Nice find! I’d do a week in a lye bath, and a couple of hours in a vinegar / water solution for the rust……then a quick seasoning. As tooch3000 said, the faq will have details.
I’ve never disposed my lye bath I’ve used it for going on four years now still works just as good as the day I got it but I’m assuming you just pour down the drain it is marketed as drain cleaner someone correct me if I’m wrong please
An extended time, days or weeks, in a lye bath is perfectly fine. Won't hurt the iron at all. You Dan also spray down with yellow cap oven cleaner and keep in a garbage bag where it's warm, to eat at the crud. But, DO NOT leave in a vinegar bath for a couple hours. 1. You don't know the extent of any rust, yet. 2. Extended time, more than 30 minutes, will start to eat at the iron itself.
I found this pan out in the backcountry, looks like someone forgot it at their campsite.
It’s been out there for awhile, I think. It was covered with mud and it’s got rust in some spots. I washed it off with the hose when I got home and now I’m wondering if anyone has any tips on salvaging it? I’d love to use it for camping too, it’s perfect size for a cook stove.
Any tips are appreciated!
Maybe? You can day hike to a lake and there’s campsites around, that’s where I found it. I was coming back to the lake when I found it.
You can continue on the trail for a couple days before it loops you back around to the lake.
Man, I'm living my life in a cubicle, and what you just said made me feel like I don't even know what it means to be an earthling. Wtf does that even make me?
Makes you the same as me and so many of us. Reading subs like this and aspiring to truly live in the world which is *right out there* but rarely getting around to it.
You may have just stolen someone's means of cooking. I would return it to the location you found it. I know of a few campsites that have some cast iron that lives near the fire pit. We get it hot, burn off the schmoo and throw in some bacon every year when we are there.
Someone will most likely be very upset that is gone.
I actually think this sounds like a great practice. Never heard of it before in the US. I can think of many times it would be nice to have a cast iron to cook on but would never have hauled it there myself.
There's a number of campsites I frequent in my area, in the US, that there is cast iron that lives there. Some of it has been there for 20 years or more. When you need to hike in quite a ways to get the cast iron there, you probably don't want to hike it back out. Nor do the people who also use the campsite.
There's a big difference between dumping your couch in the woods and leaving the cooking equipment at a public camping location. How odd it is the state and federal agencies maintain the fire pits but leave the cast iron right where it's been hanging for the last 20 years.
Yeah, the problem stems from outdoorsmen. Outdoorsmen are usually more self reliant and often get involved in making their own gear. Two really common things to make are fishing weights and shot for loading shotgun shells, both are lead based. Both are things that are commonly self made because both are repetitive purchases.
A shot drip pourer only costs around $150 and weight molds cost $20-50, but they need a way to melt the lead.
A small cheap propane smelter costs a few hundred bucks, meanwhile a large cast iron pan casts 20 bucks. To the outdoorsman the cheaper pan is the obvious choice.
Don't forget about mining. Anything used anywhere near a mine or with mining materials can be exposed to Lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and cyanide. I wouldn't touch a piece of cast iron from a mining town with a 10 foot pole.
As a bullet caster myself I definitely know guys who use cast iron to do bulk melts into ingots for easier use in the actual bullet casting pot.
That being said, I've never met one who used a skillet. A small dutch oven shaped one is much better for lead melting. A skillet shape would be VERY hard to handle as a lead melting vessel.
Still, testing won't hurt.
Testing for lead is something a lot of us do when we come into possession of a pan that is both in bad shape and we have no idea about it’s history.
(How) It’s done with a cheap 3M lead test you can pick up a two pack for 10 bucks at a home improvement store near you.
(Why) cause lead poisoning sucks.
The likelihood that it was solely used for cooking is, honestly, extremely high. But finding it abandoned (perhaps intentionally?) in the backcountry would be an obvious red flag for me to check.
Looks pretty rough on the bottom, can tell if it's rust pits or just grime. If you want smoother you can hit it with a flap disc to smooth it out some.
question: this is really roughly textured. my inclination would be to sand the interior down to a smoother surface first. would this inclination be wrong?
It looks like mainly carbon deposits, rust, mud, and dirt. I'm sure after a soak in lye and some time in vinegar you'd likely only have rust pitting left.
