Electrolysis advice

M

MPoel

New member
Hopefully someone can help me a little on my first electrolysis restoration project...
I recently managed to get my hands on a couple of 80-90 year old 'poffertjespannen' (see attached photo's)

I've build an electrolysis tank and was extremely surprised by the result when I got the first one out of the tank.
It got stripped beautifully, and revealed some markings I didn't even know about.

However, before I managed to start seasoning it, I was confronted with flash rust, I think? :(
Since I'm very new to cooking with cast iron (and even more with restoration) I'm hoping someone will tell me where I went wrong...

The process I used was;
- Drop the old dirty pan in the tank
- As soon as it came out, rinse it with hot water and soap, then scrub it down as much as possible...

But by the time I was ready to start seasoning, it sort of looked rusty again.
Would this be normal behaviour, or maybe I did something wrong in the process?
Hence my questions for advice;

1. Did I make a mistake in the process? (I was trying to be as quick as possible, after getting it out of the tank)
2. What do I do to prevent the flash rust?
3. Should it be put back in the tank to get rid of the flash rust, but what do I need to different to prevent it from happening again? (Or is it a matter of scrubbing down further?)
4. Or is it looking perfectly fine to start re-seasoning? (I'm a little bit lost on what it should look like, before I start seasoning...)

Really hope someone will help me guide through this process...
I'd love to cook some 'poffertjes' for my little girl in these pans.

Many thanks,
Mark


PS. Both pans looked similar, so I'm sure you can recognise the one that went into the tank vs the one that didn't
 

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Flash rusting is more often than not unavoidable. Ambient humidity would need to be non-existent for it not to form. It's not, however, something to be overcome before proceeding with seasoning. It will be removed as you wipe off the excess seasoning oil before baking it.
 
Ahh. Thank you sooooooo much Doug!!!
Your explanation makes perfect sense. :)

I was really afraid that I did something wrong, but instead it sounds like I can just go ahead and start seasoning...
That's amazing news... Can't wait to test the final product after a few layers of coating. :)

It's really great to find that level of support on here, in order to get started with my cast iron hobby!!!

Many thanks once again and please keep up this amazing work!
Mark
 
Try this, as it works for myself.
After removing your piece from the e-Tank wash with Cold NOT Hot water using a good dish soap, wipe off as much water as you can and hang to dry out of the sun.

Some flash rust still might be seen but not enough to be an issue and as Doug D. stated It will be removed during your first seasoning and possibility your second seasoning. You will see it on whatever you apply the oil with, just change it out as it gets dirty.

3 things that might be helping with my success. 1) I have lye in my e-Tank to help cut the grease, and 2) a temp controlled building so very low humidity as Doug D. stated. 3) last step before seasoning, every piece is put on my work bench and given a once over for flash rust, stubborn spots, etc. A word to the wise, Do not use a brass wire brush.

Here is a photo of a piece I removed from the e-Tank and dried all with in 2 hours.

https://flic.kr/p/2mZGxJf
 
Thank you so much as well Jeffrey! The piece in your photo looks STUNNING!
I'm pretty sure I'll never get to that level, but I think the cold water rinse, wiping and drying out of the sun made a huge difference already. :)

The first pan now has a first layer of seasoning and the second one is almost ready to take out the e-tank. (And indeed, the little bit of flash-rust that was left wiped off easily... In all my research I've never come across this piece of info, so that was invaluable advice from the both of you!)

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to bake some 'poffertjes' for my little girl and her nephew, when he comes over next Sunday.
I'll post some pictures of both pieces once I'm using them, but I'm quite confident they will be looking pretty good. :)

As for the 3 things that might help, unfortunately nr.1 & 2, I won't be able to pull off yet.
Hopefully we'll find a bigger space soon, but at this moment my tank is in our small garden and my wife won't allow me to use lye, because we sometimes have kids running around.

However, I can't wait to test this combo with lye, because it sounds like it could be so much more efficient than only using electrolysis. The temp controlled building is something that I'll probably only dream off for the next couple of years, but who knows. Maybe our next place could have a workshop that would accommodate for this somehow.

Anyway, again thank you so much for your thoughts and advice...
I'll definitely show you guys some pics when both pieces are done and operational again!!! :)
 
Safety first when it comes to the lye, your wife is wise.

Happy it is working for you.

Now where are the photos of these 'poffertjes' that you talk about?
 
I was watching a YouTube video by "Cast Iron Cookware" (Steve). He mentioned that what he does to prevent flash rust is to use very hot water to get the pan hot, then he says to use your seasoning oil (he uses Easybeezy) on the wet pan. The oil will displace the water and it prevents the rust from forming when you dry it off since there is now a thin film of oil on the pan. This is the part of the video where he demonstrates this technique. Preventing flash rust
 
To avoid flash rust I scrub the pan in warm water with Dawn and immediately rinse and dry with a towel. Then it goes into a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes just to dry it totally. Then I start seasoning.
 
Why not a brass wire brush? I have a brass brush that I use occasionally and haven't noticed any adverse affects. But then again I am relatively new to this game :)
 
HueyBryan said:
To avoid flash rust I scrub the pan in warm water with Dawn and immediately rinse and dry with a towel. Then it goes into a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes just to dry it totally. Then I start seasoning.
Click to expand...
This is how I did these two recently. Site won't let me post the pics, but they came out awesome with 3 coats of grape seed oil for initial seasoning.
Mine are Ableskiver pans, but we just used them on New Years Eve to make Poffertjes and they worked perfectly.
Just had to use less batter as these are larger than the Poffertjis pans.
I would suggest using ghee instead of butter for brushing the pans before filling every time as it won't burn like butter will.
Good like.
 
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