As far as I’m concerned, cast iron cookware is a must-have for off-grid survival. It’s strong, durable, made to go directly over a fire and in the coals, and will last for generations when properly cared for.
New cast iron can be a little pricey, but you can often find old pans for very little money (or even free!) at yard sales or flea markets. We actually salvaged several rusty old skillets from my husband’s grandfather’s house. They looked rough, but since they weren’t rusted through I knew that with a little elbow grease I’d be able to restore them. So read on to find out how to clean a rusty cast iron skillet and bring it back to life!
The first thing you want to do when restoring rusty cast iron cookware is to scrub it out really well with a strong brush or steel wool pad. You can also use a wire pad on the end of a cordless drill to sand off the rust. You want to remove as much dirt and rust as possible.
If your pans are really rusty, you can soak them in a solution of half water, half white vinegar to help remove the corrosion. Soak them for an hour and then see if the rust is easily removed. If it’s still bad, continue soaking for up to 4 hours, checking after every hour to prevent over-soaking. The longer the cast iron sits in the solution, the more it wears away at the metal, so less is best. Wipe them dry with a rag.
Once you’ve removed as much of the rust as possible, you’ll need to bake off whatever remains. You can do this by putting the pans directly into a campfire, or by placing them in the oven. I prefer the oven method, because it’s quick and easy, and it works.
As an added bonus, you’ll be cleaning your oven as well. Which, as you can see, I was in desperate need of doing anyways. Grease fire. Need I say more.
Move the racks in your oven to the very bottom rows. Place your cast iron upside down on the top rack, and set your oven to self-clean. This cycle on my oven goes for 4 hours. Once the self-clean cycle has finished, allow your pans to remain in the oven until cool.
Tip: Do not line the bottom of your oven with foil, as it can melt during the self-clean cycle.
Before baking, this skillet had an extremely thick layer of black crusted film all around the outside. The self-cleaning process completely disintegrated the gunk, turning it into an ashy layer of dust. Now we’re down to bare bones metal. It still looks bad, but hang with me.
Next you’ll want to scrub it again really well, making sure to get the inside crevices thoroughly cleaned, as well as all around the outside. Then dry it well with a towel.
Now that your pan is scrubbed clean, it’s time to season it. You’ll want to grease the pan, inside and out, with vegetable oil, shortening, or some kind of fat. Wipe the excess grease off with a paper towel. You’ll be baking it again, and you don’t want oil dripping off the pan into the bottom of the oven, creating a fire hazard.
Line the bottom rack with a sheet of foil to catch any oil drippings. Place your greased pans upside down on the upper rack, either in the middle or bottom of the oven. Set the oven to 350*, and bake for 1 hour. Allow to mostly cool in the oven before removing.
Before the pans cool completely, you’ll want to spread another layer of oil or fat all around them to finish the cure. Be sure to grease the inside and out, bottom and all.
And that’s it! Isn’t that amazing?! Completely restored and ready to prepare your next meal. The more you use it, the more seasoned it will become. Never use soap when washing your cast iron, or you’ll lose the non-stick seasoning you’ve worked so hard to build up. I scrub my cast iron with a good brush and rinse in hot water after each use. Always lightly oil your pans before and after each use as well, to keep them in top condition.
If you can’t find any old and rusty pans you can always pick them up new here:Cast Iron Cookware From Amazon
There are many different ways to restore rusty cast iron cookware. This is my favorite way, what’s yours?
October 18, 2013 at 8:26 pm
Great advice, I’ve been doing this for years. Problem: this summer we visited our daughter for 5 weeks. We bought her brand new un-seasoned cast iron pans. I seasoned them for her using canola oil (I figured it’s probably GMO so instead of wasting it by tossing it out – use it up w/o ingesting it). The pans came out very sticky and thickly coated as if encased in plastic. Has anyone had this problem? This was the 1st time this has ever happened to me.
October 18, 2013 at 9:56 pm
I’ve inherited a few skillets that had a thick, sticky layer like you’ve described. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I’m betting my uncle did the same thing you did to it. Personally, I’ve never seasoned with canola oil before. I think I baked mine off (last step of the above process) and it fixed the problem.
