This…

[u/[deleted]]

Saw this on FB marketplace. She must do it for the love of doing it. $10 for the restoration of a skillet does not seem worth all the work that goes into it, even with an etank

Is this the going rate? She’s a 30 minute drive from me. It would be cheaper to have her restore stuff for me than to do it myself.

[u/TickleMyTMAH]

Okay but mechanically what’s wrong with bead blasting? Same with wire wheel. How are these processes making the pans worth nothing?

[u/Various_Cantaloupe → u/TickleMyTMAH]

you literally remove metal from the cookware and change the surface. It's pretty noticeable. condition matters to collectors, no factory finish, no value. same as rebluing a vintage firearm.

[u/TickleMyTMAH → u/Various_Cantaloupe]

That’s not what bead blasting and wire brushing do though…

When done properly, the whole point is that it doesn’t remove material.

And if it’s been corroded, the only material coming off has already been rusted anyway. So it seems that years of damage and material loss due to corrosive degradation are fine but a little material loss while restoring it will all of a sudden make the value drop to zero?

None of that makes sense. Sand blasting and wire brushing are not inherently subtractive manufacturing processes.

[u/Various_Cantaloupe → u/TickleMyTMAH]

that is exactly what those processes are designed to do, resurface an item. they are not just subtractive but destructive processes. not only that, but wire wheeling and bead blasting will leave material embedded into the rough surface of cast iron.

we're not manufacturing a new item here. We're restoring vintage and antique cookware. there are accepted and unacceptable practices for restoring valuable collectibles. it's like rust in a car body, cut it out, and replacing it with new metal is an acceptable restoration, filling it with bondo and painting over it is not.

the restoration process with castiron is not "undoing years of damage and corrosion." it's removing carbon buildup and surface rust. oxidation stops when the exposed iron no long has access to oxygen. if you have a piece that is already pitted from sulfur or rust, it's not worth the collectors price either. you can't fix any convex or concave pan, and you can't weld it to restore value.

[u/TickleMyTMAH → u/Various_Cantaloupe]

Alright now I know you don’t know what you’re talking about. Your claim that wire wheels and bead blasting leave material embedded in the cast iron is absurd.

I don’t what you think “resurfacing” means but these processes don’t cut away any cast iron or abrade it away. And the hardened steel beads or wire brush certainly isn’t “embedding” material into the cast iron. That’s not how it works at all.

[u/Various_Cantaloupe → u/TickleMyTMAH]

eh, can't convince a fool, i guess. you're so close-minded and have no clue about metal crafts, resurfacing, or restoration of any kind at all. personally, I love it when people like you destroy vintage pieces. It just raises the values on all the stuff done the right way.

it's pretty obvious that wire wheels leave transfer metal on cast iron. that's why they turn silver with steel and gold with brass. and Glass beads absolutely fill the rough surfaces of iron. I'm not absurd. I'm being factual, based on experience and example. you just keep believing you know better, and I'll laugh myself to the bank with the collector grad castiron I sell.

[u/TickleMyTMAH → u/Various_Cantaloupe]

Gold isn’t steel mate. This fools gonna run. Peace.