How to make a rusty wood burning top looking new?
+14
I have a rather new wood burning oven, and i resently put som frozen/wet wood on top to thaw while burning in the oven. I didn't think to remove them for a while, as they were decorative and I didn't need to fire up the oven for heat. When I eventually removed them, I had ugly patches of rust on the top, and it looks horrible... HELP! How can I get rid of it without ruining the rest of the top?
You can remove the rust with wet-dry sandpaper and a lubricant, such as paint thinner or mineral oil. Vegetable oil would also work. There probably is a subtle scratch pattern on the stove top already from when they made the stove. Always sand the same direction as that. Start with 220 grit and see how well that cleans it. After a couple minutes of sanding, wipe down the surface and take a look. If the 220 grit sandpaper isn't cutting it - literally - use 150 grit lightly. But don't go coarser or you may never get the scratches out. Always wipe down the surface before starting a finer grit and keep going with finer sandpaper until it blends in with the rest of the surface. Once it looks even scratch-wise, you can use your stove until the metal gets to the temperature that causes it to change color like the rest of the stove. If may take a little while for the color to blend in exactly.
Cut a raw potato in half, sprinkle salt on the rust and rub with the cut side of the potato.
Love it!!!! Cheap and easily available!!! Will post pic when done! ;-) Thanks!!!
If the potatoe fails, you might try an old-fashioned S.O.S pad or just very fine steel wool with WD-40.
If all else fails, you can use stove-blacking or stove paint (high heat-resistant).
We've had our Elmira wood cook stove for over 25 years. on a cold stove I clean the top where spots or rust get on it with steel wool. Then I rub stove blacking on the area and my stove looks brand new every time. Be sure to get the high heat resistant and wax free ( no smoke when you get the stove hot) For a small spot a little steel wool rub followed by a little dab of oil should do the trick, don't put a lot of oil on as it could smoke with a hot stove. Hope this helps.
Steel wool was my first thought too, never heard of stove blacking before, googled it, and can't find it in stores here in Norway, probably named something completely different her, so I will have to look deeper into that on a later date, noted it anymay! ;-) Thanks fot taking the time to help me out!
Try googling 'cleaning cast iron stove' abd see where it takes you.
Yes S.O.S. pads (I think they are called "Brillo" in some countries) are soap impregnated. Hardware stores carry plain steel wool, if you ever need it. Usually in the paint section. In Canada, it's in a red and green box with a bull dog picture, so we jokingly refer to it as bull dog wool