Spots

[Greg W.]

Could anyone tell me why I sometimes have these black spot on cleaned iron? Should I have left them in the e-tank longer?, or are they just stains in the iron?

 

[Scott J.]

Sometimes scrubbing with a bit of Scotchbrite (or equivalent) will clean them up. I have also used a brass wire brush.

 

[Doug D.]

The black stains are typically spots where rust was once active. You can soak in 50/50 white vinegar/water 30 minutes and scrub with Chore Boy stainless steel scrubber, steel wool or medium stiff SS wire brush. Or do as I do and spray straight white vinegar directly on the spots and scrub with a Chore boy/steel wool/SS brush. Alternatively, you can leave them and they will blend in with time/seasoning/use, but obviously not as quickly as on the cooking surface of a pan. Would not use brass on cast iron, it can transfer and be something else to work to remove.

 

[Scott J.]

Doug, Thanks for the advice on brass. I was thinking it would be less likely to damage the surface than stainless steel.

 

[Doug D.]

The ones of medium stiffness included here https://www.castironcollector.com/amazon.php#Cleaning: Iron are suitable.

 

[SeanD]

I had one like this but a skillet....if I remember right, I used a wire brush and vinegar.

 

[AlfredoJ]

@Doug D. You mentioned not using brass. Why is that? are the "copper" pads ok to use? Also, I never heard of Chore Boy stainless steel scrubbers until reading above. I already have some Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Scrubbers. Are those comparable? Thanks

 

[Doug D.]

See: https://www.castironcollector.com/cleaning.php#finish