What was the most difficult piece of cast iron that you have ever restored?

BrentS

Member
What was the most difficult piece of cast iron that you have ever restored. This will be a great rant topic.... Mine was a toss up... 2 complete rust buckets that really tired my nerves... A lodge Turk head gems pan and a Stover #7 waffle iron with wooden handles .... both we’re a major PIA. I’ll never do another waffle iron with wooden handles again. Lol
 
Griswold bread stick pans, 22 and especially 23. It is too difficult for me to properly clean the sidewalls. I have one that I still haven't cleaned. It has been about 8 months sitting, waiting for me to show since love to it. Right now, it's a stepchild lol.

Turk pans and waffle irons aren't as bad to me as they just need time and patience. I have always been able to get the wooden handles off. I have cleaned 4 waffle irons, (2 with wooden and 2 with metal) and 4 Turk pans (new Lodge 6 cup, 2 old 6 cup and old 12 cup).
 
Mine would be my #8 Wapak griddle....so rusted I didnt even know it was a Wapak. Id do it all over again tho!
 
My Cook-n-Kettle hands down. That thing was huge!
After that Wagner waffle iron with wooden handles.
After that a GF Filley gem pan that would not clean up.
 
Wapak #9 Z logo Would be my toughest piece. It had so much crud on it that you couldn't even see the heat ring, name, or anything but the thick baked on years and years of crud on the bottom. Easy off stock went up that week.
 
Griswold Santa, maybe not so much the restoration, but the seasoning and wiping out every nook and cranny 10+ times was awful.
 
Has to be my Griswold Waffle Iron and low base. I did find that using a table knife to push down the Scotts shop towel into the cook surface squares really sped up the wipedown of the seasoning. Need several more coats of seasoning before I give it the cook test!
 
If you don't want to possibly scratch the surface, try using chopsticks. You can whittle it down some or even use a pencil sharpener to get more of a point.
Has to be my Griswold Waffle Iron and low base. I did find that using a table knife to push down the Scotts shop towel into the cook surface squares really sped up the wipedown of the seasoning. Need several more coats of seasoning before I give it the cook test!
 
I wouldn't consider them difficult just more of a pia and time consuming. any waffle maker, Corn or wheat Stick Pan for that matter. Trying to clean every little nook and cranny and then wiping out every little nook and cranny when you season them. even though I always say I'm never going to do one again i still do. In the end it's all worth the effort.
 
As a collector......the most difficult piece will always be one that you value more than any other piece you have. You will find that you will use more caution and patience to clean it as to not damage or crack it during the process steps. We recently cleaned a Martin #12 camp oven and was drying it atop the stove burner on low heat when it made a loud pop and cracked all the way down one side. We now have a very nice lid but no pot to put it on.
Aluminum pieces are always a pain also especially when they have years of crud built up on them. I have literally worked for a week on some pieces and swore I would never do another on. I have a Wagner (senior) aluminum corn stick pan that I bought for $5 a couple months ago and it's still awaiting cleaning and I still haven't made up my mind if I will clean it.
 
As a collector......the most difficult piece will always be one that you value more than any other piece you have. You will find that you will use more caution and patience to clean it as to not damage or crack it during the process steps. We recently cleaned a Martin #12 camp oven and was drying it atop the stove burner on low heat when it made a loud pop and cracked all the way down one side. We now have a very nice lid but no pot to put it on.
Aluminum pieces are always a pain also especially when they have years of crud built up on them. I have literally worked for a week on some pieces and swore I would never do another on. I have a Wagner (senior) aluminum corn stick pan that I bought for $5 a couple months ago and it's still awaiting cleaning and I still haven't made up my mind if I will clean it.
Try Carbon Kleen on your aluminum pieces. They make short work on cleaning them. This works on CI also. Just read and reread the instructions. Always use cold water. I haven't used hot, but I've heard people stress the fact of cold water.

Before this, yes aluminium was a PIA.
 
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