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Restoring rusty cast iron wood stove, painting it


Steel wool is the best choice. But if the rust is too bad for that, start with wire brushes. Sandblasting is okay if you have the equipment. Stove polish [on eBay or Amazon] is preferred over paint by a lot of people. Read on...
Please see also thread 19039, Where & how to find information and parts for cast iron wood stoves.




Q. Hi, I'm refinishing an old 'garry green' McClary wood stove and can't find any high heat paint in Garry green. I was thinking of doing a clear baked on 1300-2000 °F engine paint then putting the enamel color on, followed by a second layer of baked on high heat engine paint & sandwich the color in between. Would that work? I appreciate any & all advice given. Thanks ever so much.

Jessica Connolly
- Saskatchewan
August 9, 2022


A. Hi Jessica. If such an approach worked robustly the manufacturers probably wouldn't go to the high cost of porcelain coatings (these are sprayed on at thousands of degrees and are more like molten glass than paint). I'd suggest trying your painting scheme on a tiny patch of the stove (maybe on the back?) and see if it survives a few hot fires before undertaking such a time-consuming restoration.

Luck & Regards,

pic of Ted Mooney
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




A. stovehospital.com

Star Campbell
- Alberta, Canada
January 13, 2023


thumbs up sign Thanks Star. That's a fascinating page, and we suggest that readers take a look!
Luck & Regards,

pic of Ted Mooney
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




Q. Restoring a cast iron wood burning stove The four old bolts that go from the top iron to the base of the stove at each outer corner are rusted. These bolts are about 14" long

Litt martin
- Shreveport Louisiana
February 3, 2023


A. Hi Litt. I understand that the four bolts are rusted, but I'm not sure that I understand what your question is. You can't open the doors because they're frozen, or they're so far gone that you know you need to get replacements, or what?

If they're just frozen, then WD-40 [adv: item on eBay or Amazon] and tapping with a hammer, then more WD-40 and more tapping, etc. And when you can finally move the doors just a little, with a crowbar or however, you keep wiggling them and WD-40'ing them until at long last, they open and close freely.

Luck & Regards,

pic of Ted Mooney
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




⇩ Closely related postings, oldest first ⇩



Q. Hi,

Me and my brother in law are trying to restore an old cast iron wood burning stove and have no idea on how to do it. The whole piece is completely covered in rust. So any info on how to restore this piece would be appreciated.

Heather P [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Hartford, Michigan
2001


A. Ahh yes wood stoves. This is how I started in the metal finishing business. Sure wish I had a sandblaster [portable sandblasters on eBay or Amazon] then because that is the best way to knock off the old rust and get to parent metal. We used to use wire wheels on drills: brutal, and should have worn better dust masks [masks on eBay or Amazon]. Is this a "pot belly" or a cook stove?

Be careful of some of the old cook stoves as they had asbestos insulation. A lot of the pot bellies had a sheet metal jacket, usually corrodes away and has to be replaced, best to drill out the old rivets.

Most important if you are going to use it is the condition of the grates and the fire box. Cast iron is a son of a gun to weld well. Some of the trim may have been nickel plated and it can be hard in this day & age to find a job shop that can or will polish and nickel plate the parts (not chrome) and that is how I ended up in the plating business -- good young man's sport.

Jon Quirt
- Fridley, Minnesota

Ed. note -- Readers, please be aware that sandblasters usually require a pretty good sized air compressor [adv: air compressors on eBay or Amazon]. Purchasing just a sandblaster will not meet your needs.



"Woodburner's Companion"

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

Q. This conversation is interesting to me because I also am trying to restore cast iron stoves -- all 3 of them that belonged to my grandmother. Have received a little bit of information from a couple of iron workers and am working with a sandblaster for the most badly rusted pieces, but otherwise just going about it rather blindly. I am surprised that there is so little information on the Web about how to do this.

Any feedback that anyone could provide would be appreciated.

Charol A [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Doylestown, Pennsylvania
2002


Q. I am attempting to restore a old wood stove that has rust from dampness all over it. Started with steel wool to get it off, but don't know if there is an easier, faster way since it is inside and out and in so many small places?

Robbie C [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Grants Pass, Oregon
2003


A. I clean cast iron skillets by soaking them in lye water but if a piece is too large to get into a bucket, I use oven cleaner [on eBay or Amazon].

