Originally published at: How to restore a rusty cast iron skillet | Boing Boing
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We were in an antique shop and they had Griswolds there for three, four figures. (Granted, they were all rust-free…)
I’m thinking cast-iron cookware could have its own bingo card here at the BBS… 
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Didn’t seem like it was all that rusty. Then again, I’m always suspicious of this kind of YouTube video, having seen so many “restorations” of metal items that were intentionally treated to produce surface rust, with little to no actual damage to the underlying metal. That’s not restoration, it’s just cleaning. Still, that comal looked nice and seasoned at the end.
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Put it in a lye bath and - do nothing else!
Work smarter.
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No tools? I saw a potato and a sponge used.
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Lovely birdsong accompaniment in the background was the best feature.
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Came to say the same. The vast majority of these restoration videos are fake or at least heavily exaggerated.
Vinegar is the giveaway here. It’s a pretty terrible rust remover, and only works on very light surface rust (such as that created by applying bleach to the surface ahead of time to make it look worse for camera).
For serious rust removal you need to look at something like Evaporust or the various rust converters. If concerned about food safety, then electrical rust removal is your best bet.
Rust is really easy to fake for camera to look worse than it is, and really easy to remove with modern chemicals. Any video that focuses on rust as the “restoration” is almost certainly fake.
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Oooh a cast iron cleaning thread!
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The thumbnail looks to me like a spray bottle was used to apply some kind of rapidacting rust agent. Likely bleach, as you said.
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50/50 vinager water mix at half hour intervals.Do not soak overnight.Lye is only for gunk and wont do anything for rust.
Im on a cast iron Facebook page and these guys are pros.
Melt it down, then re-cast. It’s the only way to make sure.
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