Operation Skillet Rescue - Restoring a Cast Iron

[jimrbsn]

I just got that same skillet from a guy that rescues cast iron cookware as a hobby.

It was made by Wagner during a time when they were being bought out (1940s or 50s I think) by another company, thus no Wagner markings. Awesome pans...well worth saving!

[TarantulaHand]

Save your self some time and skip the stufff that makes your pan look like crap, even several weeks of this is a waste of time. Pam, kosher salt, and a little elbow grease takes just a day or two.

[SuperMommy227]

Holy cow, I am going to fill a bucket with AC vinager and dump every rusty tool I have in it!!

[cursivebluedragon]

Once you remove the finish off that cast iron pot, is it going to be safe and as good as before to cook with?

[440charger2]

Put it in some CLR cleaner and then take it to the wire wheel, can be done in a day easy.

[mistermarcel22]

you can also use some cola

[Elizabeth84]

Sorry, but your vid is way too long for a not-so-complicated process....

[miodios]

Thanks for the video! I wish I had seen this two weeks back before I cleaned two pans and two dutch ovens with a wire brush on an angle grinder...I've got three gallons of cider vinegar!

Great researching and presentation!

[UNPROPHETE]

The best way I've found to restore a cast iron pan I neglected was to put it in a fire to burn off all the impurities, then clean it up in hot water with a wire brush. Afterwards, dry it quickly on the cooker or in an oven to prevent new rust forming, Then when it gets really hot, season it with some vegetable oil.

[Bandanabandito1]

To remove the "black stain" is to let it soak in Coca Cola for a while. It will completely remove it after a few hours with little to no work.

[CarpingTenchLover]

i also picked up some cast iron ware cheap and no walmarts stuff comes no where near the quality, i left mine on the stove oiling for couple hours seemed to solve most of it i then poiled it and put it in the oven for another few hours with salt in seems to of sorted the pan, just going to try the lid in vinegar as it didnt come out as nice ty for the vid

[paikmendez]

chemists know cool tricks too...could'a asked on of them.

[rogerpemberton]

Ok, so how much did you spend on vinegar, onions, etc plus labor to restore this pan when you could have just bought another pan of the same quality for under $30?

Also, I hate to break this to you but water CAUSES rust.

[beast12101]

@rogerpemberton same quality, um probably not. as for my time and money, I did this video to show what happened to educate other and save them the time and money

[JFizoust]

@rogerpemberton Water does cause rust, but you wash your car with it? Salt will corrode medal but you still use it to CLEAN cast iron as well.

You probably just use soda to clean everything right?

Why even clean or restore anything when you can just go buy a new one? That is the definition of Young One.

[rogerpemberton]

@JFizoust Cast iron is exposed iron. Cars are usually painted. Salt in an aqueous solution does cause rust. In it's solid form it will not. You use it because you have it. Silica sand would work just as well if not better. He caused rust claiming he was removing it. If he'd done it right it wouldn't have been nearly as difficult. If he were in charge of keeping the tribe alive they would have all died.

[resqjason2]

@rogerpemberton oxygen causes rust... IRON OXIDE ring a bell?

[drackar]

@rogerpemberton Modern cast iron skillets are not made to the same quality as ones made fifty years ago. If I was given the choice of crawling through yardsales, and then spending hours cleaning and re-seasoning a skillet made before 1940, or picking one up on sale at ACE...I'd be spending all day surrounded by little old ladies in pink hats.

[440charger2]

@rogerpemberton If your saving a $200 cast iron pan from back in the day i think this is quite useful, and the cast iron today is made out of scaped cars so they just suck for cooking, so restoring an old cast iron pan is a smart move.

[rogerpemberton]

@440charger2 I bought a Griswold number/size 8 off ebay for about $40.

[macuser5555]

This is good video but is it really worth it to go through so much trouble? Walmart carries a large line of the Lodge Cast Iron cookware starting at under $20 for a 12" Skillet and under $50 for the Lodge Dutch Oven.

[waywardwoodford]

@macuser5555 WalMart doesn't carry the skillet your grandmother received as a wedding present, cooked your favorite holiday meals with for her entire life, and then passed down to you.

[macuser5555]

@waywardwoodford Well I'm not sure what our grandmothers had but from what I understand Lodge is the brand that's been out since before my great great grandparents and from what I also understand it was the preferred brand and the only US made cast iron cookware. This is the same Lodge cookware sold at Walmart. The quality is very good. While Walmart does carry low-end stuff, their cast iron is first rate Lodge.

[Blackened75]

spray with oven cleaner, put it in a plastic bag over night. Done. 

[LeakyWicks]

would WD40 work?

[libertycaps97211]

Just scored a vintage CIS from GW today. Will try the Apple Cider and elbow grease with steel wool to get it back to shiny new this weekend! Great thing to have in the kitchen, esp. for finishing rice in the oven. Thanks for the effort making your video.

[stevebigler]

So you placed the sledge hammer on the iron skillet to keep it down... Do you often experience iron floating away? And rather than adding water to raise the level... adding more 'stuff'... bolts, rocks, whatever... would have displaced the water to rise, maintaining the functional strength. (and for the bottom of the pan... sitting on 3 ball bearings would have exposed it as well.)

