Can heat from seasoning damage waffle iron?

J

Jody M

Member
Hi everyone, I'm new to the sight and looking forward to learning more about cast iron collecting. I've been dabbling with buying, cleaning, and selling cast iron (mostly skillets) for the past 2 summers now. I use an E-tank with a graphite anode and have cleaned approximately 40 skillets so far with no real problems. Last night I picked up my first waffle iron that I believe is pretty rare and valuable. I'm thinking about cleaning and seasoning it, but have some concerns. First, it seems that it may have a painted outer surface on the paddles. Is that normal for Griswold waffle irons, and if so, is it OK to clean it in my e-tank? Secondly, when I season, I reach a temperature of 500 degrees in the oven. The handles of the waffle iron have coiled wire around them. Will that temperature do any damage to the wire on the handles. The piece is a Griswold No.12 Hotel waffle iron I believe. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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I've tried to attach a photo. hopefully it works
 
The irons were originally not coated with anything, but the base likely was, with a finish known as japanning. Depending on its condition, you have a few options. Leave it as-is if in decent condition. Clean it with electro like the paddles, and then either season once to prevent rust or look into replicating the japanned finish. 500° should not hurt the coil handles, but there's no requirement you take iron to that temp when seasoning. Anything in the vicinity of the smoke point of the oil used should suffice.
 
Thanks for the response Doug. The finish on the paddles and base seem to be the same. The finish on the backs of the paddles have areas that are flaking and peeling, much like on an old car that is starting to rust. I'm concerned about not doing anything that would take away from the collector value of this piece. My seasoning method is pretty much the same as outlined on this site. increasing the oven temp from 200 to 425 degrees in 75 degree increments @ 15 minutes each. Then light coat of Crisco- for 15 min @ 500 degrees, repeat, then turn off oven and let part cool naturally in the oven. If I cleaned it all bare in the tank and then seasoned everything, do you feel this would still be a desireable collectors piece?
 
There's nothing in the old catalogs to indicate the irons were anything other than bare iron or aluminum. If there is something on yours, it was probably someone's attempt to pretty them up for display without going through the trouble to strip and properly reseason them. You doing so would therefore only increase value over their current state. If you stripped and just seasoned the base with mineral oil, that would be acceptable. If you went a step further and replicated a japanned finish on the base, that would probably make the set look pretty sharp.
 
I have no experience seasoning with mineral oil, could you elaborate? Also, what would be involved to recreate the japanning? Thanks
 
I really appreciate the help Doug. I've read up a little on recreating the japanning finish, and feel that it's more than I want to tackle at this point-especially on this piece. The mineral oil seasoning seems simple enough, but would it be acceptable to season the base with Crisco-the same way as the paddles? I get a nice matte black finish on my pans with this method. Also, am I right in thinking that this piece is pretty rare/unique?
 
You could use whatever you use on food contact pieces as well. The mineral oil has the advantage of not becoming sticky or rancid, and it does give a nice dark patina with little trouble. Your hotel set is indeed a nice find, BB value over $500 if in excellent condition.
 
Thanks for the help Doug. I have to wait for warmer weather to get my e-tank going again, then I'll clean this piece and season the paddles with Crisco, and the base with mineral oil. Although I started off buying cast iron with the sole intention of reselling it, I've lately been having a hard time letting go. I think I've become "addicted" to collecting it. Since I got such a good buy on such an unusual piece, I'll probably be keeping it:grin::grin:
 
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