Painted cast iron

Z

ZaneLee

New member
I have my dh's grandmothers tea sized corn bread pan. (The one with all the corn shaped areas)
Someone had painted it with what looks to be galvanized paint. It's chipped off in some places and rusted in those areas. Anyone have an idea of how to get the paint off so I can clean and season it?
Thanks!
 
A lye bath should take it off, as will electrolysis for sure. It may also be a matte finish plating rather than paint. If you could post a photo, it would be helpful in determining.
 
Thanks Doug. Here are pictures of the outside/inside of the pan.
What do you think?
 

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Wagner did do nickel plated versions of these, but I think what you've got there is silver paint, just from the way it's flaking on the bottom. If you can lift off a little from around one of those areas where it's already coming off without scratching the iron underneath, you can tell if it's plating or paint. Or, you can just drop it in a lye bath-- paint will come off, plating won't be affected.
 
I was able to pull a little of the silver and it is just black underneath. Looks like cast iron.
What am I looking for if it were plated or painted?
If pulls like thick paint...
I don't actually have a lye bath, but I was going to use oven cleaner (with lye) to clean all my old cast iron.
 
If it was plated, what you would get is like the chrome coming off an old car bumper, a thin and probably razor sharp sliver of the metal plating. But, even when worn, the nickel on Wagner pieces doesn't usually look like that. Sounds like what you've got there is paint. Lye based oven cleaner spray should work on it. Heavy Duty Easy Off is best.

http://www.castironcollector.com/cleaning.php#spray
 
Maybe my cocotte is painted too? Just picked this up at a flea market in France last week. There were many beauties to be had. Since it was raining the vendor did not want to carry them back home.
I own many cast iron pieces that I have collected over my 30+ years as a chef. They always clean up except this one. Its either painted or had a coating. The outside of the lid and pot are fine. Just inside of both have this ugly chipping.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Its the perfect size for a roasted chicken I want to make in it.
Thanks.
 

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Zane, Your KKK pan looks to be nickel plated. It's unusual for the nickel to peel off like that. Maybe the pan was in a very damp location for some time allowing the rust to creep under the nickel.

Mary, Your pan also looks to be plated but I am not too sure. Can't tell if it's nickel or chrome plating but, by the looks of its condition, it is maybe just old and worn chrome plating which can get to look like that. It would have to be stripped to fix the look and problem.
 
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