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Now that you have your items collected, you’ll need some way to suspend the skillet in the electrolyte solution. NEVER let the cathode and anode metals touch while the battery charger is on or you may be resetting breakers or buying a new battery charger. Below you can see that I use a 1/2″ piece of EMT and a piece of coat hanger to suspend the skillet, and also conduct the circuit. Notice that the negative side of the battery charger is on the skillet, or cathode. Those bubbles you see are hydrogen, use in a well ventilated area! Your water at first will be clear to cloudy white from the washing soda. Mine is orange with rust here because I have already done a few skillets with this water. The solution will last quite a long time and will probably last longer than you can stand to look at it. If you are using a steel drum you will need to line the pipe with rubber hose, or find another way to isolate the circuit. You want the electricity to pass through the electrolyte.
Below are pictures of what the skillet looks like at about 12 hours into the process. Notice the years of gunk and rust falling off of the pan. Use a stainless steel scrubbie to remove as much as possible and put it back in the tank.
…and here is the skillet at about 20 hours in… Take it out and check it once in a while and keep using the stainless steel scrubbie in the sink to remove the gunk and rust until the skillet is free of it. Go to the hardware store and get a little stainless steel or brass brush to get into the handle and/or the branding. I also use a knife or small screw driver to clean out the letters or branding.
Once you think you have the skillet free of gunk and rust, put it back into the tank for a few hours. Once you remove the skillet from the tank, take it to the kitchen and use a product called Bar Keepers Friend and your stainless steel scribbie and brushes to clean it. You will see that the BKF will get gray fast from the carbon in the iron. Rinse. Now, use your dish soap and wash the skillet as you would any other skillet.
Start your oven on 375. Use paper towels to completely dry the skillet. Your getting ready to bake it for 20 minutes, failing to remove as much water as possible will cause rust spots on the piece in the oven as the water evaporates. Your paper towels will be gray with carbon from the naked metal. This is fine. Bake the naked piece for 15-20 minutes using NO seasoning or oil of any kind. This will completely dry the piece and open the pores of the metal for the seasoning process. Below is what the skillet looks like at this stage.
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