Cast Iron

[Trapper Rob]

A friend of mine died & he had a mess of cast iron pots his sister dropped off 2 of them they need cleaned up there rusty from hanging in his barn whats the best way to clean them up.

[Aaron H]

Sand blast them, then re-season

[Swampman]

I have had good luck spraying cast iron with oven cleaner and sealing them up in a plastic back for a couple weeks.  Longer if needed.  Then I clean them up and use steel wool and vinegar to get all the rust removed.  After that you must immediately reseason. 

I have a pan I use almost every day now that was in such bad shape that it was going to be thrown away.  It looks like a brand new pan now.  This method is relatively easy but it does take a little time. 

[Stringman]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Cast iron is a porous metal, (hence the reason we use lard to "season" it.) Is it smart to use such a strong chemical (oven cleaner) on an item we would be eating off? The oven steel does not absorb the toxic cleaner like cast iron will. I believe I would rethink making it a part of my diet.

Elbow grease on the other hand will only improve the flavor of any meal cooked in your newly finished skillet.

[paulsemp]

Only had to do it a couple times to heavily soiled pans but all I did was throw it in a fire ( was not a ridiculously hot one) took it out, steel wool or wire brush to it and once it cool down put a bunch of peanut or canola oil in it and wiped it out. The few times I did it they were better than new

[Aaron H]

Elbow grease on the other hand will only improve the flavor of any meal cooked in your newly finished skillet.

Nothing tastes better than a little elbow grease

[Spotted Dog]

 cook tomatoes in them. that will clean the inside. Throw maters away. Cook the outside off in a fire. Reseason with lard.
Check for any cracks before you do. The heat will split them wide open. 

[Spotted Dog]

 Aaron, toe jam does.

[Aaron H]

cook tomatoes in them. that will clean the inside. Throw maters away. Cook the outside off in a fire. Reseason with lard.
Check for any cracks before you do. The heat will split them wide open.

Interesting. I'm guessing the high acidity in the maters is what acts as a cleaning agent

[Aaron H]

Aaron, toe jam does.

I beg to differ, not a foot guy myself.

[Swampman]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Cast iron is a porous metal, (hence the reason we use lard to "season" it.) Is it smart to use such a strong chemical (oven cleaner) on an item we would be eating off? The oven steel does not absorb the toxic cleaner like cast iron will. I believe I would rethink making it a part of my diet.

Elbow grease on the other hand will only improve the flavor of any meal cooked in your newly finished skillet.

Oven cleaner is lye.  Basically water and ashes.  I would choose the oven cleaner over heat in an old pan because I don't want to chance warping it.  Heat works too so would cooking tomatoes in it.  If anyone has eaten lutefisk, lye is used in creating that too.  Not saying lutefisk is good, but I have a bunch of family that lived into their 90s eating lutefisk quite often.  I would not hesitate to use oven cleaner in the future.  But that is my own opinion.  I wouldn't blame someone for not wanting to use it either. 

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

I too have had success with the throw-it-in-a-fire method, we acquired a couple of really rusty dutch ovens, built a big fire in the fire pit and put them right in the flames, they glowed real purty, lol. As soon as they were cool enough to handle took wire brush and steel wool etc to them and they cleaned up real good, then seasoned inside and out and VIOLA!

[Loope]

If you have a self cleaning oven, put the cast iron in the oven and run a cleaning cycle.  This will burn off any residues, and will take off ALL of the seasoning.  I have done it before and they come out spotless and are back to a raw cast gray color.  Not sure what it will do for rust, but in my mind worth a try.  Oven clean cycle is super simple to do, practically no effort.  You will have to re-season.

[caveman2533]

I have used heat  and I have blasted them. Both worked well. Then reseason. I have three fry pans on the stove use daily never leave soak in soapy water rarely use soap at all.

[Pappy]

I fill them about 1/2 full of cooking oil or better yet lard and put them on a fairly hot fire and let the cook away, wipe them out good and do it again, it will clean them up like new. 
 Pappy