Griswold aluminum waffle iron

[Jody M]

My daughter bought this for me at an auction last month. It was so covered in crud that she thought it was cast iron. When she gave it to me and I realized it was aluminum, I decided to research the best way to restore it. I found Doug's restoration pics and methods on this site and decided to give it a try. It was pretty labor intensive. Brought it to a simmer in a big pot and then used wooden dowel rods and skewers to "rub" the crud away. Repeated this process several times removing probably 95% of the crud. At this point, I deviated from Doug's method. I used a fine bead blaster that removed the remaining debris without doing any damage to the aluminum. It left the entire surface with the same "rough" texture that was originally on the inset ring. I then used a Dremmel tool with a buffing wheel and aluminum polish to restore the polished shine to the outer ring. The base is cast iron and I cleaned it in my e-tank and seasoned it. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.:-D

 

[Bonnie Scott]

Nice work Jody. :icon_thumbsup:

 

[Jody M]

Thanks Bonnie. I sale some of my finds to support my cast iron addiction, and that's what I thought I was going to do with this waffle iron. However, after cleaning it, and knowing it was a piece my daughter bought, I think I'll just keep it. On a side note, I thought it might seem terrible that I would think about selling something that my daughter bought for me, but she often buys me pieces that she finds at a good price with the intention of me selling them. We usually split the profits:icon_thumbsup:

 

[Bonnie Scott]

My daughter and I have the same kind of deal. When she brings me something she always says that it won't hurt her feelings if I sell it. She knows her mom likes money also. :biggrin: