More time or higher amp?

J

Jeremy Marin

New member
I decided to clean off a 15 year old skillet of mine with electrolysis. I didn't know how to care for it when I started using it, and while the seasoning was okay, it had a lot of caked-on crud that made it visually unappealing, including for my guests.

It's been in electrolysis for about 24 hours now and while the majority of it is clean, there is still some caked on crud that isn't coming off. I've done a bit of light scraping and worked on it a bit with a stainless steel scrubby, but those remaining pieces aren't coming off yet.

I'm wondering if, at this point, the electrolysis simply needs more time or if I need more than the 6 amps my charger provides.

Thank you in advance.
 
Some heavily-encrusted pans will have areas that have become very hard, mostly carbon. Lye has trouble with them, as its cleaning action relies on the fat component of seasoning. Electrolysis will also have trouble with these spots. It won't hurt to leave it longer to try and see if it won't release, but many opt to just carefully scrape them off and allow any residual stain left to be blended in with future seasoning. SS scrubber means a lot of work, but won't mar the surface. I use a 1" putty knife with the corners filed round on the polished surfaces, working slowly and keeping the leading edge always flat to the iron, which means working horizontally on the sidewalls. Stick with the scrubber on the outside as-cast surfaces.
 
Yeah, the SS scrubber was just for the loose stuff that needed an extra hand coming off. I did a bit of scraping (with a blade) to get under some of the flakey stuff in need of an extra budge, but there's a fair amount that is still adhering, even with an additional four or so hours. It's almost as if some of the material is painted on. (It isn't painted - I bought this pan new.)

I'll let it keep going for a bit, and I've now filed down a scraper that I'll try as well.

Thank you!
 
Jeremy, I've had some luck with leaving the skillet in the e-tank for several days. Forgot about one, and it was in there for a couple of weeks. That one came out clean as a whistle, but I'm not sure the extra time was the total reason. I've had a few end up with stains/crud that wouldn't come out, even after a week in the tank. That being said, I do always try giving it a few more days before I start scraping too hard.
 
Thank you both. I gave it a few hours more and then realizing that it is a ca. 2000 Lodge with lots of pitting around the walls, opted to do some heavy scraping and call it a day.

Today is a good day to season it, but for other pieces I will consider a longer electrolysis rather than rushing it. Thanks again!
 
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