October 23, 2013 at 1:53 pm
you have to use either lard or crisco to season the pans…canola or olive oil wont work sorry…use very thin layers when you start the seasoning or you will get discoloration…
June 20, 2016 at 6:22 pm
I have used cast iron for more than 50 years. Only old cast iron is worth anything. But I saw your post and just had to reply. When restoring an old cast iron pan, I have always just thrown them in an outdoor fire and everything is burned off. But after that, olive oil is the only thing I have ever used and is what most every chef uses to season the skillet/pan after washing.
Never use soap. Just use hot water and if necessary, despite what most people say, you can lightly scrub the surface under running hot water with steel wool. Use your hands/fingers to feel and make sure any rough spots are gone. Then towel dry and put on the stove top (gas or electric), heat for a minute or two and then wipe the inside of the pan down with a light coat of olive oil. I have had 4 of my pans, ( one Griswold, two Wagners and two no names handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me and they all did it with lard. When I was 12 years old, a chef at a local restaurant showed me the olive oil seasoning method and I have used it ever since and have NEVER had to restore any of those pans and I use them daily. The only pans I restore are old ones I get from garage sales and thrift stores. Those are the ones I burn in a campfire and re-season with olive oil in the oven and then start the process I use with all my pans.
All my pans are better than Teflon. I have never had to go through all the oven spray, sanding and other hard work and effort recommended on so many sites. Best of the best to everyone. And NEVER waste your money on new Lodge pans. We no longer mine the same quality or iron and we have actually lost the process that was used to create the surfaces that were created in the old days. I think a cast iron pan is worth whatever cost… even $200. (I would never pay that unless I had to) because they are not only long lasting and easy to use, but they also add iron to the food which is good for our health.
January 4, 2014 at 4:46 am
To truly make a pan Non-Stick you need to use a Drying Oil. Anything above an Iodine level of 130 or higher. Flaxseed Oil is the best, Its in the supplements area of your health food store. Grapeseed oil is my next favorite. I do basically the same as Kendra. I preheat a 200 for 30min then wipe the oil on. Cook at 500 for an hour and let it cool in the oven for 2 hours after. Do this 6 times and you have a great surface. I also sand my cooking surfaces smooth with a orbital sander. I also use electrolysis to remove the rust and other junk. I actually just resurfaced a pan yesterday. I cooked an egg over easy this morning without any oil or butter.
January 5, 2014 at 6:59 pm
Great ideas to try Dan… thanks for sharing.
January 10, 2014 at 9:56 pm
I’ve sanded some of my cast iron, too – it definitely helps. The newer stuff (as Lavonne wrote elsewhere in the comments) is a lot rougher than the classic cast iron. Antique shops are where I’ve bought most of my cookware.
February 4, 2017 at 6:42 pm
Sounds like you put too much oil on the pan. In this case, more is not better.
Spread a light covering of vegetable, olive, or canola oil on the pan. Wipe off with paper towels until there’s no shine. Cook at 350 degrees for an hour.
October 18, 2013 at 11:12 pm
I don’t have a self cleaning oven, I live in an apartment, so using a grill isn’t an option. What would be the appropriate temp to use which would be equivalent to self cleaning, 500 degrees? Thats right before broiling.
October 18, 2013 at 11:27 pm
Just get your oven as hot as it can go, 450* or 500* will be just fine. Bake it for 3-4 hours, as directed. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
October 18, 2013 at 11:55 pm
I prefer the old ones to the new ones. New ones are not milled on the inside (meaning the surface is milled smooth) A smooth surface gives you better heat transfer, better color on the food, takes less time to season, and more. The new ones have a rough surface. Try cooking in both and you’ll see what I mean. I’m always on the lookout for an old rusty pan that I can restore!
October 19, 2013 at 7:34 am
Never, never use a liquid oil on an iron pan. Only animal fat will do. Otherwise you get the sticky results mentioned here.
October 20, 2013 at 1:05 pm
I’ve had no problem with olive oil.
June 25, 2015 at 11:15 am
Animal fats go rancid after a time, especially in a cast iron pan that usually won’t be scrubbed out after each use. Olive oil is a low smoke-point oil and isn’t suitable for high-temperature frying.