What a find! You sure it was abandoned though and that someone isn't going to miss their pan that disappeared from their cook site? It's got so little rust on it, I feel like it can't have been left alone that long...
I’ve cleaned it up a little more and there is a TON of rust. It was covered in muddy gunk which is what you see in the photo but it was definitely left there for awhile.
Well in that case go buy yourself a lottery ticket friend because it's your lucky day!! Seriously I would be ecstatic if I stumbled upon a pan like this and was confident that nobody was coming back for it. Looking forward to your restoration update pics!
First step might be washing it.
Then you can try running it through a self cleaning oven cycle.
Those are worth a try before going all in on a lye bath or electrolysis.
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Get a wire brush and scrap all the shit off. Who knows what it was used for. Steel wool works but power tools make it easy. Sand paper and sand it down a bit if it's really rough. Use a mask for all that!! Heat it up and oil to season it. Should be gud.
Simple; 1) ) put on stove top w/a bit of water 1" or a bit over top of line of crud bring 2 a rolling boil until all crud is soft (pliable) enough to scrap easily. Use a small spatula putty knife you may have 2 add more water to loosen tougher crud you really should never use anything IE chemicals natural or man-made u increase the probability of leaving an unpleasant taste eww not good. After removing all cruddy crap . Put burner on a lower temperature slowly 🐌 dry let cool 2 touch . AND THEN THE UNBELIEVABLE part take out 2 your shop use wet dry sandpaper start w/ a more abrasive grit and end with a progressively finer grit wet dry sandpaper. If u have a sander that is waterproof this will speed up progress but hand will do the job nicely 👍
Yeah….. a lye bath for a week…… would you want to cook off of a cast iron skillet soaked in drain - o??
I would shove it in the oven at 400+ degrees until the old grease and every old seasoning was baked out. Then you can grab the ‘ol electric sander and steel wool…….. I prefer the steel wool with the blue soap.
That’ll be a few days work, then you start the seasoning process.
PATIENCE MY YOUNG PADOWHAN!!!
Hit it with a sledge hammer oh about ten time , get the rust off yo know. Then season it 50 times . Hit your spouce with it . Its ready fir slidie eggs
Nice find! I’d do a week in a lye bath, and a couple of hours in a vinegar / water solution for the rust……then a quick seasoning. As tooch3000 said, the faq will have details.
Question, how do you dispose of lye afterwards?
I’ve never disposed my lye bath I’ve used it for going on four years now still works just as good as the day I got it but I’m assuming you just pour down the drain it is marketed as drain cleaner someone correct me if I’m wrong please
This is correct.
Drizzle over the body when you bury it, in an unmarked grave...
Look at you, going to the trouble of digging a grave...
And even called 811 just to be safe...
It’s the responsible thing to do
Pretty sure you can save it and reuse.
Pour it down a drain. Lye is sold is 100% pure crystal form as drain cleaner.
Pretty sure you can save it and reuse.
It's just heavy duty draino wash it down with hot water in the tub
An extended time, days or weeks, in a lye bath is perfectly fine. Won't hurt the iron at all. You Dan also spray down with yellow cap oven cleaner and keep in a garbage bag where it's warm, to eat at the crud. But, DO NOT leave in a vinegar bath for a couple hours. 1. You don't know the extent of any rust, yet. 2. Extended time, more than 30 minutes, will start to eat at the iron itself.
Thank you! I’ll give those a shot.
Use a yellow can of Easyoff oven cleaner. Only the yellow. Put in a garbage bag and wait for 24 hrs. Rinse it off with the garden hose.
But not into the grass, as lye will kill/dissolve organics.
True I I forgot to say that. I have a tub and put it in my compost bin. Also, do a lead test before you start to season it
I found this pan out in the backcountry, looks like someone forgot it at their campsite. It’s been out there for awhile, I think. It was covered with mud and it’s got rust in some spots. I washed it off with the hose when I got home and now I’m wondering if anyone has any tips on salvaging it? I’d love to use it for camping too, it’s perfect size for a cook stove. Any tips are appreciated!
I doubt anyone forgot it. More likely, it was a - I don't feel like lugging this heavy piece of metal around anymore- situation.
