If you're not interested in any collector value, sandblast it and it will look brand new. Clean it good and season it. I have also used a ss wire brush on an angle grinder. A soak in a lye solution takes off most anything. If it isn't really bad, steel wool/SOS pad works well. If it is just rust, 50/50 white vinegar and water soak works well. Only for an hour or two, though. Acid can damage it. I'm a consumer, not a collector. When I'm done cooking in 30-40 years, no one will know what I've done. Love my cast iron cookware. Still on the lookout for a waffle iron.
I like the white vinegar approach. After the initial seasoning it takes a few uses to get it seasoned the way I like.
Take it down to bare metal by whatever means necessary...if it is heavily pitted you might need to get aggressive. Season it and cook with it. No magic here.
I somewhat agree. I would only sandblast as a last resort. It does get down to bare metal, quickly. I'm not sure if that is an especially good thing. I just did a couple of Griswold skillets, and they do look brand new, complete with all the pocks and graininess of the original finish. They season up pretty well, and aren't bad sticky, but I really prefer the wire brush.
Speaking of seasoning cast iron, what seems to work really well? I've used coconut oil, lard, etc.. I throw the pans in my Esse cookstove oven, as that's always up and running... I apply a heavy coat, let them go for hours or sometimes over night in the oven... One use and they seem like they lost that nice coating again... I just use water to wash them out lightly, trying not to remove the baked in oil seasoning... I do love my cast iron...
I use Crisco. After washing it out (not with soap) I put it back on the burner and heat it up to dry it out, then rub it down with a light coat of whatever before storing it.
Kind of same thing I do... I'll have to try to build up some multiple coats... We use one pan more then the others...
I think animal fats work better, like lard or butter. After stripping it, I wash it well with soap, and dry it thoroughly on a burner like luke. Apply a coat of fat, then wipe it all off so it is a very thin coat. I put it in the oven upside down, with a baking sheet on a rack underneath in case of drips, and then turn the oven on to 350 or so. I let it go for a couple of hours, then turn it off and let the pan cool with the oven. And yes, you may have to do it more than once. When using, I get the pan hot first, then add oil to the hot pan. My wife usually skips this part, and ends up fighting with it. She puts everything in the pan, then turns the burner on. Avoid using tomato sauce and such, as the acids in it will strip the seasoning in a hurry. Boiling water doesn't help either. We have stainless sauce pans and a couple of stock pots for that. After use, I can usually get away with wiping it out with a paper towel. If there is food stuck to it, I run it under hot tap water and use a plastic scraper. I wipe it dry, warm it up on a burner to finish drying it, then spritz a coating of cooking spray on it and wipe any excess off with a paper towel. When it starts to get sticky again, I clean it with hot water and steel wool, then re-season in the oven again. I find it necessary periodically, maybe every six months or so.
All this talk and now I'm thinking mine are about due for reseasoning. I made some steaks the other day and got the pan way too hot. Good thing to do on a cold day...heat from the oven helps warm up the house. A little off topic, but if you pre-heat a cast iron skillet in the oven to about 425, add some taters and veggies tossed in oil, then broil them for 10-15 minutes it is REALLY good. Key is to pre-heat the pan.
That's one thing I had to get through to the wife, when stove top cooking in cast iron, seems you have to not be in a rush and cook at a lower heat, plus the food seems to taste better..
Did you clean it up first? I've found that to be a big part of it. Not necessarily wire brush or sandblast clean, but scrub it with hot water and an SOS pad. Gets all the junk cleaned off, and lets the new oils get in the pores of the cast iron.
Yes I cleaned it with a nylon scrub pad... My pans are usually clean as I wipe them down after a slight rinse in water.. Nothing really built up...
Usually its the charred bits of whatever form on the bottom that cause it to loose its non-stickiness....it forms a layer over the cast iron. The problem is removing that layer usually removes some of the oils from the pan too and you have to re-season. I haven't done mine in a couple years...so they are probably past due anyway. I usually use plain steel wool with a light touch to get the nasties off the bottom. The SOS pads have too much soap for my liking.
I have some 0000 steel wool I can try next if the seasoning process doesn't take.. Thanks for all the tips here...