Since I like to sear meats in my cast iron, I rub the cooking surface with kosher salt and high smoke-point oil – Canola, Grapeseed, Sunflower, Peanut, etc – while warming the pan over the element on medium-low heat. The heat lowers the viscosity of the oil, allowing it to be drawn into the microscopic pores of the metal. Once the pan stops absorbing the oil, I wipe the remaining salt and oil out of the pan and allow it to cool.
August 30, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Try using Google next time Matt. Olive oil has a smoke point within 10 degrees Fahrenheit of canola oil, only extra virgin has a significantly lower smoke point. Keep it under 400 and you’ll be fine with canola or olive.
October 19, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Great advice! But what do you do if you don’t have a self-cleaning oven?
October 19, 2013 at 12:16 pm
Nevermind…I should have read the comments better!
October 20, 2013 at 4:55 am
I enjoy my cast iron skillets, it’s my skillet of choice and has been for many years. I think peanut oil is the best oil for seasoning in the oven. The peanut oil tolerates hi-heat temps better than most.
October 20, 2013 at 11:04 am
My mother always used Crisco Shortening on her pans and I still do, works the best, and always dry the pans on the stove so they won’t rust.
October 21, 2013 at 11:34 am
I have a gas stove and it is manual cleaning. What do I do in this case?
October 21, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Hi I love cast iron. I restored some this summer. I used my BBQ grill and it worked perfect. After I brushed off all the dust I put them in a vinegar/water soak for about 30 minutes and then seasoned in the oven.The first 2 skillets I done. I done them wrong, when I put them in to the oven to season them I didn’t turn them upside down. I turned them upright and the seasoning Crisco kinda pooled inside and made ridges. I had to redo them again on the grill to get that off. When I fry/use something in my cast iron and am finished with it. I clean it out with hot water and dry it off then set it on a burner and heat it up to dry it thru and take a paper towel dipped in Crisco and wipe around inside and let it cool. When it is completely cool I wipe it again with a clean paper towel and hang with the rest of my cast iron.
October 21, 2013 at 5:02 pm
I’m sorry, but I would never attempt to season a cast iron pan that still has rust on it. The rust needs to be completely removed prior to seasoning. Having used cast iron for years and years, and taught classes on cast iron and Dutch oven cooking, it is also my opinion that 350 is not a hot enough oven, and one hour is not long enough. The oven should be at least 425 for at least two to three hours. If you have a brand new cast iron pan with no seasoning, this process should be completed at least three times prior to using the pan. In addition, I would NEVER use any animal fat oils or shortening on my cast iron. They will cause your pan to go rancid. You are much better off using a plant based oil, such as a HIGH QUALITY olive oil. You don’t want to go cheap here, if you want a decent seasoning on your pan.
To remove a small amount of rust, use a dry SOS pad and the rust will easily come off. For more stubborn rust, soak the item in COKE. Yes, the soda. Just as Coke eats away the acid on a battery, it will eat away at the rust on your cast iron. Once ALL the rust is removed, THEN, you can season it.
