Stupid question, is there any way to recover pieces use for lead?

[Shane Lewis]

 Talking about pieces that may have been used to make lead weights and such.
 Are they salvagable?

[Greg Stahl]

I would never eat out of them, but my guess is that you could use electrolysis to get rid of the lead that remains.  I'm sure someone on here has experience with this and someone will pipe in.

[Rick Gilley]

I have several that I think had lead melted in them. I wouldn't eat out of one if I had to use Teflon.  I had a brother in law to die from lead poisoning, no he wasn't shot, he ran his own machine shop for years.

[C. B. Williams]

I don't think it's worth the risk.

[Shane Lewis]

OK, how do you usually identify a piece that may have been used for lead?
I just cleaned and seasoned a nice muffin pan that I bought at a flea market, and plan on using it.
What worries me is that this type of pan and the breadstick type pans would be used for making trotline weights or something.
Anyway, the muffin pan had no flakes of lead or anything in it, but you never know.
I plan on using it myself, but I would also like to find one for my Grandma and Mom for gifts.
Don't want to give them some bad stuff.

[Roger Barfield]

If you have one you suspect, get a lead test kit and check it. You can get them at amazon or hardware stores have them. 

[Janis Berzins]

Not a stupid question at all.

[Steve Butler]

As Janis said, no stupid questions here or they would have kicked me out long ago. I see lots of cast iron pots that are called scottish or yankee bowls that I know are lead pots we use to melt lead to pour cast iron soil pipe plumbing joints. Not  used much anymore but I've got to pour one next week for a repair in a 70 year old building,. You can clean it to look at but would never eat from it, the lead soaks in over the years and you never get it all out.

[C. Perry Rapier]

I totally agree with Steve here. There are too many other good things to eat out of instead of compromising ones health. So when in doubt I'd say don't go there.  :)

[Albert Hutchison]

I have myself tested a piece that I knew had lead in it after cleaning it in my e-tank and it still tested postive for lead...So I would in no way use it for cooking ...Unless you really don't like the person who will be eating the food...

[Shane Lewis]

Can you usually tell visually when looking for cast iron?
Also, since all my stuff is seasoned, would a lead test kit work without stripping them again?

[Jeff Friend]

I think it could be difficult to make an accurate determination if molten lead was poured into a cast iron pan just by looking at a residue.  Seems like the pan would crack from the thermal shock.  I guess lead could be melted in an iron pan and then poured into a mold for fishing weights.  I'd go with Roger's suggestion and buy the test kit.  3M makes on with some testing that verifies that it works.  Now, if lead is verified to be present . . .

It is difficult to dissolve lead with acids because lead and organic acids tend to form insoluble salts that create a protective film over the lead, and the reaction stops.  This apples to HCl and H2SO4.

Typical electrolysis won't do it.

I read that an organic acid like acetic acid will dissolve lead in an oxidizing environment.  Hydrogen peroxide was used.  Probably difficult to do unless you have the chemicals.

In the end, it probably isn't worth the effort.  You could fool around for hours trying to get the pan decontaminated, or just hang it on the wall and buy one that is "clean" and cook in that one.

[C. B. Williams]

A bit scary.  Understatement.