You must be having many cast iron furniture or cookware in your house, but you don’t know how to take care of all these cast iron furniture and cookware properly then you are at the right place. In this article you will come to know how to restore cast iron. By following some easy steps you can restore any cast iron furniture or cookware.
Bath tub
- Clean everything around the tub. Remove all the moveable items out of the bathroom such as rugs, pictures and other bathroom decorations and equipment. Scratch away the caulking from inner and outer edges of the bath tub.
- Use plastic papers or painters plastic for covering everything such as mirrors, cabinet and vanity. For this purpose you can use the painter plastic. To affix the plastic you can use masking tape. Also cover the flooring with plastic and fix it up with masking tape.
- Clean your bath tank clean. For this purpose you can get a refinishing kit. This refinishing kit comprises all the necessary equipment. For cleaning the cast iron bath tub properly you can use a cleaner available in that refinishing kit. By using sandpaper, sand the whole cast iron bath tub properly. Use a sand paper of 120 grit.
- After cleaning the cast iron bath tub with sandpaper and cleaner, use the primer reducer. This will help you to clean all the remaining dust and stains which are missed by the cleaner and sandpaper. On this primer kit, all instructions will be written. Follow those instructions properly. After you have cleaned everything, leave the bathroom untouched for about 48 hours.
Cookware
- You get cast iron pans or pots for cooking. Because of the natural non sticky characteristic, cast iron cookware is quite popular for cooking. However, restoring these cast iron utensils is a little tough job. Take the cookware and put it into the self cleaning oven. Now set the cleaning cycle for three hours.
- If you don’t have self cleaning oven then you can use other chemicals for cleaning and restoring the cast iron utensils. For this purpose you will need oven cleaner that will help you to remove off all the stains. Spray the cleaner on the cookware and put the cookware in a sealed heavy plastic bag. After 24 hours wash the utensil properly and you will see all the stains washed away. If the stains are stubborn then repeat this process again.
- Once you have removed the large deposits on the cookware, take a brass wire brush and clean the cookware thoroughly by this metal cleaner. As brass is soft as compared to iron, it won’t harm the cookware at all.
- Now when you have removed all the stains and deposits on the cast iron cookware, wash the utensil thoroughly in hot soapy water. Remove the rust by using brass or steel wool pad. Clean and dry the utensil and keep it on the stove for few minutes so that the moisture will evaporate totally.
- Now when the cast iron cookware is totally dry, apply a coating. The coating mainly comprises bacon grease, lard or shortening. Now put the utensil in the oven for at least half an hour and set the oven at 250 degrees.
- If you find some dry areas, then wipe off those areas and recoat them. Similarly wipe the areas where you will see fat pooled out.
- Now for the final coating, again put the utensil in the oven for another two hours. Take out the utensil after two hours and rinse with warm water and dry it.
Fire Place
- Lay some sheet on the ground so that the carpet will not get damaged. Wear gloves on your hands, and a dust mask and goggles for preventing dust and irritations to eyes.
- Clean up the mess around the fireplace. This will mainly include coal, wooden logs, newspapers and kindling. Use shovel or hands to clean up the place. However, cover your hands with glove before cleaning it.
- Now clean the surface debris by using a wire brush. Clean the area properly and robustly so that you can proceed with further cleaning and restoring properly.
- Use a cotton cloth for cleaning the remaining dust in the fireplace. Before cleaning with the cloth, see to it that you have dumped the cloth in some mineral spirit. Avoid using water.
- Use blackening paste to regain the original color of the cast iron fireplace. For this use a soft rag or a soft bristle brush for applying this paste on the cast iron. Use vacuum cleaner every week so as to maintain the restored fireplace.