A Lil' Help with Idents/Restoring Suggestions?

A

A.Smith

New member
Hi all,
First time poster, long time casual lurker.

I started playing around with restoring rusty old kitchen knives recently, so when i found some cast iron that peaked my interest for cheap , I bought 'em.

Here's an album: https://imgur.com/a/srWGl

I'm extremely happy about the corn stick pan I found but can't seem to find a matching maker. I'd ask for help with identities of the Griswold and the square skillet but the Griswold probably needs more cleaning first to be able to see all the markings and I'm hoping the pitting on the bottom didn't destroy em. The square skillet, well, that seems a bit more difficult.

The others, I'm not too sure how to go about restoring...
The Griswold I imagine would be fine with lye and electrolysis.
The cornstick pan, perhaps just put in the lye bath with the Griswold or should oven cleaner suffice?
The square skillet I'm not sure what how best to go about restoring it. Certainly is flakey.
The wok... not cast iron, but looking to get it nice and restored as well. Probably fine with some steel wool but if I'm getting the others all fancy looking why not.

Now, with my knives I've been using citric acid to get the rust off the blades and the results have been very nice. Would that be gentler to the Griswold's markings than electrolysis or vinegar? Would that be too gentle for the square pan?

Any and all suggestions and comments are welcome. I'm still wet behind the ears with this hobby, so please, bring on the info!

Thanks!
 
The corn stick pan you can use lye,a few days a little brush will help inside,and repeat as needed,on the griswold skillet lye won't work too much carbon,you will need use etank,good luck and welcome to the site.
 
EdgarLopez said:
The corn stick pan you can use lye,a few days a little brush will help inside,and repeat as needed,on the griswold skillet lye won't work too much carbon,you will need use etank,good luck and welcome to the site.
Click to expand...

Hi Edgar, Thanks!

How would you recommend I clean the square skillet?
 
I don't see the square skillet,I have an etank and every piece goes there,some people don't have room for an etank,and they use lye to remove crud and vinegar to remove rust,power tools aren't recommended for cleaning,you can use a hand wire brush to remove some stubborn spots of carbon.
 
probably a combination of lye, vinegar and electrolysis (and lots of steel wool) for all of those pans. lye is the best at removing old seasoning (black gunk) unless it is too carbonized... vinegar is good at loosening up heavy rust (like on the square pan)... and electrolysis is good at finishing off pans that have been through the other two processes but still have some gunk/rust to remove.

you'd be surprised how much better they will look by just hitting them with some steel wool before you do anything... a lot of that 'loose' rust will just wipe off and you can see better what you're working with.
 
EdgarLopez said:
I don't see the square skillet,I have an etank and every piece goes there,some people don't have room for an etank,and they use lye to remove crud and vinegar to remove rust,power tools aren't recommended for cleaning,you can use a hand wire brush to remove some stubborn spots of carbon.
Click to expand...

Ah, it's toward the bottom of the imgur album I linked to in the original message: https://imgur.com/a/srWGl

---------- Post added at 06:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 PM ----------
D_Madden said:
probably a combination of lye, vinegar and electrolysis (and lots of steel wool) for all of those pans. lye is the best at removing old seasoning (black gunk) unless it is too carbonized... vinegar is good at loosening up heavy rust (like on the square pan)... and electrolysis is good at finishing off pans that have been through the other two processes but still have some gunk/rust to remove.

you'd be surprised how much better they will look by just hitting them with some steel wool before you do anything... a lot of that 'loose' rust will just wipe off and you can see better what you're working with.
Click to expand...

What's been your experience with using Citric Acid instead of vinegar?
 
A,

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend this for your consideration and use.

http://www.castironcollector.com/restore.php

FYI. Here are before and after pics of a skillet I cleaned. It may be worse than your Griswold. My skillet spent several days in the lye "spa" and then had a few short sessions in the electrolysis tank. For me, the length of time in the E-tank is dictated by 1) whether I need to leave the house and 2) the weather. If I must leave the house, I usually interrupt the session because I don't want to leave the tank unattended. Also, the tank is outside and the battery charger is uncovered, so when it rains, I can not use it.

https://imgur.com/a/pt3QE
https://imgur.com/a/yPnLq

I am pleased with the cleaning of the skillet. Unfortunately, there is rust pitting on the cooking surface and the bottom of the skillet. Even so, it is usable.