[IMKINDOFABIGDEAL13]

this works great for almost any thing. i cleaned up an old pellet gun with vinegar and fine steelwool

[Everclearish]

Great Video. I love it when things work out like that vinegar trick.

[knox2613]

Interesting video! Thanks for taking the time to make it.

[NGinuity]

Way too complicated. Chuck a wire wheel (I use a wire cup, Home Depot has them) in a drill and go to town. Done in ten minutes for reseason, no need for water, chemical reaction, or any other overly time consuming task. You're basically talking about removing material with any process anyway. Once finished, wipe it out once with a oil soaked towel, get all of the debris out of it, then wipe again with clean oil. Let it live happily in the oven, recoating every few days.

[TimothyPhillips1]

If you put SALTINES In your mouth without chewing them while you cut

onions you wont cry......have a great weekend,

[RJCoates1]

I have some wood handle carbon steel knives (flea market finds) Can I use the apple cider vinegar soak on them or will it hurt the wood? How long did you soak the knife?

[JoseDJimenez]

I liked your effort, I give your vid a 4.08. Molasses is ORGANIC and the best. Don't take it from me altough I tried it and know it works, so just take it from Desertrodder on you tube ! Thanks !

[biolectron]

Why not just use Electrolysis.?

[bittersweetbeth]

i have a stainless steel skillet that always has "white marks" on the inside bottom, after i clean it. always has since the first time i used it. so, i hid it away. just the other day, i pulled it out and remembered how re-batching soap in an old pan worked quite well.

[bittersweetbeth]

@bittersweetbeth so, out came the soap and into the pan with some water to boil. did some good, but not much. i was determined to fix this skillet or throw it out. . so, i poured in some plain white vinegar and boiled it on the stove right in that skillet. i advise doing this outside. anyways, my skillet looks brand new or better. was a great idea that worked great! i'll remember this for old cast iron too.

[DerGeist93]

I never out onions in a micro-processor before, I suppose it would kill my computer? hahaha, BTW, I use cast iron skillets for everything! Got some nice flat bottom dutch ovens, that work wonders on my gas cook top at home, I flat out refuse to use any of that modern non-stick garbage, now that stuff is deadly! I use heat and olive oil, and elbow grease to clean all my pans! thanks for sharing your info

[weeknightingale]

Fantastic!! :))

[Toddster63]

@hillbillybill77  Muratic acid! Muratic acid! Muratic acid!

[steinderbush]

Hi, if you want yourskillet free of rustdo this You fill the skillet with vinnegar ( pure) and ad alluminium schreds to make these use from allu- foil just tear them in peaces. Than every day brush the steel and put it back again in the vinnegar and ad the allu pieces on top of it After a week it should be clean. I restored my rifle barrel like that!!

[Elmapelki]

The frying pan with these old greases, directly in fire… and to make redden the frying pan….then… the metal brush! Attention with the metal stoves or bronzes… various temperatures. to supervise! A reddening a half hour can be enough!

[grendelprime75]

That was supposed to say skillet. Stupid auto correct.

[grendelprime75]

I would be careful when restoring cast iron skippers of unknown origin. Cast iron is porous, and likes to hold liquids that were in it like used motor oil and what not. When heated that stuff can come out in your food.

[slowtaknow]

look at the guy from (eat the weeds)he has a vid on restoreing one

[thecajunblaze]

Very good info on this video. I use my Black Iron cookware the most when camping. Thanks for sharing.

[willwood487]

cool thing to know!

[beast12101]

@hillbillybill77 doesnt sound like something Id want to eat off of ;)

[notreallydaedalus]

I wonder if white vinegar would work as well. If it's just the acid, it should.

[beast12101]

@notreallydaedalus the applecider vin I used had 5% acidity, so if your white vin has that I would say yes.

[songsaboutyourmom]

@notreallydaedalus a few years back I cooked fish in fresh squeezed grapefruit- ya know for the citrus flavor... and damn if my skillet wasn't clean before we even did dishes. I'm with beast, I think it's got more to do the acid than anything

[michael174]

WOW, that is an awesome tip... Natures own caustic hot tank solution!

[beast12101]

@michael174 now if we could just dip our scouts in it ;)

[HawkLMT]

Sweet !!! Looks like you have an awesome next step! I would say water for the light rust and apple cider vinegar for the heavy stuff. Way to take it to the next level. Either way, proves we don't need those heavy, nasty, harmful chemicals! Rock ON!!!

[beast12101]

@HawkLMT heck ya, cant wait for garage sale time

[oregonmikes]

Wow! I feel like I just took a science class. I can see you now, running out of the store with a shopping cart full of apple cider vinegar. Then tossing all your tools in an old wheel barrow. Thanks for doing the work and teaching me a handy tip.

Say... are we going to get to see that things making breakfast some day?

[TheGrayman1234]

Very good video Beast. Fav'd Thank you very much.

[700eyesonly007]

That vinegar was great, took it right down, thanks alot Beast. Just amazing.

