This Old Pot......

[Junkman]

No I am not talking about Mike, but about the rusty pot that I pictured in another post. If you would like to read that one, it is called Rust and Cast Iron. Today, I decided to take on the challenge of cleaning this pot since the weather was on the warm side. I started by spraying the pot with oven cleaner on all surfaces. Please hold all questions until I finish the pictures posting (about 20+) and the text. I figure this might take as long as 2 hours. Thanks

 

[Junkman]

This is the bottom side before I had done any cleaning. This pot came from a flea market and has been waiting for the right day to be cleaned. Usually I won't work on one that is this bad, but I considered this one a challenge since it is a rare pot.... as far as pots go..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Junkman]

this is the first application of oven cleaner. I try to get a good coating the first time, but breathing in the fumes usually makes that a difficult task, that is why it is done outside.

 

[Junkman]

I use this wire hook to turn the pot over so I could spray the inside also. Since the post sits on a ring at the bottom, all surfaces are covered and cleaning is done at once.

 

[Junkman]

I am working as fast as I can.... as you can see, there is a lot to be cleaned....

 

[Junkman]

this is hard work... Here is the side of the pot where some old baked on crud has been exposed. This is then scrapped off using a kitchen knife with a serrated edge and a rounded point. It will come off easily with just some scrapping after the oven cleaner does its work.

 

[Junkman]

In this picture, you can see how hardened crud has been scrapped off along the center trim ring of the pot. I will then wash the pot with soap and water to make sure that I have gotten all the bad spots removed.

 

[Junkman]

This is the inside of the pot after it has been washed with dishwashing liquid and a scrubby. I have added some water to the pot and am now heating it on the stove so when I get to the next step, the metal will be warm. I don't know how long this is going to take at this point. The pot is in worse condition than I first expected......

 

[Junkman]

In the center of this picture, you can see the grey area where this pot is totally cleaned. To the left of this there is still some rust that will need to be worked on. This is a very rusty pot...

 

[Junkman]

OK ..... I am slow....... This is the bottom of the pot after the initial cleaning with oven cleaner. It still isn't clean enough for my standards.... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif