How do I know when they've soaked long enough in t

[fatfutures]

Yeah, I have Perry... it's still a pain in the (_I_) but, it works better than a big ol wire brush.

I HATE cleaning waffle irons. Even with a dremel... takes for EVER! Hmmmm.... so what am I gonna do with the 3 or 4 that I've got that aren't cleaned  ::)

[C. Perry Rapier]

Yeah, I have Perry... it's still a pain in the (_I_) but, it works better than a big ol wire brush.

I HATE cleaning waffle irons. Even with a dremel... takes for EVER! Hmmmm.... so what am I gonna do with the 3 or 4 that I've got that aren't cleaned  ::)

You will clean them, with the dremel, in intricate detail, AND, you will like it, and it will make you very happy.  ::)

[DKB1972]

That is so funny!  I've been wanting one of those.................I mean the drill......................I posted as a screen saver, see if he (my husband) notices...

Yes, please wear safety glasses.  

[C. Perry Rapier]

I've cleaned some of the bigger waffle irons, or maybe hotel waffle irons with multiple paddles, and you think, "ain't nobody gonna eat this much waffles", but obviously somebody did. But they sure do look good when they are cleaned up.  ;)

[castironsasquatch]

Them waffle irons sure are a pain. I used to scrub and wire brush them things forever, and they still weren't good enough. I needed church really bad for all the things I said :-X. But now I find it works pretty good if I let them hang all day or over night in the electro, then just quickly wire brush the loose stuff off. The outside will usually come clean at this point with little work. Then whatever is left on the inside, I just completely coat with oven cleaner, both paddles, and put them back together and put them in a one gallon ziplock bag. Let them sit for about a day, and what's left can usually be scrubbed off with a wire brush without much effort. The key is to be very liberal with the oven cleaner. When you think you have plenty on there, double it. This helps keep it from drying out. If it does that it won't work very good. I've tried using wire wheels for cleaning, but they always seem to leave highly polished spots that kinda stand out compared to the rest of the piece. This is just my opinion. Well I'm done babbling for now, gotta clean more iron [smiley=censored2.gif]

ET

[C. Perry Rapier]

Thanks for the suggestions Eric, ain't nobody knows it all Every little bit helps, I know it does me anyway. ;)

[Carolyn Shlafer]

Thank you all for the many terrific suggestions and great advice.  Looks like I'm going shopping for some equipment soon:  a Dremel, brush attachments, safety goggles, and stainless chore-boys, at the very least.

I especially appreciate Michelle's link to the eBay store for brushes, and Roger's picture of his drill attachment.  I'm wondering if Eric's oven-cleaner method for waffle irons would work as well on the built-up gunk in the kernels of the corn stick pans?  Also, I think I need to be a little more patient with the vinegar bath and give the piece(s) some time to soak.

Yet another question:  Just before starting the seasoning process on a newly-cleaned piece of iron, does briefly heating it up to remove every last bit of moisture promote flash rusting?

You got me, Mike!  So now I'm forced to ask:  What ARE the other sizes of Wagner and Griswold corn stick pans?  All I know that have the muffin pans shaped like ears of corn are the ones I have.  These are the ones you constantly see on eBay.  If there are other sizes, they must be pretty rare...?  (I'm waiting for my Griswold & Wagner book from Amazon; maybe it'll help.)  Roger could be right:  I may indeed have caught the deadly cast-iron bug!

Thanks again, everyone.  I'm definitely learning.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Carolyn, not only are there different sizes, but shapes also. The wheat stick pans, they make corn bread, but with the impression of a head of wheat on them. When you get your books you'll see. Oh, and when you strip a piece down and its grey like we been sayin, it'll flash rust right in front of your eyes. As far as I know there ain't much you can do to stop that. If I am going to season a piece, I just put it in the oven as you have already talked about, and then when you put your seasoning, whatever you use, lard, crisco, whatever, the flash rust will go away. Hope we are helping you and not confusing you. We don't want to burn you out. But this stuff does get habit forming. Wait till you get the book, it is very interesting. I find that the cast iron companies were very good at marketing, changing things, different sizes, shapes, different items, whatever to keep sales, all of the variations of all the items is mind boggling, at least to me it is, but you gotta just concentrate on what you like and go from there, when you get comfortable with that, if you wanna expand thats fine, for instance, you have been talking about these corn bread pans, you'll see that there are different variations, several in fact, not only in size but the shape. When you get the book I am sure you will have more questions.

[maloney108]

Michelle, I'll concede your point about the Dremel tool in the kernels of a cornstick pan.  It's probably the best tool for the job.  I guess I got lucky, because one trip through the self cleaning oven and a light wire brushing (with those cheap steel wire brushes that look like a toothbrush) got everything out.  The smallest drill brush I have is a 3/4" straight (in line with the drill) one that gets into almost everywhere.

I only have one (cornstick pan, that is, got it for $1).  I'm not big into cornbread since my wife is on a low glycemic diet.  The one time I tried this pan, I got it hot, coated it with melted butter than added the batter (C.B.'s).  The sticks came out real clean - just a light brushing and it was back on the wall.

Carolyn, in my mind, any heating of a moist iron surface will only accelerate the rusting. My best defense against flash rust is to rinse in cold water and dry thoroughly with a towel, not air dry.  There will always be a little film - raw iron is just too reactive.  Most people season right over it, but I'm fussy and remove it with a wire brush.

I'm babbling - Try stuff - Have fun.