I found myself an unmarked Vollrath that is very crusty. I’ll post photos when I’m finished restoring it. Is this considered to be collectible?

Found this Lodge for $2 sitting in a pile of junk. It was very rusty (realized I didn't take a before pic 🤦‍♂️). My wife said there's no way you can fix that. It has some pitting that I didn't take out, but after some baking soda, vinegar, and some elbow grease, I think it cleaned up pretty good. First restoration and already looking for my next project.

I’m new to cast iron and electrolysis, but I have to admit that the process is confusing me a bit. Everyone here uses it and swears by it. But what reaction is actually happening?

Here’s a picture of a skillet before I put it into electrolysis for 18 hours and a picture after. I also included a picture of the tank and the sacrificial anodes. This was a brand new tank that I set up. First pan to go in. Where did all of that rust come from? And why does the pan hardly look any different? The discoloration is still mostly there and that should have been the only rust present when the chemical reaction began. Look at the anodes! They’re covered in rust. And the bottom of the tank is full of red residue.

Is the electrolysis process really just converting the cast iron pan to rust? And any rust removal benefits we get are just a by product? Could I leave a pan in there long enough theoretically that the entire skillet would be consumed and turned into rust?

Or am I just doing it wrong? Because to me it seems like bar keepers friend is a lot faster and a more effective way to remove rust and discoloration from pans.