Minor Rust Removal

[Jim Glatthaar]

I seem to recall a discussion where, for minor rust after stripping off old seasoning, you could spray the pan with vinegar or a vinegar/water solution, let it sit and simply wipe off the rust.  Does anyone else recall this discussion?

[Cheryl Watson]

I use 100% white vinegar spritz to help remove the 'converted' rust (black spot residue) on final scrub down after electro.  (if you overdo it, it will promote additional flash rusting though.... )

Are you referring to 'flash' rusting? 
That will pretty much just slough off with the first coat of seasoning oil....(or it should, if not, that means you haven't got all the bad rust off the piece...)

[Jim Glatthaar]

Thanks, Cheryl, I was referring to light flash rust.  I always aim to get a pan perfectly rust free, but sometimes it doesn't work out.  Rather than soaking the entire skillet to remove  a little light rust, I though of spraying and wiping after a 5-10 minute wait.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Thanks, Cheryl, I was referring to light flash rust.  I always aim to get a pan perfectly rust free, but sometimes it doesn't work out.  Rather than soaking the entire skillet to remove  a little light rust, I though of spraying and wiping after a 5-10 minute wait.

Hello Jim. That flash rust used to bother me too. I'd be interested in knowing if your suggestion here works. I live in Ohio and the humidity here is terrible. They say on a good quiet night here, you can hear a Chevy truck rust. I use the vinegar and water method for rust removal. If you rinse in cold water that helps a bunch as well. If I am restoring a piece I warm it up in the oven and take it out and put mineral oil on it. Even have it had flash rust on it the hot mineral oil takes care of the flash rust. Thats the way I do it anyway.

[Neal Birkett]

I didn't see anyone mention my experience, so here it is.

I start with lye, and end with lye.

Vinegar, which I don't use much anymore, or electro, or other agents, are always in the middle.  Sometimes the "end lye" is lye light, and that seems to work too.

Rationale:  Iron is "safe" in lye.  I always "kill" any other reactions with lye before seasoning.  I have found that my pieces are fairly stable bare, and if I don't have the time or space to oil and bake, I can go days or weeks without getting visible rust, as long as I keep the iron dry.  This have been true on the counter, in the oven, and wrapped in newspaper. 

Given that some cooking methods describe an important step called "lying the iron" to prepare the iron before baking, I suspect that lye leaves a little something on the iron, and this helps keep it stable.

The only "fail" I have every had with this is a skillet that went right from electro to lye light without a wash, then sat in lye light for a week or so.  Did not have an electro-green blotch going in, but did coming out. 

Concur or refute?

[Cheryl Watson]

[size=12]I have no clue what "lye light" is, or means.

I am not familiar with the cooking methods you mention.

I am familiar with instructions for Cast Iron Cookware of yesteryear, that instruct lyeing the iron before using. 

Those instructions were necessary because manufacturers used to laquer the pieces, and that laquer coating needed to be removed before use.

Are you saying that you do not derust your iron?
[/size]

[Neal Birkett]

Sorry that was not clear.

Yes, I de-rust.  Lately I use electrolysis. 

I did not specifically state the other agent because that discussion was previously moved to the members-only side.

"Lye light" = low concentration of lye.

Thanks for the backstory on using lye to prepare iron.  I did not realize that it was really a 1-time preparation procedure for new cast iron.  I really thought I had read that it was part of the technique for certain types of baking, the specifics of which I don't recall.  This is what I meant by "cooking methods."

[Jim Glatthaar]

Thanks, Cheryl, Perry & Neal.  I'm going to try the vinegar spray this weekend and see how (or if) it works.  If not, I might try Neal's idea of a second lye bath.  I'm thinking a short stay in a regular strength lye bath is similar to a longer stay in a lye-light bath.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Neal. Where do you live? Some states have low or no humidity and that helps or eliminates flash rust.

[Neal Birkett]

Hi Perry.  True enough, but I am not sure the Calif Bay Area (2 miles to saltwater) is one of those low humidity places.  Maybe not real high humidity, but not low.

[Jim Glatthaar]

This weekend, I tried cleaning flash rust from skillets after I stripped the seasoning by spraying distilled white vinegar directly on the areas with flash rust.  I waited 15 minutes after spraying the vinegar, then lightly scrubbed the area with a steel mesh scrubbing pad.  The results were an overall success.  Some areas, even those with fairly light flash rust, required 2 applications.  None of the flash rust required a third application. 

I had one skillet with fairly heavy rust.  Someone staying in our house with our dogs while we were on vacation used a #7 BSR Red Mountain as a humidity tray for a houseplant.  I'm not sure what he was thinking, but he is a great dog sitter so I said nothing.  I sprayed the area of heavy rust with a 50% vinegar/water solution and let it sit for 1 hour.  The rust scrubbed off easily and I had no problem with flash rust.