron supplement.

No, really!

Pretty much how I do it and reco'd in a post above, although I would scrub/rinse well/and dry thoroughly between the wire wheel and the seasoning.