What do I do with this pitted mess?

D

D George

Member
So was at my in laws house at Christmas and noticed they had 4 old cast iron pans. They were caked with old seasoning, some probably were not cleaned for 30-40 years it looked! I took them and put them in my electrolysis tank and one by one got them cleaned and seasoned. Well this pitted mess was the most stubborn on the bottom only. The inside of the pan is clean and damage free, the bottom not so much. I finally had to resort to a tap hammer and punch to lightly crack off the 50 year old carbon out of the pits. When that didn't get all of it off I used an exact o knife to crack out and remove the last bits.
The pan is a family heirloom and of no real value because of the damage. I thought about sanding the bottom a little smoother, but I am afraid that the metal is too thin in the pits. I am thinking just leave it alone and use the pan. Am I right in this or is there anything else I can do to help it?

Wagner.jpeg
 
Doug D. said:
It cooked as well after the pitting as it did before. It came by its damage honestly. I'd leave it alone.
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Thanks, that is what I was thinking, just wanted conformation I was doing right. It does have a slight warp probably less than 1cm so still good for cooking. Just to know, how old do you think this pan is? I have some Wagner pans from the 50's, I would think this one is older?
 
Keep it the same and use it. Im guessing the pitting is from a cook stove? I have one kinda like this, and it is smooth as silk inside. On a side note, I wonder why skillets got so bad in the first place? The crud I mean. Its like they had no water, lol.....Gotta love it tho.
 
The pitted area had rust under the carbon buildup and a slight warp dome in the middle. I am going to assume someone had it in a fire. Some people just don't care for things the way we would. A few of the other pans had crud so thick it came off in 3" strips like it was peeled latex paint!
 
Coal and early natural gas had a lot of sulfur in them. That's probably what caused the pitting. We need to look at the backdrop of the time before we judge our ancestors too harshly.
 
Looks like there's an S for Sidney. Pretty sure it's a "Wagner Sidney O. Arc/Straight, High" from 1915-1920.
 
Bruce Lockhart said:
Coal and early natural gas had a lot of sulfur in them. That's probably what caused the pitting. We need to look at the backdrop of the time before we judge our ancestors too harshly.
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I can partially let them off, but they did have lye soap and vinegar that could have neutralized the corrosion.
Anyway here is the inside of the pan, still usable at least.
wagner 2.jpeg
 
Sulfur pitting occurs when the heating fuel source containing it causes sulfuric acid to form and erodes the metal in real time. Not so much an erosion, really more a permanent deformation. No cleaning method would have solved the problem.
 
Ok, so after cleaning all the carbon out of the pits and getting rid of some lingering rust staining I seasoned the pan today. Just one time, will do it again tomorrow. All in all I think it came out decent and at the very least usable. Made some eggs in it and there is a slight warp to it, but very slight. I should have taken a picture before, the pits were so carbon filled the bottom looked smooth! The inside was also caked with seasoning that came off in 3" strips after the electrolysis bath.
Wagner 3.jpegWagner 4.jpeg
 
That turned out real nice. And I'm a little jealous.
Both of my lye tanks and my e-tank are frozen up and will be for a few weeks, I'm afraid.
I'm outta business.
 
I took some easy off into the garage and sprayed the pans and put them in a Rubbermaid tub with a lid. Pulled them out 2 days later and even though the garage is in the mid 40's it worked as intended.
 
That is a gorgeous skillet! The sulfur pitting on the bottom is a badge of honor, a testament to its many years of use.
 
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