Hello again all. I set up the lye bath as described. It works great but I was wondering about something. After washing and cleaning with fine steel wool and Dawn concentrated detergent, then drying the piece off with paper towels there is a blackish residue on the towel. Do I need to re-soak in the lye or just need to keep up with the detergent and steel wool? FYI thanks to you good people I'll be setting up my electric de-rusting tank this week!
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Soaking in lye-still dirty ???
- Thread starter SDaniels
- Start date
That's a common occurrence. Sometimes it's more brownish than black, depending, I guess, whether it's residual seasoning or a kind of oxidation. If it looks like the lye has done all it can, I would give it a little more steel wool and vinegar, then a final washing with Dawn. I wouldn't be too concerned if after all that you still get a little residue on the paper towel, the seasoning is going to seal over it.
When you do your electro setup, you're probably going to see more of this, as the process converts the red rust to a soft black rust that rinses off.
When you do your electro setup, you're probably going to see more of this, as the process converts the red rust to a soft black rust that rinses off.