PHXfoodnerds

I went down the Cast Iron restoration rabbit hole over the summer. I'm nowhere near being a pro, I'm still learning lots, but I've been having a lot of fun restoring cast iron to its former glory. (I'm using Lye and Vinegar soak methods, for now. I'm a battery charger away from setting up an electrolysis tank. After I get home from vacation it's happening. ) I have also been making my own Seasoning and Conditioning paste that I'm going to eventually start selling as a little side hustle fun. I've been documenting things on a new Instagram page if you want to follow the fun.

My mom has been finding crusty pans on FB marketplace for me to play around with. She found this gorgeous Victoria 12-inch skillet for $10 that cleaned up beautifully. Here are the before shots:
It took a good couple of weeks soak in a lye bath, a couple short soaks in a vinegar bath to get off the rust, and some elbow grease to clean up, but she's a beaut, Clark. It's nowhere near perfect, I can see some flash rust on the handle that I missed, and some carbon that just needed some muscle, but seasoning took care of those. These pix are are before I seasoned them with my wax.
This one is after I seasoned it. It went 5 rounds in the oven. I'd apply a layer, bake it for an hour, let it cool, then repeat. It's a necessary pain in the ass but the end results speak for themselves. Like I said, I'm not an expert, but if anyone has a crusty pan they want done, hit me up and I'll get you on the list. I don't charge anything right now but who knows in the future...

Awesome stuff. I have a VERY old 12 qt 'kettle' that I found in a barn in Portal, GA. Had probably 100-year-old food bits still in it. Lots of work to restore but well worth it!

I found a cast iron skillet in my backyard several years ago (I think it's an unmarked Wagner #8). All rusted and pitted but I cleaned it up and it gets used regularly. I found the best way to season cast iron is to use it. Roast potatoes is a good one, slam it in the oven at 450 with a bunch of oily potato cubes.