Dorthea B [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Cheyenne, Wyoming


! Please be very careful and wear goggles [on eBay or Amazon] (as well as gloves [on eBay or Amazon]; one drop of lye or oven cleaner in your eye will blind you.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003




GLENWOOD

"Glenwood Heaters 1902"

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

Q. I'm really interested in what y'all are saying. I too am trying to restore a wood stove that I found in an abandoned shanty. It is a big one, a Glenwood, and is really dirty. The entire thing was one gigantic mouse nest when I found it. I have disassembled it partially and am stuck as to what to do next. Perhaps clean out the rest of the mouse nest...

My goal is to get it into working condition but that doesn't seem very plausible as there is petrified mouse poop stuck all over the inside. Any ideas as to how to get the poop out? I would greatly appreciate it. My next step is to go and talk to some antique dealers in the area to figure out how to go about taking apart the pieces. Does anyone know what it means to burn the bolts? I saw that mentioned and tried to look it up but couldn't get a definitive answer.

Good luck with all your projects.

Alice H [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Fairlee, Vermont
2003


A. I am responding to "Alice H" question on how to clean of the mouse poop from her stove. I don't know how big this stove is but why don't your place the stove outside in a clear and safe spot away from anything that will burn and light a small fire in the stove. This would heat the stove to the point were it would burn off anything stuck on.

... Just a thought..

Cliff C [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Cobourg, Ontario, Canada


"Stove and
Fireplace Mortar"


on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hello, Alice. "Burning the bolts" probably refers to cutting them with an acetylene torch [on eBay or Amazon] because they are too rusted to unscrew. They can probably be cut off with an angle grinder [on eBay or Amazon] and a cut-off disc [on eBay or Amazon] if an oxy-acetylene torch is beyond your comfort level. But even a grinder can hurt you.

I doubt that you are seeing 'petrified mouse poop stuck all over' :-). To my knowledge mouse droppings look more like rye seeds. Many cast iron wood burning stoves are meant to be airtight, which isn't doable by just bolting cast iron plates together; rather they are sort of caulked with fireproof black mortars.

Maybe that black caulk/mortar is what you are seeing? Good luck

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. Hi Alice H

In response to your query regarding burn the bolts, I agree with Ted Mooney, it is a term used for burning out damaged bolts, but you need to be very careful to not damage the parent metal even cast iron can be damaged, however I have successfully removed very rusted bolts by carefully heating up either the head of the bolt or any exposed thread to a bright red with Acetylene (be careful to not let the surrounding metal get too hot) then let it go cold this will shrink the bolt and may unscrew you may have to apply a penetrating oil product like WD-40 [adv: item on eBay or Amazon] .

Wish you luck.

Colin Wilkin
- New Zealand
November 22, 2011




Q. Stove is sandblasted, bolts okay, fire box okay. Problem: square stove made up of four side panels. There are small spaces between each panel. We assume they should be closed. Considering sealing with muffler cement. What do you think? We do not want to ruin a great stove.

Cecile Fite
- Greenwood, South Carolina
2007


A. Hi Cecile. We appended your inquiry to a previous answer where it is mentioned that stove caulks/mortars are made for the purpose. They will probably look better and work better than muffler cement. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




A. In response to inquiries about restoring old wood burning stoves I will share the following process. I have over the years restored several stoves; in fact I am working on one now. The process is straight-forward and anyone can do most of it. Some steps you will need to get help with, but your cost will be greatly reduced if you do all you can yourself.

#1 Disassemble the stove. Remove the rivets with an air chisel [adv: air chisels on eBay or Amazon] .
#2 Bead blast the parts clean, except those that have plating on them. You can buy an inexpensive bead blaster [on eBay or Amazon] from Harbor Freight or similar place .
#3 Take the plated parts to a local plater and have them stripped, polished and replated [Ed. note, please see thread 13218, "Restoring Nickel Plating on Wood Cookstove"]
#4 Paint the remaining parts with a high temperature paint [on eBay or Amazon], if you intend to use the stove. If not, then any enamel paint will work.
#5 Reassemble the stove with bolts. You can get the bolts at your local hardware store.

Sam S [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
Plating - Orem, Utah
2004

Ed. note: Readers, please be aware that bead blasting cabinets usually do not include the necessary air compressor.

thumbs up signI like how you cut right through. a simple 1-2-3 works just fine with most people. Did the same. My uncle has an antique business of his own and basically has the same formula.