October 21, 2013 at 6:10 pm
I have made the same mistake by putting mine in bottom side down. One problem i have had is after seasoning them i continue to get this black residue in the pans. What is this and what can i do to prevent this. Maybe i am doing something wrong. I do use Crisco or some sort of shortening. My mama always used lard on hers, but back then that is what people used most. There probably was not any Crisco back then. If anyone know why i am getting this black residue please let me know. Sincerely, Wanda
October 23, 2013 at 1:57 pm
wanda it sounds as if your putting too thick a coat of crisco on …use a thinner layer…nevertheless the seasoning coat will be black..thats the color of a well seasoned pan..but it should be smooth and slick…
October 31, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Kendra, I applaud your endeavor however some of your info is misleading. I’ve been collecting and restoring cast iron for over 50 years and am also a member of several cast iron collecting groups and cooking groups. Among collectors and users there are some fundamental rules concerning restoring, cleaning and seasoning. When using heat to burn off residue you must always use a controllable heat source such as an oven or furnace, never use a fire pit or bon fire to burn off residue or crud as you can not control the heat and that can lead to warping or cracking of your pan. Second no no is to sandblast cast iron as that will damage the patina of the pan and it will not season correctly. Yes, there are those who claim that’s the way the always do it and never had a problem, but, the day will come when they ruin an heirloom to their dismay. The accepted way to clean cast iron is thus: for rusty pieces a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water and scrub till your fingers fall off. For built up crud use a lye bath and soak for 5 to 7 days. Or, to remove rust and crud use an electrolysis tank set up. Electrolysis and Lye bath are both easy to set up and are the approved methods to restore cast iron. You can find the DIY methods by searching on the net. As for which oil or fat to use that is a personal choice, all are good and all will work. The important point to remember is that you have to use high enough heat to polymerize the oil/fat to get that hard carbon surface we call seasoning. Each oil/fat has its own smoking point and you have to exceed that temperature for it to polymerize. I’ve tried many oils/fat and the one I personally now use is PAM, mainly because of the results but also because of the ease of use. I use my gas BBQ, place my bare raw CI in the BBQ at 300 degrees for 20 minutes then take it out and oil it, wipe it down until I have removed “all” the oil leaving just a very thin film, then place it back in the BBQ upside down and turn the heat up to 500 degrees and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and fifteen minutes. Then turn off the BBQ and leave the CI inside of the BBQ to cool until I can pick it up just using a thin pot holder and then spray it again with PAM and wipe and my pans are ready to use. The more it’s used the better it gets. This is how I now clean and season and it works for me. What oil/fat you use however needs to be done in a similar way, high heat for an hour or more, to get a good hard seasoning that will not flake or chip off. It is also a must to remove all old seasoning when cleaning and especially “any” rust – do not ever season over rust. For more reading and info I recommend the “Wagner and Griswold Society,” the “Griswold and Cast Iron Cookware Association,” both on the internet, and the “Cast Iron Cooking Group” on facebook. All these groups have a lot of info on cleaning and seasoning – the correct way.
May 8, 2016 at 5:52 pm
Hi Ron, I have been working on my Montgomery Wards, Circa 1925 waffle iron for about 3 days. I’ve been soaking in a vinegar/water mix and scrubbing with brass brushes. I’m not satisfied and I’m not making any progress on the black stuff stuck on the outside and around each of the protruding squares on the inside. Not to mention the coil handle is just as rusty as ever. I need a safe plan B and an experts opinion. Hope you can help!!!
December 1, 2013 at 1:10 am
my son put my cast iron skillet in the dishwasher, this was his first time using the dish washer and didn’t know that you shouldn’t put cast iron in there.So does that mean that my skillet is ruined? I don’t know if I can use it or not. Would it be safe to use?
December 6, 2013 at 7:52 pm
No – it’s not ruined. Cast iron is resilient stuff. I’d simply wash it well with regular dish soap and water, dry it out, then cover it in grease and season it like Kendra suggests. We’ve done it with really rough cast iron many times.
January 23, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Hmm….aren’t those pans a little too rusty to be seasoning?
March 31, 2014 at 1:09 pm
I am using cast iron since many years now and I love them. I restored my skillet this summer. After I brushed off all the dust I put them in a vinegar/water soak for about 30 minutes and then seasoned in the oven.
April 9, 2014 at 11:48 pm
I have some of my Grandma’s pans. I also have a glass cooktop, that if anything is on the bottom of a pan, it will leave a brown Mark. I spend lots of time cleaning it, but I just love it.
My question is, will these old pans leave my cooktop a mess?
April 10, 2014 at 1:37 am
petsrule,
When you season your cast iron, it should be done inside and out. If you keep the outside of the pan rust free and oiled every now and then, it shouldn’t leave marks on your stovetop. I haven’t had any trouble with mine on my glass cooktop.
June 23, 2014 at 6:30 pm
will this method work the same for renewing my iron grill grates?
October 19, 2014 at 11:45 pm
This is a nice idea people, but judging from the photos, not good enough from a health standpoint. Even with the seasoned pans in the last photo, it’s apparent that the rust still exists beneath the oil layer. These pans need to be ground down to bare metal again. If not, all that rust leaches into your food and is very dangerous.
October 27, 2014 at 12:47 am
I agree that the pans are still rusty but not that rust is dangerous. What’s dangerous about iron oxide?