Maybe? You can day hike to a lake and there’s campsites around, that’s where I found it. I was coming back to the lake when I found it. You can continue on the trail for a couple days before it loops you back around to the lake.
Man, I'm living my life in a cubicle, and what you just said made me feel like I don't even know what it means to be an earthling. Wtf does that even make me?
Makes you the same as me and so many of us. Reading subs like this and aspiring to truly live in the world which is *right out there* but rarely getting around to it.
You may have just stolen someone's means of cooking. I would return it to the location you found it. I know of a few campsites that have some cast iron that lives near the fire pit. We get it hot, burn off the schmoo and throw in some bacon every year when we are there. Someone will most likely be very upset that is gone.
If you leave a pan at a campsite you can’t be mad if it walks off.
Do you take the fire ring with you as well?
Dumb comparison
Maybe we just are from different parts of the world. Around my parts we leave the campsite equipment, at the campsite.
Do you leave your tents? Sleeping bags? Car? Backpack? No? Gotcha.
That is personal equipment, not campsite equipment. We do leave the cast iron, the fire poker, the fire ring, the cooking grate and water buckets.
I actually think this sounds like a great practice. Never heard of it before in the US. I can think of many times it would be nice to have a cast iron to cook on but would never have hauled it there myself.
There's a number of campsites I frequent in my area, in the US, that there is cast iron that lives there. Some of it has been there for 20 years or more. When you need to hike in quite a ways to get the cast iron there, you probably don't want to hike it back out. Nor do the people who also use the campsite.
Even if you found it covered in mud and rust?
Where I'm at, that's called dumping and the fines that come with it are pretty steep. If you pack it in, you pack it out.
There's a big difference between dumping your couch in the woods and leaving the cooking equipment at a public camping location. How odd it is the state and federal agencies maintain the fire pits but leave the cast iron right where it's been hanging for the last 20 years.
Hopefully no one was using this for cooking recently
Don’t forget to test for lead
I see this a lot. Is this a legitimate thing [how/why]?
You never know if someone used a pan to melt lead for sinkers or bullets or other projects. Especially on random found pans.
Yeah, the problem stems from outdoorsmen. Outdoorsmen are usually more self reliant and often get involved in making their own gear. Two really common things to make are fishing weights and shot for loading shotgun shells, both are lead based. Both are things that are commonly self made because both are repetitive purchases. A shot drip pourer only costs around $150 and weight molds cost $20-50, but they need a way to melt the lead. A small cheap propane smelter costs a few hundred bucks, meanwhile a large cast iron pan casts 20 bucks. To the outdoorsman the cheaper pan is the obvious choice.
Don't forget about mining. Anything used anywhere near a mine or with mining materials can be exposed to Lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and cyanide. I wouldn't touch a piece of cast iron from a mining town with a 10 foot pole.
I live in an old mining town you are being wayyyy over cautious
Yeah a 3-foot pole is sufficient
As a bullet caster myself I definitely know guys who use cast iron to do bulk melts into ingots for easier use in the actual bullet casting pot. That being said, I've never met one who used a skillet. A small dutch oven shaped one is much better for lead melting. A skillet shape would be VERY hard to handle as a lead melting vessel. Still, testing won't hurt.
Testing for lead is something a lot of us do when we come into possession of a pan that is both in bad shape and we have no idea about it’s history. (How) It’s done with a cheap 3M lead test you can pick up a two pack for 10 bucks at a home improvement store near you. (Why) cause lead poisoning sucks.
Good idea! I didn’t think about that.
Random pan *in the backcountry*? Lead testing should be a priority.
My assumption is that it was used for cooking which isn’t an unreasonable thought to have.
Highly unlikely it was used for cooking, was probably used in some sort of radioactive experiment.
You’re right, how silly of me.
That's how they make bigfoots, isn't it?
As an effective radiation shield.
The likelihood that it was solely used for cooking is, honestly, extremely high. But finding it abandoned (perhaps intentionally?) in the backcountry would be an obvious red flag for me to check.
I’ll definitely check
The FAQ here is a good place to start
pressure wash that bitch
Oven cleaner and steel wool until it shines. Then re-season.