Loralee K [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Chico, California




Multiple threads were merged: please forgive repetition, chronology errors, or disrespect towards other postings [they weren't on the same page] :-)



"Fireplaces and Woodstoves"

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

Q. I have a cast iron wood burning stove and I would like to have it installed in my home, but it has started rusting because it had to be stored outdoors. I would like to know how I can clean it up and paint it black again so it can be installed? Thank you for your time.

Felicita Graves
- Leesburg, Georgia
2005


A. Rutland stove paint [adv: item on eBay or Amazon] is a high temperature black paint, specifically for wood stoves, Felicita. I'm sure there are others, too.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




A. I have 3 wood stoves in my cabin, 2 for heat and 1 is a kitchen stove. All of my stoves were made in the 1800 and were pretty rusted when I bought them. For each "refinishing" job I used 000 steel wool [on eBay or Amazon] because the rust does not have to be "blasted off". I then wiped my stoves down with good old soap and water and let them dry. My next step was stove polish for black cast iron stoves -- brand name is "Rutland" [on eBay or Amazon] . Rub this on, NOT TOO THICK. Let it dry and use 000 steel wool [on eBay or Amazon] to polish. Fire the stove good and hot. (this bakes the polish in). t will smoke just a little and, wah lah, it is done... (this took me less than a day to do).

Oh and by the way blasting the bolts is referring to using a blasting agent... "PB Penetrating Catalyst [on eBay or Amazon] "... you spray this on and it eats away the rust that has froze up just about any bolt... however do not use this as a rust remover for it is very greasy

My newest stove is a 1901 Loth's liberty cook stove. I use this daily and the polish is fantastic! this thing sat outside for years, and had a solid rust surface throughout... I did I as I described and now own a beautiful antique stove that I am proud of!

Hope B [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Salem, Virginia
2005


A. To restore a cast iron stove, (I just restored an old Florin Pot Belly from Lancaster Co. Pa.) you have to wire brush the rust scale off and wipe off with a rag. If you can sandblast or use a wire wheel, it will go faster. After you clean it up, use stove polishing compound, stove black [on eBay or Amazon] , to really bring out its beauty. It's a labour of love (and a little elbow grease.)

Larry Pieller
- Emple, Pennsylvania
2007




Q. Regarding black stove polish, I am restoring a Fairmount wood burning stove that I do not plan to heat because the block has a large crack in it however I do not want to paint it because maybe I will repair the stove in the future. I would like to use the black stove polish but many of the postings say you need to burn the stove in order to get a proper finish? What should I do? How would the polish work if I did not heat the stove? Thanks

Glenn Govostes
- Georgetown, Massachusetts
2007




Magee Stove

Q. As time has passed, the grates scratched the long drip pans of the stove. It is a Magee, white and each side has one long drip pan, on which two grates..front and back rest on top. I painted them with white spray high heat paint, but the paint scratches off easily...so not good for grates to rest on nor for cleaning. So I need something that can handle high cooking heat on the top of the stove and is smooth like porcelain so it can be cleaned and will allow grates and other items to rub on top without scratching the paint surface off. Thank you.

Dennis D. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
homeowner - Lincoln, Rhode Island
February 5, 2010


A. Hi Dennis.

I think I'd rethink the white look and try the stove polish look unless you want to hunt for a porcelain enamel jobshop. The white enamel you see on stoves is not paint, it is real porcelain enamel, which is more like melted glass than paint. The porcelain frit is melted onto the cast iron at thousands of degrees. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




Q. Does anyone know the best way, or if it can even be done, to clean rust from an old wood stove and, then, if possible, what to do to preserve it?

31298-1  31298-2

Thanks!

Heinrich P. Tesch von Cultz II
Hobbyist - Omaha, Nebraska, USA
2006


Gasoline-powered Air Compressors

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. As I scanned through this thread I was surprised to see no one mention use of a product called "naval jelly [on eBay or Amazon] " to dissolve rust. I refinished a 1985 vintage cast iron Consolidated Dutchwest stove that had been in a damp barn and was covered with surface rust this way. You can buy it at any auto parts store that features body working products like Bondo [on eBay or Amazon] , and you simply brush it on, let it sit for five or ten minutes, then wash it off with water. Wire brush any heavy deposits and reapply and repeat. After this I simply painted the parts with high temp black stove paint [on eBay or Amazon] and I have been using the stove for 4 years without any refinishing.

