New at This, a Couple Questions!

M Rubio

New member
Hey there! I’m new to cast iron, I found a pan at a swap meet and wanted to try restoring it to use for cooking. I gave it a vinegar bath and started scrubbing, made some good progress but I discovered a couple red flags.
First is that the back looks red, and I don’t know if it’s rust or fire damage. I scrubbed it a lot with a stainless steel scrubbed so I’m thinking I got a lot of the rust off. The other issue is a little put on the cooking surface, is this something that is problematic for cooking? Is it a lost cause?
Any help is greatly appreciated! I have some photos below of the issues
trying to post photos, can't figure out how to post photos that aren't huge

---------- Post added at 10:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Here are some photos
Image Image
 
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Inside is ok so outside has to be rust,let it soak 30 minutes on a bucket with 50-50 water vinegar,and then scrub it and repeat as needed,abouth cooking surface don't worry those little spots will fill up with carbon while you cooking on it,and welcome to the forum.
 
Inside is ok so outside has to be rust,let it soak 30 minutes on a bucket with 50-50 water vinegar,and then scrub it and repeat as needed,abouth cooking surface don't worry those little spots will fill up with carbon while you cooking on it,and welcome to the forum.

thanks for the reply! the photo above is after 2 rounds of vinegar soak and and scrubbing, how many rounds does it normally take to get the pan free of rust?
 
Hey M Rubio, that is a nice post 1960 unmarked Wagner you have there. It will turn out to be great to use,

I'm wondering if what you have is "flash" rusting that is taken care of during initial seasoning? From the "Cast Iron Seasoning" of this site...

"Clean, bare iron will also begin to oxidize again almost immediately, by a phenomenon known as flash rusting, especially if ambient humidity is high. That's OK, too. Both will wipe off as you apply the first coat of seasoning fat. Tip: Using cold water for the final rinse seems to help minimize flash rust."​
 
Hey M Rubio, that is a nice post 1960 unmarked Wagner you have there. It will turn out to be great to use,

I'm wondering if what you have is "flash" rusting that is taken care of during initial seasoning? From the "Cast Iron Seasoning" of this site...

thats awesome, thanks Dan! Im going to consider it a win since I got it for $5. I didn't think about the flash rusting, Ill just have to give it a couple more vinegar baths and be speedy to start seasoning it.
thanks again for your advice!
 
the washing/rinse with cold water helps cut down on flash rust in my experience... also, don't be afraid to hit it with some fine steel wool (0 - 000) if it is a light rust it should mostly just wipe away with the steel wool... then wash/rinse with cold water, let it dry and see what you've got then.

also, be careful with the vinegar soak... it is an acid (although relatively weak acid) but too strong or too long can cause damage to the iron.
 
the washing/rinse with cold water helps cut down on flash rust in my experience... also, don't be afraid to hit it with some fine steel wool (0 - 000) if it is a light rust it should mostly just wipe away with the steel wool... then wash/rinse with cold water, let it dry and see what you've got then.

also, be careful with the vinegar soak... it is an acid (although relatively weak acid) but too strong or too long can cause damage to the iron.

Thanks for the advice! I’ll be conservative with the vinegar since I already have it a couple baths. I’ll put some more elbow grease with steel wool into it tonight!
 
I would follow the advice you've gotten so far, and season fairly soon. I use bacon grease myself.
 
Hey there! I’m new to cast iron, I found a pan at a swap meet and wanted to try restoring it to use for cooking. I gave it a vinegar bath and started scrubbing, made some good progress but I discovered a couple red flags.
First is that the back looks red, and I don’t know if it’s rust or fire damage. I scrubbed it a lot with a stainless steel scrubbed so I’m thinking I got a lot of the rust off. The other issue is a little put on the cooking surface, is this something that is problematic for cooking? Is it a lost cause?
Any help is greatly appreciated! I have some photos below of the issues
trying to post photos, can't figure out how to post photos that aren't huge

---------- Post added at 10:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Here are some photos
Image Image
re: photos, the first post in this, General Cast Iron and New Collectors Corner contains instructions from Doug on sharing pictures.

Also, there is a lot of information on restoring cast iron, i.e. removing crud and rust, here: http://www.castironcollector.com/restore.php

If you plan on acquiring many pieces, you may want to invest in an electrolysis tank. It is a lot less labor intensive.

Good hunting!
 
In the first image, you can see some black spots on the cooking surface, those are very stubborn and won come up. is that a problem? Can i reseason over it?
 
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