Good luck with your CI.
 
A.Smith said:
What's been your experience with using Citric Acid instead of vinegar?
Click to expand...

I've never tried citric acid. vinegar is cheap and effective... but you don't really need to do either... steel wool and electrolysis will accomplish the same thing... it just might take a bit longer than using the combination.
 
I only do etank,I have good stainless steel plates on a 32 gal drum,I have a good battery charger,I don't need to waste more time( money )to clean any piece
 
EdgarLopez said:
I only do etank,I have good stainless steel plates on a 32 gal drum,I have a good battery charger,I don't need to waste more time( money )to clean any piece
Click to expand...

Gottcha. I don't have a battery charger nor stainless steel plates, but I do have Citric Acid, thus the asking. But yeah, E-tank sounds to be the best process for this.

Stainless Steel plates? I'm seeing some things online saying that they don't recommend stainless... either because it takes longer or it can create something toxic? Not sure. But curious as to why you're using stainless.

Also, thanks again to everyone for answering all my questions! Keep the help comin!
 
Perusing some of the topics on the main website might go a long way towards clarifying some of the things often seen repeated online which aren't necessarily true.
 
Doug D. said:
Perusing some of the topics on the main website might go a long way towards clarifying some of the things often seen repeated online which aren't necessarily true.
Click to expand...

Wait a tick, read the actual website and learn for myself?!? You must be joking!

;) :D
 
Etank with stainless plates here.
It definitely works well for cutting through carbon and rust buildup. I'm using a lye tank now prior to electrolysis as it keeps the grunge in the etNk to a minimum. I've found a few days in the lye tank eats most crud right off. A vigorous rub and, at most, a couple of overnights in the etank.
Pretty much like new iron is the result. Of course, there is much vigorous scrubbing with stainless pads and wire brushes in between said tankings.
Either way, season your choice and start using!
Btw, stainless plates are for ease of maintenance. A simple hose off and maybe a light brushing removes any build up. I've been using mine straight through for over a month and dozens of pieces and am just now seeing very minimal wear on the stainless plates.
Will never use anything else.
 
BillC said:
Etank with stainless plates here.
It definitely works well for cutting through carbon and rust buildup. I'm using a lye tank now prior to electrolysis as it keeps the grunge in the etNk to a minimum. I've found a few days in the lye tank eats most crud right off. A vigorous rub and, at most, a couple of overnights in the etank.
Pretty much like new iron is the result. Of course, there is much vigorous scrubbing with stainless pads and wire brushes in between said tankings.
Either way, season your choice and start using!
Btw, stainless plates are for ease of maintenance. A simple hose off and maybe a light brushing removes any build up. I've been using mine straight through for over a month and dozens of pieces and am just now seeing very minimal wear on the stainless plates.
Will never use anything else.
Click to expand...

How thick are the plates that you're using?
 
About 1/8 maybe 3/16 inch. A real bear to bend to fit the inside of the drum. Ended up using my truck and the curb. That worked!
Got two plates about 16x16 and two 3/8 rods two feet long for $32 at the local metal recycler. Prob could have gotten cheaper in another nearby town, but convenience means a lot.
 
BillC said:
About 1/8 maybe 3/16 inch. A real bear to bend to fit the inside of the drum. Ended up using my truck and the curb. That worked!
Got two plates about 16x16 and two 3/8 rods two feet long for $32 at the local metal recycler. Prob could have gotten cheaper in another nearby town, but convenience means a lot.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bill. Just finished my e-tank, and right now, I'm using a smashed coffee can as an anode. I'm intending to use 1/8" stainless plates so was curious about how well that thickness would work.

Oh, and "convenience" does mean a lot.

Bill
 
I had ss non magnetic and didn't last too long,I switch to magnetic plates and I use my etank last year 24/7 I cleaned approximately 250 pcs and I never clean the plates, nor change the solution and the last skillet I cleaned only needed 24hrs,after all those skillets I decided to change the solution and found out like 10 Inches of rust,paint,cement,crud,and sand,I scooped it out it was more than 2--5Galons bucket,the plates had visible marks,Two little holes like 5/16,I cleaned the plates real easy only took me 5 minutes,repurposed the plates around the tank and good to go for an other year,I already cleaned 55 skillets and still working like the first day.I have like 1/16 thick,16 inches high and around the 32 gal Rubbermaid trash can with 10 Amp charger
 
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