I also have a vintage Century Crawford kitchen stove that I intend to refinish in exactly the same way. I would have used the blasting method but it is extremely messy and requires too many special tools for the average person. The blasting gun and media is pretty cheap, but a high volume air compressor to run can be problematic for the average do it yourselfer, unless like me your other hobby is playing with old cars....

Grant Marques
- Wethersfield, Connecticut
March 5, 2009




A. Why don't folks electrolytically convert the rust? Drop the rusty bit in some water with washing soda [on eBay or Amazon] (in a plastic tub). Plug in your automotive battery charger [on eBay or Amazon] and attach the positive to some re-bar in the same water, the negative to the item that needs to be de-rusted. Just don't let the re-bar and the rusty piece of metal touch. Go read a good book and come back a few hours later. The rust wipes off with no trouble at all and non-rusty metal is completely unaffected. It will remove paint. I'm de-rusting and re-enameling an 80 year old stove this way and it's effortless. You don't have to work so hard!

Heidi D [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
self-employed - Bay Area, California
2004


I'm in the process of refinishing a stove and have found electrolysis does a great job of removing rust. I follow that with a fine wire brush and Scotchbright finishing pad. Stove polish [on eBay or Amazon] finishes it off and no damage has been done to the underlying metal.

Kathy Hodgen
- east berlin, Pennsylvania
September 6, 2009


Evapo-Rust

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

ATLANTA STOVE

thumbs up sign I am using Heidi's electrolytic cleaning of an old Atlanta Stove, I hope it works.

I started with wire brushing with power drill, bah!
Looked at Evapo-rust; looks good but $21.00 gallon plus freight.

I will post result when I get them.

Vernon Zellers
- Walnut Cove, North Carolina
October 2, 2009


Q. I would like additional information on using a battery charger to "de-rust"....the positive is attached to rebar and the neg to the item of rust ... both in the same water tank?

Michael Tate
- Effingham, Illinois
April 13, 2010


A. Hi, Michael. Yes, electrocleaning is done with both electrodes submerged in the same tank but not touching. The actual idea is that the electricity splits the water into hydrogen bubbles at the negative pole (the piece you are cleaning) and oxygen bubbles at the positive pole (the rebar) which scrub the surface clean. In addition, to some small extent, the rust (Fe+, Fe++) is reduced to Fe0 by the electrons at the negative pole.

Don't forget the washing soda [on eBay or Amazon] for conductivity and alkalinity; and a little detergent can help but not hurt.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




A. Hand wire brushes are not helpful and will only aggravate you. Graduated coarsenesses of wire wheel brushes, drill mount and go to town; start coarse, go to fine, then some 00 steel wool [on eBay or Amazon] all over and a spray down with some compressed air or a leaf blower. Then some solvent or brakeclean to clean surface, then some high temperature paint. The stove black is nasty stuff and can rub off very easily on clothes, etc. Also looks lousy and can't be painted over. Stove black isn't the weapon of choice anymore for a reason.

Also make sure your paint is rated to at least 1000 degrees.

Electrolysis weakens metal and is a quick way to get electrocuted/rupture a battery.

L. Jay
- NEK, Vermont
October 12, 2009


thumbs up sign Hi L. Thanks for the helpful tips!

Alas, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and a number of readers prefer the look of stove polish to paint. I believe you're right that they can't change their mind and paint once they've waxed the stove though, so they better be sure :-)

You're entitled to feel that electrolysis is not a good & practical way to clean cast iron stove parts, but there's little chance of electrocuting yourself with a 6 or 12 volt battery charger if you exercise reasonable care (anything is possible if you don't). Electrolysis doesn't weaken mild steel or cast iron (thousands of plating shops around the world use electrolysis every day for cleaning millions of metal parts before plating); but electrolysis with the work attached to the negative pole does offer the potential of hydrogen embrittlement of hardened steels.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey




Q. Hi Y'all rust is bad and can just ruin a stove. You got to get it all off or it grows like mold, now you can't be in a rush and do a good job, so this is what you do, so you go get yourself some sandpaper now just cut off a little piece the size of three fingers and now you go counter clockwise until it's all gone.

Wilma Jones
- Ridgway Pennsylvania
October 20, 2009


thumbs up signThanks, Wilma. But I'm left handed ... do you think I could go clockwise, or might the old lefty-loosey / righty-tighty rule make the rust grow instead of shrink? :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey



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