Rehab cast iron cornbread mold

[bcossa2001]

Hello all....Mods,apologies if this is in the incorrect forum....

I have a cast iron cornbread "mold" that is rusted and I am trying to rehabilitate. The internet said soak 3 hours in 50% vinegar/water solution and then coat with shortening/oil and bake in 350 degree oven for 2 hours and repeat.
Did the above - vinegar/water solution had no visible effect. Scrubbed but rust remained. This is surface rust, not clumps of rust.
Did the oil/bake & repeat but not much is happening. When I wipe the oil after it has baked rust comes with it...

Any suggestions? Is the cast iron gone? Maybe sandblasting????

thanks in advance.....

 

[WyrTwister]

Sandblasting should work .

Also look on youtube for rust removal via electrolysis .

I have used the vinegar soak , with so-so results .

 

[Lyman]

I have rehabbed a few Cast iron pans over the years. I typically use a wire brush on them and get all the rust possible off. Good old elbow grease has to be used. Then proceed to the seasoning task.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Three hours is not enough. Use 48 hours and check it every 12 hours. The rust should literally fall off. I've done this on lots of things including old wrenches. Nothing much happens on day one.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Agreed on the time, it takes more like 24-48 hours for the vinegar to take rust off. I've also used a wire wheel chucked in my electric drill to take rust off of cast iron. Wash it and dry it quickly, stick it in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour before seasoning it to get it thoroughly dry.

 

[Danno]

Try soaking in Coca-Cola, a known rust remover.

 

[Trav]

Get 5% vinegar by the gallon at the grocery store, do not dilute this with water as its already 95% water. Submerse it and check every 6 hrs, it may take 24 hours or longer.

 

[E150GT]

You can soak it in lye or stick it in the self cleaning oven. I did the self cleaning oven method because it was easier. It'll cook the rust right off. Check out the culinary fanatic on YouTube and Instagram. That dude has a lot of iron.

 

[beanoil]

Wood bleach, oxalic acid. Great at removing rust.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by Dave Sherman
Agreed on the time, it takes more like 24-48 hours for the vinegar to take rust off. I've also used a wire wheel chucked in my electric drill to take rust off of cast iron. Wash it and dry it quickly, stick it in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour before seasoning it to get it thoroughly dry.

This.

 

[ironman_gq]

Soak longer, use vinegar full strength. It won't hurt the good metal under the rust as long as you keep it submerged and don't let the air get to it. For it to be most effective you need to remove any oil from the surface, scrub it and stick it in the oven on a clean cycle to cook it off. I've had good luck with 24-72 hour soaks, check it once or twice a day, scrub and rinse then put it back in the soak. Once it's clean dip it a baking soda/water mix to neutralize the vinegar then clean with soap and water. Put it in a hot oven till it's dry then lightly coat with oil and bake it at 350F for an hour, let it cool and repeat the seasoning process 3-4 times till it is nice and shiny black. You should end up with a nice hard non-stick seasoning that'll hold up well in use.

 

[ET16]

I agree with full-strength vinegar.

 

[scurvy]

Y'all using the oven to season or burn off old cast iron must like houses full of stinky smoke. Put it on the gas grill outside instead.

 

[maxdustington]

If it's rusty and you have degreased, I would use molasses. It can take weeks to work, but it does not etch, or remove good material like vinegar would.

I cleaned a vise with it, it seemed to take weeks outside in the shed during the summer to be effective, I'm not sure if it had to ferment or what. It was pretty effective when it developed though, I put some tools in there with the vise and it stripped the rust but left the chrome plating. Vinegar would just take them down to the steel. Vinegar is really effective because it is also a degreaser, if it is oily molasses will not work.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
If it's rusty and you have degreased, I would use molasses. It can take weeks to work, but it does not etch, or remove good material like vinegar would.


Yes...times 20 hundred thousand !!!

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