Electrolysis in Atlanta

Ed_R

New member
Hello all,

I've been working on stripping and cleaning an old Griswold bread stick pan I picked up and cannot seem to get rid of all the rust. It's not that it's deeply rusted, it's just that after 3 vinegar baths and rinses it just keeps popping back up.

I've never used electrolysis, but it sounds like I need a more powerful means of rust removal. I'm a little hesitant to do this alone for the first time and am wondering if there's anyone out there in the Atlanta area who is willing to show me the ropes. Let me know!

Thanks - Ed
 
If, by "keeps popping back up", you mean you are removing rust and then, before you can season the piece a haze of rust spontaneously forms, that is not uncommon and is referred to as flash rusting. When that occurs, you can just go ahead with the seasoning. The flash rust will come off as you wipe off the excess oil before baking it.
 
Also when you wash the skillet, use cold water and not hot. I find that stops the flash rusting. Also dry it right away. Just my 2cents.
 
Until last weekend, I'd never done electrolysis, either--it's pretty simple. I got a 20 gallon Rubbermaid Brute can and a cheap manual battery charger (39.95) at a local Ace Hardware store. A piece of flat bar steel and cut a 16" piece off of it. Rigged the system up and ran 4 pieces thru it and all came out good. When I took them out, dried them off good and put them in a warm oven. After about an hour, wiped them down with Canola oil and raised heat to 350. Let them go for an hour and wiped them again with oil and raised heat to 400. Let them go for another hour. I have a trash can I can use for various things, a battery charger (I have plenty of batteries to use it on!) and knowledge to use on rusty tools or stuff I use. All in all, pretty useful.
 
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