cAst iron

[wgr]

can this be cleaned up were its safe to use

[coloraydo]

No pics.

[Zim]

Rust yes.
Lead contact no.

[runfiverun]

rust is a great release agent.

[Wayne Smith]

Not if it's been used to melt lead alloy.

[wgr]

ok thinks it has been used for lead

[country gent]

Then better safe than sorry. wire brush ot out good and use it for a smelting pot or a big casting pot with a ladle

[bubba.50]

if it has been used for meltin' lead I would take one of those electric engravin' pencils or somethin' & clearly mark it as such to prevent any problems down the road in case ya ever get rid of it & or the mizzus puts it in the yard sale after yer gone.

[waksupi]

I still debate the point that cast iron could not be cleaned safely for food consumption. I think if it was well scoured with steel wool and soap, it would be okay. Or, sand blast, and possibly reverse electrolysis. That should get it clean as a whistle.
Any one got some of the lead detecting wipes to check it?

[ammohead]

I often wondered if a good session with a bead blaster would do the job. I understand the "better safe than sorry" line of thought but would like to see a good discussion with some real knowledge on the issue. Is it possible for the Iron to be 'porous' enough for the lead to get under the surface? I would guess that bead blasting would actually remove some of the surface layer rather than just peen it. Any metallurgists out there willing to take a poke at this subject?

[bubba.50]

remind me not to eat the cornbread at y'all's house.

[Blackwater]

I think Bubba's got the right attitude about it. Just nothing to profit from taking an unnecessary risk. A friend of mine who has a large collection of really nice old cast iron utensils, has bough some in pretty sad shape. He built a good hardwood fiire, and when he had a good bed of coals built up, put the pan or whatever on top of it, and shovelled some ashes around it, and left it there until the next day (no rain in between, of course). Then he'd take it out, and rinse it really well, then re-season, and he's said this has made for some really good cooking pans and pots at his house. Don't know how deep lead molecules can get into cast iron, but I do know it's very porous - the whole reason it "seasons" up so easily and well.

So I'm kind'a with Waksupi, and can't help but wonder if and how much real risk there is IF the utensil is given a REALLY thorough and EFFECTIVE cleaning. I don't have the answer to that, but can't help but wonder. Until I find the answer, I'll be like Bubba, and all cast iron used for lead will ONLY be used for that, and NOT for cooking.

I also wonder about some of the trace elements in lead. Some of those don't take but a very tiny amount to be toxic. That probably scares me as much or more than the lead itself.

[oldred]

Bead blasting no as that will peen the surface and generally remove only anything clinging to that surface but sealing anything else in the porous cast iron. Abrasive blasting with sand or Garnet grit will remove surface material and "should" remove all traces of lead but is it worth the risk? Cast iron is porous, especially the type used for cooking utensils and removal of any contamination would depend on how deeply that contamination has penetrated. I know from years of welding experience just deeply oils will soak into cast iron and at times I have even hit the surface with a grinder which removed metal way deeper than sandblasting ever could only to have oil creeping back onto the ground surface once it was heated so it can go pretty deep, personally I wouldn't risk it.

[mold maker]

Not advising to do it, but I've wondered the same thing. if we can chemically remove lead from our bores, why not CI?
If we remove rust and it's fine to use, could we not do the same with lead oxide.
Wouldn't lead oxidize, and dissolve with soap and water?
I know all about the better safe than sorry argument, but really, how much lead are we dealing with?
I've seen all the advice about not doing it, by folks with no experience, but never seen any hard evidence. The Romans poisoned themselves by drinking wine from lead/pewter goblets, but that was an acidic drink used regularly.
As a young man I was seldom without a couple sinkers in my pocket, bit thousands of split shot, and even swallowed a few At 75, I've cast since 1963 and never had above normal lead levels. Just how over blown is the lead health scare? Some how I get the idea that someone is profiting from it.

[rancher1913]

I would be willing to bet that way back when a few boolits were cast from the cooks cast iron pot. the old army guys did not carry a lot of extra stuff and if they needed more boolits they grabbed what would work and cleaned it up afterwards. don't think I would use it to cook in, but when I dump my cast iron pot and scrub it, you can not tell it had lead in it.

[Tom W.]

When I was just out of high school I got a job at a local monument company. That involves engraving granite and marble monuments. When it was slow we sandblasted the local little old ladies cast iron benches, flower pots, and the occasional pot and frying pans. I believe we used aluminum oxide. I dunno what was in the pots and pans but I do remember that they looked factory new, and we had to spray the pots and pans with Pam or some such edible oil.

[kmrra]

aha a little lead wont kill ya , all they had when I grew up was lead paint , and now days the want to tear your house down if it has lead paint or asbestos siding, the younger generation is just a little paranoid , IMO

[DougGuy]

It would be debatable whether any process would remove lead from cast iron to the point that cooking in it wouldn't release even more at some point later on. Elecrolysis will remove lead that the elecrolytic solution can get to but what about down in the pores? And then if you make something in it later with vinegar, or ascorbic acid, now what?

Home Depot has 3M lead kits for $9 with 3 testers per kit so $3 is not a waste of money, some cast iron collectors and sellers test EVERY pan they buy and sell.

[oldred]

aha a little lead wont kill ya , all they had when I grew up was lead paint , and now days the want to tear your house down if it has lead paint or asbestos siding, the younger generation is just a little paranoid , IMO

Lead based paint and asbestos was removed for a damn good reason! Children suffered lead poisoning as a result and asbestos caused cancers, THAT'S the reason for the concern in the first place! No the younger generation is NOT being paranoid but rather they had the good sense to learn from the mistakes of the earlier generation. Still some people will point to some old person who smoked all his or her life and was lucky enough to beat the odds and lived to be ninety as proof that smoking will not hurt you completely ignoring the multitude of others including that person's kinfolk who died young. Yes I know people will ignore warnings and just phoo-phoo things like outlawing lead paint and asbestos and the dangers of lead exposure but fortunately for our kids most people have sense enough to know better!

[Wayne Smith]

I am about as far from being a molecular chemist as is possible - but I can spell it! Just how would lead get into the pores of cast iron and at what temperature? If we know that we may know how to get it out? Seems like there are several assumptions in this thread that need to be questioned, but I do not have the knowledge to do so.