Newbie needs a little advice

D

DRThompson

New member
Hello all. Thanks so much for this site. It's a great source of info.

So... My wife and I have come into possession of quite a bit of vintage cast iron from her parents estate. I've done my research into electrolysis and have obtained pure compressed graphite rods to use for it. Completely comfortable with that process for the rusty pieces.

However, much of the cast her folks had collected over the years has been painted with various amounts of cheap black spray paint. Although we are TOTAL newbies to cast, we don't really like the cheap look of black paint! Much prefer natural finish and intend to use Renissaince Wax to finish pieces for display.

However can someone tell me the best/safest way to remove this ugly flat black paint? (We have enough experience with antiques/collectibles to know that cleaning or altering finishes are the fastest road to ruin!) Id like to know opinions on the best procedures to remove the paint and then finish the pieces for display....so that I don't create SCRAP!
My intention, pending all your expert advice, is to remove the ugly paint and then use electrolysis to clean completely, then wax......then enjoy.....

Lead me on experts.....

Any advice is so much appreciated.

Dave
 
You're in luck...electrolysis will strip the paint as well as rust as well as old seasoning. It will muck up your electrolyte and leave you with black soup in the tank...but the paint will come off. When you take a piece out of the tank when the electrolyte is paint fouled, it will be covered in painty film, but it rinses/washes off pretty easily.

Electrolysis is pretty awesome. :icon_thumbsup:
 
I'm definitely in the electro camp. The only exception to that is if you find a piece that happens to be nickel plated. In that case get it out of the tank pronto and use lye (or the easy off oven cleaner method) instead. For making it display ready you might want to consider seasoning with flax seed oil. Flax oil has the added benefit of not requiring you to strip & season all over again should you decide to cook on it in the future, and it lends a sepia tone to the metal, like it's sitting over the hearth while there's a fire going. Maybe try that on your first piece. If you don't like it, you can always drop it back in the tank. Electrolysis won't hurt the metal.
 
Dear experts,

Thanks so much for all your great advice.

We've built a nice sized e-tank out of a heavy duty Rubbermaid storage tote, done the appropriate wiring etc. and are well on the way. You were right that the black paint creates a nasty sludge, but boy is the tank taking everything off nicely. Renissaince wax should arrive today, and we'll post a pic or two down the road.
Thanks again everyone.

Dave the newbie
 
Ty L. said:
I'm definitely in the electro camp. The only exception to that is if you find a piece that happens to be nickel plated. In that case get it out of the tank pronto and use lye (or the easy off oven cleaner method) instead.
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Will the electrolysis remove the nickel plating and take it down to bare cast iron, Ty?
 
Intact plating should not be affected by the electrolysis amperages and temperatures we commonly use for CI cleaning. Of course, intact plating shouldn't be rusty, so there would be no over-arching reason to use electro on it if a lye bath is available. Already compromised plating is where you might want to err on the side of caution and not use electro if you wish to preserve as much of what's left as possible, not that loose plating is really worth preserving. Even then, one shouldn't expect a normal CI electro set up to be able to totally de-plate even a pan with compromised plating.
 
Like Doug D. said, probably not, but if you have a nickel plated piece you intend to display there is a risk of further damaging already compromised plating. One thing I didn't consider before making my earlier comment is that nickel is terrible at holding onto paint. In that case I'd probably stick with electro and keep an eye on things so I can get the pan out as soon as the paint falls off.
 
OK since we're on the subject. If you have a nickel plated skillet and the plating is bad, is it hurtful to value or purity of the piece to remove whats left of the plating? On the same note, to replate it back to its former glory? Personally I don't like the patina of nickel plate and I would remove it.
 
DSBradley said:
OK since we're on the subject. If you have a nickel plated skillet and the plating is bad, is it hurtful to value or purity of the piece to remove whats left of the plating? On the same note, to replate it back to its former glory? Personally I don't like the patina of nickel plate and I would remove it.
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Great question. I really don't care for the plated pieces, but seem to keep buying them. Sometimes it is hard to tell through the years of seasoning. I just discovered tonight that one of the pans I bought in Tennessee is plated. Actually, two are, but I knew about one. And both are stained or worn and I don't think I will want to keep them, nor be able to get what I paid for them.
 
Dan Farmer said:
Great question. I really don't care for the plated pieces, but seem to keep buying them. Sometimes it is hard to tell through the years of seasoning. I just discovered tonight that one of the pans I bought in Tennessee is plated. Actually, two are, but I knew about one. And both are stained or worn and I don't think I will want to keep them, nor be able to get what I paid for them.
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But if you could get the plating off, wouldn't that make them more desirable to you and to others? This way, you could season them black and make keepers out of them.
 
I too would like to know if there's an effective way to strip the nickel plating off a CI pan. Unfortunately my google fu has only yielded ways that risk severely pitting the pan, releasing nasty chemicals, and/or require using a sandblaster.
 
I've read the best way is to take it to a business that plates and have them do a "reverse plating" that does what it says. They said it's safe for cooking on afterwards. The other way is what they are talking about here, an eTank could remove it.
 
DSBradley said:
I've read the best way is to take it to a business that plates and have them do a "reverse plating" that does what it says. They said it's safe for cooking on afterwards. The other way is what they are talking about here, an eTank could remove it.
Click to expand...

This just in, from a friend of mine that both collects CI and restores cars (and thus knows a few things about electroplating). He told me that he has had all of his plated pans cleaned of the plating. He takes them to a plating shop where they use "electrolysis with acid as the medium. Sometimes it doesn't get quite all of the plating, and there are little specks of plating left. Costs about $10/pan. If there are any issues with warping or pitting it may not be worth it to add more to the cost. Before you do it, all the carbon has to be removed. Rust is okay. Some are copper under the nickel or Chrome. That is another process. "
 
Thanks for your replies to my last question, Doug & Ty. I've had my eye on a plated #8 Wagner skillet & lid combo that's for sale locally and where the condition of the plating isn't pristine I thought I might try to strip it bare in my e tank if possible. Looks like it's not worth the hassle, probably not a plating shop within 200 miles of me. :frown:
 
I would be careful about using the Renaissance Wax if you think you might want to use the pieces in the future. Looks like it can be difficult to remove, and it is made from crude oil distillates itself.

I have a couple pieces I have done the mineral oil treatment on, and I have not had any problem with dust collection. The result is very nice.

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