Read below to discover the full step-by-step guide to restoring your cast iron skillet to make it look as good as new. If you're a homesteader you're going to want to learn this. This is a great how-to that you can pass onto friends and loved ones.

Gather your cast iron cookware

After you purchased all your cast iron items from a flea market, it’s time to gather all utensils together. To restore cast iron cookware, you will first need a large containerHow to build a self-sufficient survival gardenr to hold each piece submerged. Besides the container, you will also need water, white vinegar and steel wool. I have to warn you that some items are more difficult to clean than others. When you restore cast iron cookware, items such as cornbread pans will give you a hard time.

Create the cleaning mixture

This is an important step to restore cast iron cookware. You need to create a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar. The quantity should be enough to allow the items to be completely submerged. Pay attention and use equal parts of water and vinegar otherwise the mixture will be too weak or too strong. You won’t be able to control how quickly the rust comes off.

Soak the cast iron cookware

Lay your kitchen utensils in the container and pour the mixture over them until they are completely submerged. This is the most time consuming part when it comes to restore cast iron cookware. You need to wait until the rust loosens. It really depends on how much rust there is on your items. The longest I’ve waited was ten hours. However, few items take that long.

Check every one hour or so and use your fingernail to scrape the rust. If the rust comes off easily, start scrubbing. Don’t let the pan sit in the mixture any longer if the rust comes off. It will begin to oxidize and will make the cast iron unusable.

Scrub the cast iron cookware

To restore cast iron cookware, scrubbing becomes necessary after the items were soaked in water and vinegar. Use steel wool and scrub the items until all the rust comes off. Make sure you scrub the entire surface of the item you are restoring. Even the handles should be taken care of otherwise the rust will expand and make them weak. If you let rust on the handles, they will be eaten by rust and eventually break off. Scrubbing can last up to an hour, depending on the item you are restoring.

Dry the cast iron cookware

When you consider you did a good job scrubbing all the rust, you should dry the cast iron. Do so immediately and make sure the pieces are completely dry. This is an important step to consider when you restore cast iron cookware. If the iron is wet and in contact with air, it will easily rerust.

Once the cast iron cookware is dry, you can consider it clean and you only need to reseason it before using it.

Oil the cast iron cookware

To restore cast iron cookware, this step requires vegetable oil, a dishtowel you will have to throw away after and an oven. When you are sure the cast iron is completely dry, place it on a flat surface like a kitchen counter. Put ½ or 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil onto it, depending how big the cooking item is. Make sure you pour the oil into the cooking area first. Use the dishtowel to spread the oil over the entire surface of the cast iron item.

Heat the cast iron cookware

Now it’s time to preheat the oven to 300°F and place the cast iron in the oven. Make sure you place it on the middle rack of the oven for an even heating. If you plan to restore cast iron cookware such as pot and pan, place them upside down. Once the oven has reached 300°F, leave the cast iron in for 20 minutes.

Dry the cast iron cookware

After 20 minutes, pull the item out and let it cool. Avoid touching it unless you are absolutely sure it has cooled. When the item is cool, use the dishtowel to do final polishing to make sure there’s no remaining oil. If you leave any oil behind, your cast iron pot or pan will have permanent marks.
Heat the cast iron cookware again

This is another time consuming step when you restore cast iron cookware. You need to preheat the oven to 400°F and place the cast iron item back for two hours. You don’t have to check it and you can take care of your other chores during this time.

Cool the cast iron cookware

After two hours, remove the cast iron from the oven. Once the cast iron is cool, it is completely restored and reseasoned. You can now use it for cooking experiments. To restore cast iron cookware in the future, use the same step by step guide.

A good cast iron skillet will last you a long time and taking proper care of it will help it last even longer. Now that you know how to take care of your iron skillet you can clean up the ones you have and take care of future kitchenware as well. Post-collapse this is an excellent skill to have!

For more on how to take care of kitchenware and more, check out Preppers Will.

Featured Image via Flickr