[KevinMichaelMichael]

If you want a new pan, look for a 'Lodge' brand cast iron pan. They are made in the USA and very good quality. Once you have one, NEVER wash it with soap...all that is required is a little warm water, scrub brush, and then dry thoroughly (I put mine on a burner set to Low while I finish cleaning the dishes.) It will be jet black and have a great non-stick quality.

[Rhinoch8]

Vinigar is a miracle acid. You can use it with water to clean your house it disinfects, you can dissolve limestone with it.... it is JUST FABULOUS!

[CampfireTalk]

How is it we've never heard of this rust removal secrete before. Well beast I am SOLD!

I have used white vinegar many times for removing rust , but it does not work as well as the apple cider vinegar.

Awesome tip & favorited this video!

[FightSocialism]

outstanding!

Are you going to do a seasoning video?

[bearlysceneranch]

I have done this before with yard sale finds. You can put it in your oven if you have a self cleaning mode put it on self clean and done!! Then you just season like you would a new pan with heat and oil. It comes out beautiful. Good Luck!! Great Channel.

[markshmily]

Very cool!

I'm so going to remember that trick when I want to remove some rust from metal.

Are you going to cook in that pan? Or do you have plans for it?

[swibo6]

That's really good to know and the vid was very entertaining at the same time!

[mcvideo8686]

Fill someones pool with vinegar and drive the scout in ...haha keep up the good work

[Ghostsquatter1]

Great tip. Cider vinegar is something for every pantry. I didn't know about this use.

[TacticalCitySlicker]

Best video of the day!

[poormansbushcraft]

after you do the viniger and wire brush wash is in the sink like normale and dry it on the stove. while it is still warm wipe it down with a lite coat of cooking oil

[medicjimr]

Allot of work for a cast iron pan but it worked thats all it matters .

[ChannelTheron]

@medicjimr Cast irons pans get expensive,last one I bought was $30.Plus they'll last forever.

[medicjimr]

@ChannelTheron I know I have One and then the griddle as well and want a dutch oven , Wasn't knocking the beast just saw allot of effort put in .

[ChannelTheron]

@medicjimr I have a griddle and dutch oven,they both look like that skillet started out in this vid.lol.I know ya wasnt knocking him.Was thinking maybe you thought cast iron wasnt worth the effort cause its too heavy to carry in the backpack,lol.j/k.

[adventurek9]

Apple cider vinegar For The Win!!!

[TangoMikeFoxtrot]

Ok, we need a cooking video in that frying pan. Good job man.

[swibo6]

@TangoMikeFoxtrot I'll second that!

[buckstarchaser]

That's really cool! Thumbs up. My thoughts are that you can put the pan in a large bag and remove all the air so that all surfaces are covered with the vinegar without filling the pan or the tub with this precious liquid.

[sraike]

Nice job, thanks!

[hinckleypoland]

awesome tip Beast. Looks like I need some apple vinegar next time im out. I have an old axe that needs some restoration.

[beast12101]

@hinckleypoland you wont be dissappointed

[mrmonkeyman50]

Great vid. Wonder if you can use regular old vinegar.

[metalhead2508]

Another way to clean them up is start a fire with some seasoned oak wood, let it turn to coals, then throw the skillet in there and let it cook. You will have to re-season it afterwards, but it burns off everything.

[metalhead2508]

You can't beat an old cast iron skillet. They could be underground for 100 years and all you have to do is dig them up, clean it off, and season it.

[woowoowoo]

Wow pretty amazing how good it all came out. I'm going to de-rust anything I can find

[ElCoyotefromTexas]

great vid, keep up the good work

[solimiansky]

good video beast

[kowboy520]

Wow man... just awesome!!

[sae1095hc]

Vingar is what, a buck per gallon?

The people who make Naval Jelly will be unamused by this video I'm sure.

Thanks for the info!

[beast12101]

@sae1095hc I just hope it keeps other guys from wasting 6 bucks on the little tub of naval jelly.

[rconrad16]

The hammer would look nice with a coat of that hammered rustoleum

[kfinnguy]

I thought you weren't supposed to use soap on cast iron.

[poormanprepper]

and now i got a new gunsmithing trick

[davidrrrd]

paint that hammer

[MrPavee]

you went this far, just finish the pan!! LOL

[bcafotw]

Great find and save.

[agun17]

Use coke but don't drink it. It's nasty.

[BTSchnauzers]

Interesting Trial and Error system with your frying pan! Looks great in the end.

So would you say the water/vinegar solution works the best?

[beast12101]

@BTSchnauzers water/vin for cost on bigger items like the skillet, but if you can just straight apple cider vin, hands down, the best

[berwolf16]

wow thats funny

[YokoWenis]

I should have switched to 720p at the beginning of the video...It looks like the vinegar is the way to go. Have you tried the coca cola method yet that was confirmed on mythbusters?

[beast12101]

@YokoWenis havent tried coke yet, I may in the future, but I really cant see it doing better than the applecider vin.

[YokoWenis]

@beast12101 Coke will get you way higher than apple cider vinegar, lol