Wife let ours get rusty..any advice ?

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Use an abrasive like steel wool or chain mail and season it immediately. If it is bad, get it mediablasted and season immediately.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Yes it is Made in the USA..no I do not have a self cleaning oven..just a gas burner.
Yes I do have vinegar-sea salt-steel wool-grease.

__________________
CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Heat. Try running through a self-clean cycle in the oven, then season. You'll wind up with virtually a new piece of cookware.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Crap. You posted while I was posting. Got a bbq? Next best thing to a self-clean oven.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

What about using an electrolysis bath with water, washing soda, sacrificial anodes and DC current from a battery charger. This is effective in gently removing rust from ferrous metal I just don’t know about issues with cookware, my guess is that it would be fine.

Do not use any stainless steel when using an electrolysis bath.

Good luck!!!

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

In S.E. Asia...no dishwashers, self cleaning oven, BBQ grill.
Just elbow grease.

So far..let it soak in 50/50 vinergar-water.
Heat..cool down...scrape with scraper..sea salt- chore boy/steel wool.
Repeat.
Starting to look better.

__________________
CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Busted out the sandpaper .looks like this will take all afternoon.
Dont know what she did to get it in this condition, any inquirerys were met with languages vasillating between Bahasa Indonesian, rapid fire Malay, stucatto Mandarin, tuned that out..sent her off to her job.
Over here, this type of woman is refferred to as 'Chili Padis', you dont want to provoke them.
its just me, my limited tool supply..and the Lodge Dutch oven.
So here we are.

__________________
CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

I feel your pain ~ when I got married in 1976 my young Guatemalan spouse looked at my 1920's cast iron pans and said "these are filthy, I'll toss them out" ~ oh, HELL NO ! .

But, I went to work and she cleaned them very well with Brillo pads, by the time I got home 10 hours later they were all bright red with flash rust, I tried to teach her but they *vanished* shortly thereafter .

She also ruined every knife I had including some really good Heinkels and some vintage Japanese knives I had .

Then complained about 'your crappy knives !' .

Don't provoke her, just clean 'em well and re season, once she gets a taste of food properly cooked in seasoned cast iron she may come around .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Wire brush drill attachment makes short work of cast iron skillet rust. Why sit there and scrub with a pad for a while? Blast the rust off then season the pan. Time is money

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Do not use soap. If you have to rub a layer of vegetable oil on it to store.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast-iron_cookware

VO, WVO seasoning?
" seasoned pan has a stick-resistant coating created by polymerized oils and fats. Seasoning is a process by which a layer of animal fat or vegetable oil is applied and cooked onto cast-iron or carbon steel cookware. New cookware should be vigorously washed in hot water with a strong detergent to remove any casting oils from the cookware's surface. A light coat of oil is applied and the cookware is placed upside down in an oven above a large pan (to drain for an hour), the pan can now be removed, then the oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and baked for 30 minutes. Some cookware comes pre-seasoned from the factory. A seasoned pan ought never to be placed in a conventional dishwasher as this can strip it of its seasoning and lead to rust and damage the pan."

"Because other cookware cleaning techniques like scouring or washing in a dishwasher can remove or damage the seasoning on a bare cast-iron pan, these pans should not be cleaned like most other cookware. Some chefs advocate never cleaning cast-iron pans at all; simply wiping them out after use, or washing them with hot water and a stiff brush.[15] Others advocate washing with mild soap and water, and then re-applying a thin layer of fat or oil.[16] A third approach is to scrub with coarse salt and a paper towel or clean rag."

They above is pretty much what my Mother and Father used to do. Wipe of, rinse in water and dry it with a cloth and let it air dry where in a position where it would have minimal contact with anything else.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Try Youtube. There is a lot there.

We brought the Dutch oven and a small Skillet (Lodge) back from the States 2 years ago.
I seasoned both of them (skillet is still ok), she already knows how good the food tastes when using these utensils.
Did see her cooking spaghetti sauce in the big pot, told her thats not a good idea, as the tomatoes acidity can nuetralise the seasoning.
I suspect she did it anyway..saw the seasoning was gone, tried to 'Season it' herself, and things went Sideways.
I did photogragh each step by step I went through to clean it (not finished yet)..will photograph a step by step on How to season it.

__________________
CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Have a couple of drills..Nearest hardware didnt carry the wire brush.
I did, however manage to get a lot of rust and gunk off with my small orbital sander.

__________________
CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.