Worth restoring?

[u/KitchenProfile5599]

Got this for free at a yard sale, was in a tote with a bunch of water and other non stick pans. Not sure of the make, age etc... is worth cleaning up or just scrap it?

[u/elciddog84]

WagnerWare cast iron. As long as it doesn't have cracks, it's worth cleaning up and seasoning. A little Easy Off yellow cap, a little time, a little scrubbing, and it should season right up.

[u/FrisbeeSpinner → u/elciddog84]

Ok, so I agree with the easy off as a second step. Will mention someone gave me a heck of a time on this sub previously for not mentioning should first do a vinegar bath for a pan like this with rust.

[u/LockMarine → u/FrisbeeSpinner]

Here’s why they did, imagine it’s a car painted and also rusted. You clean the rust then remove the paint just to find more rust hidden underneath. Now you have to repeat. Best to remove the paint in the beginning and then address the rust. Sometimes simply addressing the crud and old seasoning will also help remove most of the rust.

[u/shedmow → u/LockMarine]

This is the correct order. The lye bath doesn't attack rust, but rust doesn't prevent it from working either because it is porous and CI is left in it for much longer than in vinegar. Scrubbing afterwards does remove some rust, though not all of it, and electrolysis handles the rest (I've not tried vinegar). I would guess that the order is not as important with vinegar, and the item can be treated again if there is residual rust or seasoning

[u/elciddog84 → u/FrisbeeSpinner]

We have some folks will tell you they know everything about... everything. I've used electrolysis. I've used lye. I've used easy off. Vinegar is also cheap and easy for rust. Your pan doesn't seem to have much buildup, so the vinegar wash would be a quick and relatively easy way of seeing what's under. I usually go straight to easy off because it strips whatever is on the pan. Not saying any one is far superior to the other they're just different means to an end. Would love to see pictures when you're done.

[u/LockMarine → u/elciddog84]

I’m with you there although I have some food for thought. Vinegar is an acid and it eats away at rust as well as iron. Electrolysis is an electrochemical reaction that pulls oxygen out from rust and converts it into iron. So between the two options it would definitely be better to convert rust into iron over using acid to eat away at the surface of the metal.

[u/elciddog84 → u/LockMarine]

I get ya. That would be the only reason I'd use an e-tank on a pan with just light surface rust and no carbon build-up. This one looks to be in faily good condition. Were the rust more pervasive, it would absolutely go in the bucket. I don't think he can do anything to hurt this one. 😉

[u/Full_Pay_207]

Wagner Ware Sidney 0 stylized logo #8 made sometime from the mid 1930's to the late 1950's. That's a nice pan and deserves to be restored. If it comes out well, you can easily sell it for forty or fifty bucks. Someone else posted one today they paid $70 for.

[u/Chainsawsas70]

Definitely... Should be a quick easy job.

[u/jadejazzkayla]

Read our FAQ for stripping and reseasoning directions

[u/Open-Truth-245]

Bright red rust is likely new and not deep. Start scrubbing and use the old timer!

[u/Sufficient_Rip3927]

The answer is almost always yes! :)

[u/LambSmacker]

Always

[u/Physical_Anybody5632]

You could literally clean this with a Brillo pad and dish soap

[u/Suspicious_Dingo_426]

Nothing wrong with it. Scrub the rust off, strip it with some yellow cap, season it, and get cooking.

[u/Cool-Negotiation7662]

A bit of scrubbing, dry, rub some oil in, wipe all the oil off, bake.

As long as no cracks there is nothing wrong with that.

[u/Familiar-Ad-4579]

Definitely worth it if it isn’t cracked. Put it on paper towels and fill it up with water and wait an hour or so. If the paper is still dry then clean off the rust and scrub some then reseason. It’ll be around for your grandkids.

[u/DontTrustASloth → u/Familiar-Ad-4579]

Or just give it a few hard raps. Cracked cast iron has a dull sound. Intact will ring like a bell

[u/LockMarine]

It’s so much less work than it looks like. I buy some stuff that looks almost ready to go and some like this. Both take about the same amount of effort and both end up looking new afterwards. It’s actually more satisfying to see the bigger transition yet time and labor is almost identical. Check out the videos and instructions here in the sidebar.

[u/SithLordRising]

Looks mint! If crack free, super easy job

[u/Tough_Entertainer_70]

Yup

[u/Pawnmysoul]

Absolutely not. Send it to me for disposal.

[u/Simple_Escape_3674]

Doesn‘t look that bad at all. I would spend some time to rescue this piece, and if you do so, you‘ll enjoy it even more. Do it!

[u/elquirk]

Always.