July 24, 2015 at 5:35 pm
HI,
I am cleaning several pieces of cast iron. One is a large tea kettle, do you season a kettle or just dry it out everytime so you dont have oil/grease in your water? Thanks
July 24, 2015 at 5:41 pm
To be honest, I’ve never seasoned our cast iron kettle. It is getting rusty, but I just haven’t done anything with it.
July 30, 2015 at 8:37 pm
I always season my cast iron with coconut oil. It won’t go rancid and holds up to high heat. It works beautifully. Coconut oil is amazing stuff.
September 17, 2015 at 2:36 pm
them are not clean, i de rust mine by soaking them in 1 part molasses to 7 parts water for 3 weeks, then scoure the inside with a sand stone then bake 18 coats of unsalted hog lard into them
September 17, 2015 at 2:45 pm
the by product of 1 part molasses 7 parts water bath over a few weeks is citric acids it will look like new iron , also works on car parts in a large tank its 9$ makes over 50 gallon de rust dip
September 17, 2015 at 3:10 pm
i quit using vingar its like 1 to 2$ a gallon, i can buy 6 gallons of molasses from the feed store for 8 or 9$ and make 60 gallon or more of de rust bath its just takes longer, they say 7 parts water to 1 part molasses but i had good luck on 4 car rims on a 1 part molasses to 10 parts water they come out looking sand blasted in 3 weeks
September 17, 2015 at 3:17 pm
also works on copper and brass, and any farm tools just pitch them in the tank they come out with no rust
November 30, 2015 at 1:51 am
I’ve collected up a pretty complete set of Griswold cast pans over the summer. Some I got for as little as $25 and free ship off e0Bay. One was SO bad, it actually stunk like rotting fish when I unwrapped it. All I have taken to work and on my breaks I’ve used the bead blaster to strip them clean. (Glass beads, little to no erosion of the metal, but all the cooked on scale came clean. A good scrub under water ah hot as you can stand to put your hands in, dried off with paper towel the backed at 350 for 20/30 min to ensure dry. Allow to cool to where you can comfortable handle them, the while still warm, wiped inside and out with Crisco shortening, back in to bake at 350 for a hour or two. Finish it off the next day with frying 1/2 package of bacon. Pour off the grease, put back on med to low heat until the remaining grease begins to smoke. Make bacon sammich, wipe out with paper towel, add a bit more of the reserved grease and repeat. ENJOY!
December 10, 2015 at 10:49 pm
It is untrue that using soap to wash your seasoned iron skillet will remove the season. Oil it converted to a type of hard lacquer which cannot be removed with soap and a rag.
December 16, 2015 at 9:32 pm
It’s getting a bit confusing here !!! As I see it, there are multiple ways to restore and season Cast Iron Cookware. Which oil does this, that oil does this, and I suggest asking an Older Cook (50/60 years plus) how they season there CI and go with it. Reading all of the methods just confuses this old Man. My late Grandmother seasoned hers with Crisco.In her 90’s when she passed, She was the ‘ask anything’ of the Family Do what you are most comfortable with and then do it the same way from then on.
March 7, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Wow! This seems to be a quite successful cleaning strategy. I just found two old cats iron skillets at my grandmother’s basement and I’ll definitely try to season them your way. Thanks for the great info!
June 27, 2016 at 2:05 am
Yea that’s a little to much rust under there for my taste,50/50 viniger water,30 mins,clean,repeat,untill rust is gone,then spray with Pam,and wipe dry,then heat,repeat this 3 or 4 times and your good to go.Sorry about correcting ya on your process of cleaning and seasoning C.I.
August 11, 2016 at 2:58 pm
My parents bought an Amazing property in East Texas, and came across 2 old cast iron skillets down in a creek bottom when the drought hit a couple of years ago. Mom scrubbed and scrubbed for what seems like weeks on those old things. She finally threw them in the oven on self clean, and after a rinse, they were amazing looking!! She, and all of my grandmothers season all of their cast iron with bacon grease and always have.
Just thought I’d share
August 31, 2016 at 12:51 am
What if you don’t have a self cleanning oven?
September 9, 2016 at 12:29 am
Just heat it as hot as it will get.