I would seal it in a bag with oven cleaner and put it into the sun and leave it all day and all night. wash...
Then if there are scaley things, wire brush it...
then rub it with animal fat....bacon, lard, tallow, chicken fat....and heat it...I guess you could do that on a stove top...
Repeat.....and again.....and once more until is' smooth and black.
For 7 bucks you got a deal!
Linda C

Plastic garbage bag? The oven cleaner won't eat through it?

I can borrow an oven for the heating, how long and what temp?

Animal fat, eh? I'll have to track some down. I never buy lard or bacon anymore! But we deserve a treat I suppose.

I personally would not use oven cleaner for something that food will be in direct contact with, that stuff is pretty toxic. I would try to find a friend who has a self clean oven, leave your pot in for a full cycle. Did you scour the rust spots with an s.o.s. pad ?

Self Cleaning oven like Mitch suggests. You can use good ole' Crisco to reseason it. Just rub it down and stick it in the oven at a low temperature for an hour or two. Depending on how much oil it absorbed, you might want to repeat this a few more times. Good score! I love my cast iron and couldn't part with any of it.

Believe me....you will wash the oven cleaner off of that pan a lot more thoroughly than you will wash the inside of your oven when using it.
As for toxic, it's no more toxic than barkeepers friend or other cleaning agents....perhaps more caustic, but not more toxic....and you rinse and wash it out...no harm.
Putting it into a self cleaning oven will work too but it will smell and smoke something awful...
And it won't eat through the plastic bag.

Eileen, depending on how bad of shape the pan is in, I would go with the Oven Cleaner first. That is what I started with when I bought the old set of Griswold that needed to be cleaned and reseasoned. Then if you need to follow up with the self-cleaning oven method. That's what I did. Less chance of having a fire in your oven too if you use the Oven cleaner first.

On the website for Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron, they suggest using Lye. Oven cleaner is much easier. Also, they advised me when I was looking for instructions on how to clean the set of Griswold I bought a few years ago to be careful with high heat. Apparently the iron can warp or crack. If you go the "oven cleaning" method, do it for the shortest time, not for 3 or more hours.

Ann

It's not all that bad. The rust is thin and the black crusties are very minor. I have some dollar store oven cleaner which is not all that strong. I'll give it a go and follow up with a wire brush. The oven I have easy access to is not a self-cleaning model. I'll use it for the seasoning. I think asking my other friend to run the self clean cycle in mid summer in Modesto is going over the line!

I'll post before and after pics! I want to make that no knead bread one of these days soon.

Eileen, if the rust isn't bad, you may be able to just scrub it off with the wire brush, then rub with vegetable oil for seasoning.

The best seasoning I've found is to use my cast iron dutch oven to fry french fries in. That oil just soaks in and the pan is black as tar and slick as teflon. I did season it in the oven first, though.

Annie

All this talk about thrift store cast iron reminds me of my cracked griddle....I need to be looking for a new one.
Linda C

Good find! I agree with Lindac on the oven cleaner, plastic bag, set it outside in the sun. Do this over a day or two until you are able to get down to the bare metal which will be a slightly lighter gray color when you remove all the crusties and rust.

I strongly advise you not to use vegetable oil. Crisco or other vegetable shortening or lard is better IMHO. Bake long, low and slow - about 325 for an hour or more. Let cool, wipe out any excess grease with a paper towel and repeat the process as many times as needed to seal the pores of the iron. Yes, the pot will become dark black, smooth, and somewhat shiny after the process.

Teresa ~ in one of the MANY camps on the care and feeding of old cast iron! Ha!

After a bit of internet research I've decided to season it with food grade mineral oil which I keep for my knife handles and wood cutting boards. And I have it on hand.

I did find this amusing message board on the topic:

Here is a link that might be useful: Didn't properly season my new cast iron cookware. Now what?

I have good luck seasoning cast-iron with Crisco, as Claire suggested. A wire brush has helped with burnt-on crustiness.

Whatever you use, you are fortunate to have found the Dutch oven. We use ours all the time with great results -- I know you will too.

Kosher salt and a scrubby - make a paste of the kosher salt - use alot of elbow grease. I would also avoid the high heat of a self cleaning oven, especially if the pan is really old. Get it realy clean before you season it.

I spiffed up my find. I haven't used it yet. Soon! I think I'll make peach butter again this year.

Oh Eileen, your dutch oven really cleaned up well. I know that you will be putting it to good use for many years.

Ann

Wow, Eileen! You got it right! Great job! You will really enjoy that cast iron pan. Just be careful not to use it for dishes that have a lot of tomatoes and wine - nothing too acidic - and it will serve you well. I'm not sure about making peach jam in it. You might want to ask on the Harvest forum. An enameled pan may be better.

Teresa

Wow that really cleaned up great! Good job!

I think I'll stick with the crock pot for cooking down the peach butter. I just cover the crock pot with a splatter screen and let it evaporate. Then I bring it to a bubble for a few minutes on the stove top before I pour it into jars and process it in the boiling water bath.

Sounds like a plan! I think I would worry if the iron reacted somehow with my jam and ruined the whole batch. Dang! That would make me mad!

Teresa - who's thinking about making apple butter this fall!