Last Bits of crust

J

JasonL

Member
So I've had my pan sitting in the lye bath for about 3 days now. I've taken it out every 24 hours scrubbed and placed back in to continue the process. There's this little bit of crust left that does not want to come off. What can i do to get these last bits of off? Here is a before and after.

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I've had success on similar stubborn spots with repeated vinegar baths and lots of scrubbing with steel wool. The last such piece I think took me about five rounds of 20 minute soaks. Annoying, but it eventually came clean.
 
Sometimes you're left with stuck on bits like that the lye won't take off because they are pure carbon, no grease left in them for the lye to work on. Electrolysis can usually loosen them up, or you can expend an inordinate amount of elbow grease working them off with a stainless steel scrubber or wire brush. If you have a steady hand, you can also use a 1" putty knife, working slowly and always keeping the leading edge of the blade flat against the surface of the pan so as not to leave scratches. This works well on the outside, but those inside round corners on skillets can be tricky; sometimes you just leave what you can't safely get off, and let it blend over time with the new seasoning.

If you're still left with black stains after you get these removed, try spraying full strength white vinegar on them, wait a couple minutes, and scrub with steel wool. Dripping vinegar will make some streaks; just even them out by scrubbing the entire pan with the steel wool.
 
Thanks guys. I think i'll try the vinegar first and steel wool first and if that doesn't quit do it i'll try the electrolysis. What strength vinegar, I see they sell 10 and 20 percent, is that to strong? And as far as streaking, can the streaks be removed 100%?
 
Whatever cheap household white vinegar, I get the gallon at Walmart. Yes, the streaking is minor, and evens out easily.
 
I've had pretty good luck chipping away those hard carbon deposits. I use the hardest wood I can get my hands on, something like hickory or ash ... cut about ½" to ¾" thick and about the same width. I sand one end to a long but blunt wedge and very slightly round the corners. If you place the wedged end against the carbon, as Doug advises with the putty knife, and tap the end with your hand or another block of wood, the carbon often chips right off.
 
I use a 1-1/2" flexible putty knife and it's been used so much for work and cleaning skillets that the ends of the blade are worn rounded and that helps on the inside corners of the pan. I also use an old 1/2" wood chisel which I keep fairly sharp to scrape off the carbon but you have to be carful to not scratch the pan. A razor scraper will also work as will the edge of the putty knife. Another way for your skillet is to get a larger pan, put some lye water in it on your kitchen stove and place your dirty skillet inside the pan with lye. DON'T LET THE LYE WATER RISE IN THE BOTTOM SKILLET SO MUCH IT WILL SPILL. The add more lye water INSIDE your dirty skillet to cover the carbon areas. Heat the pan to hot but nowhere near the boiling point. Maybe around 150-170 deg. Hot lye will remove the gunk much faster than cool or room temp.
 
Some good things to try. Although i'd probably prefer not to heat lye up on the kitchen stove only because iv'e noticed slight irritation from the steam rising when I first made my lye mixture. I used hot water from the sink and steam was rising from the bucket. Something I would try in summer on my grill which has a side burner. But I left the pan for about 4 days after the post and when I checked back most of the crud loosened up and I used a small eyeglass screwdrivers to clean out the letters and scrape most of the little spots off of the bottom. But the mark on the inside seemed to be part of the skillet now, there's no ridge or bump that I can feel, it's smooth with the bottom. But this what was left and what it looks like seasoned. A few black marks but not to bad.

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