which is first - lye bath or remove rust

[Gregg Plummer]

I have a couple cast iron pans I'd like to clean. They both have a little rust on them and I was wondering if I need to remove the rust before putting them in the lye bath.

[Valerie Johnson]

I generally rinse with a hose first to remove any loose rust and then go to the lye tank and then the electro but if your piece is not cruddy and mostly rusty you could go electro first, I like to keep my electro grease free so that is why I lye first.

[C. Perry Rapier]

I generally rinse with a hose first to remove any loose rust and then go to the lye tank and then the electro but if your piece is not cruddy and mostly rusty you could go electro first, I like to keep my electro grease free so that is why I lye first.

Excellent answer.  :)