Blow It Out

[Scott Sanders]

I've been sittin here thinkin....could be dangerous......There has been a lot of talk lately about using Pam as a seasoning....how to get all the excess seasoning oil, Pam, Crisco, etc,etc, out of all the small areas of waffle irons, corn stick pans, and other items that have hard to reach places to season.  We have actually been talking about using Pam for quite a while if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure if anyone ever wrote down a process for it until Greg started the thread on using Pam and a lower heat for seasoning.  

I have not been able to try this, and was wondering if someone with the right equipment would do some experimenting for me.  My thought is......why not use a high pressure air compressor and air nozzle to blast out any excess seasoning oil out of all those hard to get to areas.  It could be messy, but I think if you were to put an old towel behind the item you are working on, and blast it with the air pressure (wear your eye protection though), you should be able to get the oil to the thinnest of layers.  I do not have an air compressor, but if this method works, it would give me a good excuse to go buy one.  I have a stack of waffle irons and stick pans that need cleaning and seasoning, but have been putting it off.  Anyway, if someone has or would try this, I would be interested in how well it works.

Thanks,
Scott

[Charlee]

I have a couple of cornsticks in the lye right now that should be ready to come out....I'll try it for you...I think it sounds like a great idea!

[Sam Roberts]

Tell you what I'll do. I have a couple of WI's that need to be cleaned, so I'll put one of them in the electro tomorrow evening, then by Wed/Thu I'll let you know.

[mississippi_slim]

scott i am sure it will work for removing oil..i use 150 lbs of air and a blower to remove all the crudd thats left in the pores of a corn stick pan as soon as i rinse the lye water off..i also blow dry my ci before i heat it..the blow drying also helps keep a clean ci piece from rusting as fast .....jimmy

[C. B. Williams]

For small jobs like this, if you don't have an air compressor, you can buy "canned air" in cans at any electronics store. It is used to blow out keyboards and stuff like that.

[Scott Sanders]

Thanks all for taking up the experiment.  Please let me know how it worked out.  Jimmy, that 150 lbs of air pressure sounds like it might do the job just fine.  C.B., I'm not sure if those little cans of air would be enough pressure and I'm not sure what kind of liquid they use to make the air with, but there are a bunch of warnings and cautions on the can as to it's safe use.  Says it could cause frostbite.... :o :o

Scott

[Chris Stairs]

Compressed air from a compressor is not recommended for cleaning computer parts because of the lubricant used in the pump...  At work we have an air dryer unit to remove moisture and filter the air. We also use food grade lubricants in the compressor pumps as it is a frozen food plant. Maybe the canned air would be better. I don't know what kind of oil is in your comppressor.

[Daniel McDowell]

Most of todays home do it your selfer compresser are oilless (diphram) type. The Piston type with oil will generate a high pressure faster but in my wife's basket shop where we use a lot of green white oak we can't afford oil or water spots so all our compresser are oilless and have a dryer on them just a thought.

[Chris Stairs]

It might be a good idea to to test it on a piece of paper first to see if you get oil spots. I dunno what kind of oil is used in compressors, but I don't want to cook in it.

[Sam Roberts]

I have a 33 gal Sears Verticle "Oilless" Air Compressor, max 150 psi. I have the regulator set at approximately 95 psi for that seems to work best with my staplers and air guns. When I pruchased it, I also bought a (forgot what it's called) but it removes just about all the water from the line as you use it. You put a drop or two of oil in the air inlet hole of the tool before you use it. After I take a piece of CO out of the Electro I use a very soft wire brush to remove the gunk, rinse it off, then dry it with the compressor if it's going to be awhile before I take it to the sink.It dries it very fast and I get very little flash rust.

[Scott Sanders]

That sounds good Sam.  We might just be on to something here in getting the excess seasoning material out of the hard to reach places.  I am anxious to hear how your waffle iron comes out, and if it was any easier using the compressor.  Thanks again.

Scott

[mississippi_slim]

scott the air will also get the oil in the hard to get to places...jimmy

[Harry Riva]

I had a dealer tell me that he took his w.i.'s out of the lye and hit the grids with a pressure washer. I've never tried it but at 2500 lbs. it just might git 'er done.
Harry

[Tom Neitzel]

I had a dealer tell me that he took his w.i.'s out of the lye and hit the grids with a pressure washer. I've never tried it but at 2500 lbs. it just might git 'er done.
Harry

You know, I'm sure it would do a great job but you would have to nail the paddles to the floor to keep them from blowing away.

It might be enough pressure to even remove the crud on an aluminum waffle iron without having to use walnut shell blasting.  I'll fire up the machine and see what happens.  My only issues with this is that I can't quite picture how to keep the paddle in place and I know I will be soaked from head to foot.

Tom

[Sam Roberts]

Scott, my W/I still had a little carbon on it this evening, so it will be at least tomorrow evening (probably Friday) before I get it finished. I don't run my electro barrel unless I'm here.
Sam

[Sam Roberts]

Well here is the W/I minus the handles. That is not rust on the outside part, just from the flash.

Pros:
It does not take long to remove the extra Pam

Cons:
It's messy. I did it outside on a piece of cardboard, but still I got back spray on my glasses even with spraying directly away from me.

It was worth trying but I think I'll continue with the Q-Tip.

Sam

[Scott Sanders]

Hey Sam......Thanks for trying out the compressor experiment.  I expected it would be a bit on the messy side, but was hoping that the time saved and perhaps a nice even thin coat of oil would offset the mess factor.  In your pictures, have you seasond the irons in the heat yet, or is it just showing the oil after the compressor treatment???  Did you notice any areas that the oil may have been thicker than others, or did it all come out pretty even??

Thanks again,
Scott

[Sam Roberts]

It really did a good job around the square thingeys, but I had to wipe off the areas where it blew the excess. That pic is after one time in the oven with the Pam. I figure one more trip to the oven with another thin coat they will turn out realy nice. With the compressed air the coating is really even because the air takes off everything but the thinest of coats.