Help with Cast Iron problem?

Theophan

Yesterday I made a completely stupid mistake and burned a bunch of veggies into carbon on the bottom of a cast iron dutch oven.  Today, after scraping it and scouring as much as this old guy could manage with a green sponge, this is what I have:



The light parts are pretty bare metal, ready for re-seasoning, but the black parts I think are just a solid layer of mostly carbon on top of the metal.  I just don't think I have enough elbow grease to get that back to metal, and I don't have a sandblaster nor would I know how to use one.  I probably could buy one of those rubber disk things you put round sandpaper on for a drill and maybe sand it back to metal.

Any of you cast iron experts have any ideas on how to rescue this pan?

Thanks!

fishlessman

get it hot enough that a drop of water dances on it, then toss in a quarter cup and work with a spatula, it should easily lift off like burnt dripping for gravey, then reseason. you did more work than needed

HeavyG

I'd fill it with a couple inches of distilled vinegar and let it soak for a few hours.

nolaegghead

Put in your oven and run the clean cycle.  Or buy some oven cleaner and it should come off with little scrubbing.  Bartender's friend and a scrubbie will do it also.

TXSamIam

like the previous poster said run it through the self cleaning cycle in your oven, that should pretty much strip it and then you can re season

HeavyG

Am I the only person that doesn't have an oven with a self cleaning cycle? 

MattBTI

Putting it in the oven first isn't necessary. Part 1:Oven cleaner that has Lye in it. Coat completely in and out. Put it in a trash bag. Let sit for a couple hours. Rinse well with water.

Part 2:Submerge in 50/50 water/vinegar solution. scrub occasionally let soak in solution another couple hours. Rinse and dry well, act fast to get it covered in your choice of fat/oil (veggie works for me)

Part 3: Bake it on, I prefer 400F for 1 HR.

Part two is really only necessary if there is surface rust. the Lye based oven cleaner will remove the carbon residue, the vinegar/water solution will remove the surface rust. 

fishlessman

HeavyG said:

Am I the only person that doesn't have an oven with a self cleaning cycle? 

same here, does anyone use the feature

nolaegghead

MattBTI said:

Putting it in the oven first isn't necessary. Part 1:Oven cleaner that has Lye in it. Coat completely in and out. Put it in a trash bag. Let sit for a couple hours. Rinse well with water.

Part 2:Submerge in 50/50 water/vinegar solution. scrub occasionally let soak in solution another couple hours. Rinse and dry well, act fast to get it covered in your choice of fat/oil (veggie works for me)

Part 3: Bake it on, I prefer 400F for 1 HR.

Part two is really only necessary if there is surface rust. the Lye based oven cleaner will remove the carbon residue, the vinegar/water solution will remove the surface rust. 

Correction: Sorry if it seemed my suggestion that the oven cleaning was a step in the process using oven cleaner.  It is two separate processes.  The oven cleaning converts carbon to ash, which washes off with water.  You are correct, that is not necessary if you use a caustic chemical like oven cleaner.

Carolina Q

fishlessman said:

HeavyG said:

Am I the only person that doesn't have an oven with a self cleaning cycle? 

same here, does anyone use the feature

No kidding?! That thing doesn't have self clean? I would have thought it would peel potatoes for you!

henapple

But a new one.... 

TN_Sister_State

I feel a "I hate my oven" thread coming.

Focker

If chemicals aren't your thing, and you're only rehabing one piece, you could go nuclear in your egg, stripping your DO, and reseasoning.  I'd go standard direct setup.

Be careful with vinegar, it will eat your good iron if too acidic and/or left in the pan for too long.

Oven cleaner never worked for me.  Even after an all day soak in a black trashbag, in the sun, in Summer.

I moved on to better things, lye.

jlsm

Repair guy told me to never use the feature. It's incredibly hard on the oven. 

tz666

I live in Louisiana so self cleaning oven is only an option in the dead of our short winter. No way am I letting that thing fight my AC all day in the summer

Theophan

I just started the self-clean cycle on my oven with the dutch oven inside.  Hoping for the best...  

Theophan

I hope you folks look at this thread again:  I did the dutch oven in my oven's self-cleaning cycle, and now it does look like the carbon is gone, BUT the whole pot looks like one big piece of rust!



So... do I oil it and bake it to start seasoning it, or do I need to do something to get rid of the rust, first?

Thanks!

Focker

Theophan said:

I hope you folks look at this thread again:  I did the dutch oven in my oven's self-cleaning cycle, and now it does look like the carbon is gone, BUT the whole pot looks like one big piece of rust!



So... do I oil it and bake it to start seasoning it, or do I need to do something to get rid of the rust, first?

Thanks!

A scrub with a slurry of barkeepers friend will get rid of the flash rust.  After rinsing, wash with soap, rinse, reseason.

Looks good btw.

HeavyG

Could have avoided all that if you had just soaked the bottom with an inch or so of distilled vinegar.

Just sayin.

nolaegghead

HeavyG said:

Could have avoided all that if you had just soaked the bottom with an inch or so of distilled vinegar.

Just sayin.

Funny you mention vinegar - it will take that surface rust off in seconds.  Then season.   It's a great light rust remover.  If you have phosphoric acid, also works great but starts to parkerize the metal (that's not necessarily a bad thing though...)

SmokeyPitt

I am liking my enameled dutch oven more and more

MattBTI

Vinegar/Water solution 1:1 ratio. You could probably soak a rag and rub that off with the vinegar solution. Act fast to season it though. It will instantly begin to oxidize again. 

Theophan

OK, I'll try vinegar tomorrow, but this old guy's too tired to work on it today.  I hope the vinegar helps.  Scouring a heavy piece of cast iron is a whole lot harder for me than it used to be.  My wife was perfectly seriously urging me to pitch it and just buy a new one.  Neither one of us is as strong as we used to be.  I'll see what I can do with it tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice, all!

MattBTI

I brought a cast iron pot, that was completely orange that I found while clearing brush around around a friends house, back to life using the lye based oven cleaner and a vinegar bath. It looks better than brand new, other than somebody taking a grinder/wire wheel to it at one point. 

MattBTI

It's quite similar to the one you have other than it has a dual purpose griddle/flat lid. 

HeavyG

Shouldn't need any scouring, just some wiping.

Personally, with flash rust like that I'd be inclined to just use some paper towels and whatever oil you plan to season it with and just start wiping with oiled paper towels. You'll see lots of that rust just wiping right off.

Terrebandit

This thread is entertaining.