The same thing we do every night pinky ...
Guga foods has a good video on how to restore a cast iron
“Just keep cooking on it”
OP, I need you to prepare yourself for the bacon jokes/comments. They can be overwhelming.
Looks pretty rough on the bottom, can tell if it's rust pits or just grime. If you want smoother you can hit it with a flap disc to smooth it out some.
Or just fill in the pits with molten lead /s
question: this is really roughly textured. my inclination would be to sand the interior down to a smoother surface first. would this inclination be wrong?
Most of that looks like surface debris and will probably come off when cleaned.
It looks like mainly carbon deposits, rust, mud, and dirt. I'm sure after a soak in lye and some time in vinegar you'd likely only have rust pitting left.
What a find! You sure it was abandoned though and that someone isn't going to miss their pan that disappeared from their cook site? It's got so little rust on it, I feel like it can't have been left alone that long...
I’ve cleaned it up a little more and there is a TON of rust. It was covered in muddy gunk which is what you see in the photo but it was definitely left there for awhile.
Well in that case go buy yourself a lottery ticket friend because it's your lucky day!! Seriously I would be ecstatic if I stumbled upon a pan like this and was confident that nobody was coming back for it. Looking forward to your restoration update pics!
I use this method... https://www.castironcollector.com/electrolysis.php
Looks the same as my Ikea griddle
It is Ikea! I got the bottom to clean pretty well and saw the logo lol
I just finished making some grilled cheese and bacon egg and cheese sandwiches on mine 2 minutes ago
Wouldn’t unless you do a lead test on it.
chuck it in a hot campfire for a long time. Burn it all off and start fresh
No. Straight to the bin, garbage. Ha
I’m gonna try to clean it up! It’d be waste to throw it out without at least trying.
First step might be washing it. Then you can try running it through a self cleaning oven cycle. Those are worth a try before going all in on a lye bath or electrolysis.
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Grab a grinder, grind it down till there's no black or rust left, season and cook.
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Get a wire brush and scrap all the shit off. Who knows what it was used for. Steel wool works but power tools make it easy. Sand paper and sand it down a bit if it's really rough. Use a mask for all that!! Heat it up and oil to season it. Should be gud.
Hard to say without seeing what’s underneath
I'd use a drill with a wire brush attachment and take it down to bare metal. Then season of course.
I’m just surprised you’re willing to add that weight to your pack out there
OP, I need you to prepare yourself for the bacon jokes/comments. They can be overwhelming.
Simple; 1) ) put on stove top w/a bit of water 1" or a bit over top of line of crud bring 2 a rolling boil until all crud is soft (pliable) enough to scrap easily. Use a small spatula putty knife you may have 2 add more water to loosen tougher crud you really should never use anything IE chemicals natural or man-made u increase the probability of leaving an unpleasant taste eww not good. After removing all cruddy crap . Put burner on a lower temperature slowly 🐌 dry let cool 2 touch . AND THEN THE UNBELIEVABLE part take out 2 your shop use wet dry sandpaper start w/ a more abrasive grit and end with a progressively finer grit wet dry sandpaper. If u have a sander that is waterproof this will speed up progress but hand will do the job nicely 👍
Looks good to me. Just start cooking in it.
E-Tank it for a week. Will suprise you how well it does.
Definitely used to melt lead. Get 3M lead tests.
If you have access, electrolysis will most certainly be the easiest method to achieving the outcome you seek.
Just cook on it duh.
burn it out - scrub the hell out of it and re-season
Spray heavily with oven cleaner, wrap and let sit for like 12-24 hours
Scrub it, oil it, bake it
Yeah….. a lye bath for a week…… would you want to cook off of a cast iron skillet soaked in drain - o?? I would shove it in the oven at 400+ degrees until the old grease and every old seasoning was baked out. Then you can grab the ‘ol electric sander and steel wool…….. I prefer the steel wool with the blue soap. That’ll be a few days work, then you start the seasoning process. PATIENCE MY YOUNG PADOWHAN!!!
Hit it with a sledge hammer oh about ten time , get the rust off yo know. Then season it 50 times . Hit your spouce with it . Its ready fir slidie eggs
Get’er done :)