Griswold Fruit & Lard Press

I recently purchased a Griswold Fruit and Lard Press. It needs restoration...it has a lot of surface rust. I use molasses for all my rust and it does a great job...just have to be patient and let it work.

My question is were the original presses painted? Once I remove all the rust and crud, how do I treat the cast iron - paint?

I want to be able to use the press and make cider?

I don't think they were ever painted, but I don't know that for a fact. I've never seen pictures of a painted one and there are no pictures of a painted one in the Bluebook, but maybe that's all they had to put pictures of in the book. Bluebook says they were either tinned or gray. I'm assuming gray means just plain cast iron.

I know the Enterprise presses were painted, at least on the outside. I have a 4 qt that I use for making sausage and a 2 qt that has been restored to it's former glory.