calcium deposits and rust added pics

[kayla_d]

 With out using lye is their anyway to clean my wagner 5 quart soup pot?
It has been under a sink was used on top of a fireplace for humidity.
When I saw it I fail in love with it!
 I found one site that said to use oven cleaner. I have'nt.

[kayla_d]

inside

[Jesse and Kim Dunfee]

WOW Kim.  That would be a good before and after for Electrolysis. Lye and oven cleaner isn't going to help that rust. A electrolysis set-up would do the job, wish I could be more help. One of the older members will be along and help out. :)

[Will Person]

WOW!!!   After the lye or oven cleaner you could use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water to get rid of the rust,  but to get the rust gone,  it will probably attack the good non rusted metal before the rusted metal would be clean.   Using electrolysis you would have no worries about any damage to the pot.


Will 8-)

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Kim, welcome to WAGS. Its good to have you.  :) Now do you REALLY love that piece, or just kinda like it? Somebody sure has abused it.

The reason I ask is because they are relatively easy to find, unless thats a really rare one, which I don't think it is, but I can't really tell from the pictures because I can't see the numbers or enough of it to know exactly what you have here. But my guess is that it is not uncommon. After me saying this, and if you want to save it, and you don't want to use lye, first, lye won't help your piece. You need to get the rust off of it. If you don't want to set up an electro set for one piece, and I don't blame you for not wanting to. The best thing to do is get you a drill with a soft Stainless Steel brush and start slow and start taking that rust off, and then it stil lmay be pitted really bad. But do that, and that will take the rust off. There are easier ways if you read our cleaning section, like electro, but it ain't worth it for just one piece.

Good luck to you, and do come back and let us know how you fared.  :)

OH, and if you want to post another picture of the bottom, we'll be able to determine exactly what you have there, be sure to include the numbers.

[maloney108]

Hi Kim,

Perry beat me to the punch with the drill and wire brush - Once you get most of the rust off, I'd suggest completing the process with a bath of 1:1 water and white vinegar.  Get about a gallon of the cheapest stuff you can find - you're not going to cook with it so no need to get good stuff.  Start off with about an hour or two and then if it needs more go in 1 hour sessions.

Once you're back to good bare metal, season it according to one of the methods we have here.  Thinner coatings of fat are better than thick.  I have been a Crisco guy for a while, but I just tried Greg Stahl's PAM method and it worked like a charm.

Good luck and show us an "after" picture!

[kayla_d]

 I cant find any numbers just says Wagner Ware.  Wagner Ware is spelled with one W for both words. on the opposite side it say 5 quart under that made in USA.
Hubby has everything he needs to build the Electrolysis he is looking foreword to playing around with it to see what happens.
So if the pot is a common one we can experiment on it and have fun doing it.
Might be a couple weeks but I will remember to post the after pictures.

I REALLY love the pot.
  

[Will Person]

That dutch oven base was made in the 1960's or even the 1970's.   It is a good user and not very collectible.


Will 8-)

[Tom Penkava]

I cant find any numbers just says Wagner Ware.  Wagner Ware is spelled with one W for both words. on the opposite side it say 5 quart under that made in USA.
Hubby has everything he needs to build the Electrolysis he is looking foreword to playing around with it to see what happens.
So if the pot is a common one we can experiment on it and have fun doing it.
Might be a couple weeks but I will remember to post the after pictures.

I REALLY love the pot.
  

Here is a picture of a real cheap way to go.  The school I work for gets their floor soap in 55 gal plastic barrels, so that was free.  The old jumper cables were $1.00 on a garage sale, the charger was $12.00 on another garage sale, the furniture mover was $9.99 at Harbor Freight Tools, For the aneod/sacrificial metal I have 12 car brake rotors / 4 rows of 3 welded together and connected with strap metal I have had for 30 years.  I drilled bolt holes through the barrel, strap iron, and jumper cable to connect the charger to.  But having 50+ gallons does use more arm & hammer soda.  I just hang a filthy piece, turn the charger on, and add the arm/hammer untill I get a good current flow.

[Tom Penkava]

Barrel and charger

[Tom Penkava]

The half barrel is my lye vat

[Chuck Rogers]

Hey Kim. I was in the same boat as you a week or so ago. I used an electrolysis tank that I made up. It's not very difficult at all. Here's a before and after of a Favorite Ware pot that was being used for the same purpose when I found it.

[Chuck Rogers]

And here's the after. I got the info for the electro tank here on WAGS. The one difference is that I only have a 6amp battery charger on mine. Seems to work fine. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[Tom Penkava]

I cant find any numbers just says Wagner Ware.  Wagner Ware is spelled with one W for both words. on the opposite side it say 5 quart under that made in USA.
Hubby has everything he needs to build the Electrolysis he is looking foreword to playing around with it to see what happens.
So if the pot is a common one we can experiment on it and have fun doing it.
Might be a couple weeks but I will remember to post the after pictures.

I REALLY love the pot.
  

Here is a picture of a real cheap way to go.  The school I work for gets their floor soap in 55 gal plastic barrels, so that was free.  The old jumper cables were $1.00 on a garage sale, the charger was $12.00 on another garage sale, the furniture mover was $9.99 at Harbor Freight Tools, For the aneod/sacrificial metal I have 12 car brake rotors / 4 rows of 3 welded together and connected with strap metal I have had for 30 years.  I drilled bolt holes through the barrel, strap iron, and jumper cable to connect the charger to.  But having 50+ gallons does use more arm & hammer soda.  I just hang a filthy piece, turn the charger on, and add the arm/hammer untill I get a good current flow.

Note:  I put this together Saturday, took about 2 hours.  With 50 gal water, I used 3 boxes of Super Washing Soda.  Have a Puritan # 8 in now, charger on medium is puting out 40 amps.

[Hud]

Nice looking setup.

[Lee Sumner]

man i wanna set up an electro really bad, only problem is i have no basement or heated garage to keep it in so i guess I'll wait till spring to do it. after much research here and seeing what a great job it does it really is a no brainer not to have one for my iron. :)