Learn to Maintain Your Cast Iron

STRIPPING

“Stripping” cast iron refers to removing all seasoning (the usually-black coating on a used/pre-seasoned piece), down to the bare metal of a piece. There are a few methods to accomplish this: chemical stripping, and electrolysis. Both require attention to safety measures.

Chemical Methods

First of all, DO NOT use your oven’s self-cleaning function to strip a cast iron skillet of its seasoning. This can damage your cast iron and is not all that great for your oven either.

The best chemical to purposefully strip your cast iron is lye. There is a reason lye soap has such a bad reputation in the cast iron community. It DESTROYS your seasoning! If you’re trying to destroy it, that’s a good thing!

The two ways to make use of lye in stripping cast iron are “Oven Cleaner in a trash bag plus time” (my favorite method) and a lye bath, if you have more than a few pieces to strip.

For the “Oven Cleaner in a trash bag plus time” method, you need the following: a trash bag, oven cleaner (check for lye in the ingredients), safety gloves, and steel wool for those stubborn bits. Place the skillet in the bag, and spray oven cleaner liberally over the skillet. Give the oven cleaner time to do its job and dissolve the seasoning. When you’re sure the seasoning will scrape or fall off easily, take it out, rinse, and start scrubbing away the stubborn bits until you have fresh, bare metal, ready to season.

• Place the skillet in the bag, and spray oven cleaner liberally over the skillet.
• Give the oven cleaner time to do its job and dissolve the seasoning.
• When you’re sure the seasoning will scrape or fall off easily, take it out, rinse, and start scrubbing away the stubborn bits until you have fresh, bare metal, ready to season.

Lye Bath

For a lye bath, you will need the following:

• A fitted container that will hold 5 gallons of water and one pound of lye
• 5 gallons of water
• 1 pound of lye
• Safety materials, such as gloves and goggles
• Wire hangers (for suspension, as needed)
• Additional water and vinegar (for post-treatment to prevent rust)

ALWAYS add the lye to the water and never vice versa. These ingredients will create a solution that can dissolve the seasoning of multiple pieces at once. You can place a larger pan, or several smaller pieces suspended from the sides (so you don’t have to reach your hand into the caustic solution) into the container.

This solution is reusable, or it can be safely disposed of by pouring down the drain (this has the bonus of cleaning your drains).

Thoroughly hose off your newly stripped pieces, and then clean further with dish soap. After the pieces have dried, you may begin the seasoning process.

If you have pieces that are rusty, soak them in a solution of water and vinegar (50%/50%). While the lye solution took days, the vinegar will only take hours. Don’t leave your cast iron here indefinitely. Rinse and scrub with a wire brush. Proceed to drying, and seasoning.

Electrolysis Method

I have not personally used the electrolysis method. It involves live voltage, and thus I have a healthy fear of it. If my course is your first exposure to cast iron stripping, I suggest you not try it yet. If you insist, please explore the links in the resources.

The process of electrolysis works, in short, by transferring the particles of rust from the cast iron to another piece of metal in the container.

This method is similar to the lye bath, in that it involves a storage container (capable of holding 8 gallons) and an amount of water. Add lye or washing soda to the solution. Additionally, you will need a battery charger and a large piece of bare metal.