Letter 11428

How do I restore a cast iron wood burning stove 

+ 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Hartford, MI + Ahh yes wood stoves. This is how I started in the metal finishing business. Sure wish I had a sandblaster then because that is the best way to knock off the old rust and get to parent metal. We use to use wire wheels on drills, brutal, and should have worn better dust masks. This a "pot belly" or a cook stove? Be careful of some of the old cook stoves (really not the so old ones) 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 and 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, MN ++ This conversation is interesting to me because I also am trying to restore cast irons stoves -- all 3 of them that belonged to my grandmother. Have received a little bit of information from a couple 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Doylestown, PA +++ 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 a easier, faster way since it is inside and out and in so many small places?? Robbie C [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Grants Pass, OR, USA +++ 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Fairlee, VT

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

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.

Dorthea B [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Cheyenne, WY

... and you do it carefully, I hope, recognizing that one drop of lye in your eye will blind you.

Ted Mooney, P.E. 
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

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 a air chisel [Adv. Air Chisel [link is to product info at Amazon]].
#2 Bead blast the parts clean, except those that have plating on them. You can buy an inexpensive blaster from Harbor Freight or similar place [Adv. Bead Blaster [link is to product info at Amazon]].
#3 Take the plated parts to a local plater and have them stripped, polished and replated.
#4 Paint the remaining parts with a high temperature paint [Adv. high temperature paint [link is to product info at 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
Plating - Orem, UT, USA

Why don't folks electrolytically convert the rust? Drop the rusty bit in some water with Washing Soda [link is to product info at Amazon] (in a plastic tub). Plug in your automotive battery charger [link is to product info at Amazon] and attach the positive to some rebar in the same water, the negative to the item that needs to be de-rusted. Just don't let the rebar 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
self-employed - Bay Area, California, USA

I, too, am in the process of refinishing an old wood burning cookstove. I was advised to have all of the parts sandblasted, and then paint everything with Stove Paint [link is to product info at Amazon]. It comes in a spray can, or brush on. I'm wondering if it might work best to use a bit of each. Has anyone got any advice for me?

Mary H [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Saxtons River, VT

I am currently looking to clean up our cast iron wood stove. It seems to be in pretty good shape almost everywhere. The problem is that we just redid our kitchen and our stove is now in the corner of it. During the demolition and construction, the stove accumulated a lot of dust, a little rust, and a couple specks of paint on the top of it. How can I clean that up? Is it as easy as wire brushing it and repainting?

Hollie W [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Danville, KY, USA

Hi. I just came across your stove restoration questions, many of which were my own, and then discovered this link to an article from Mother Earth News called "Wood-burner Restoration." Maybe it will help: http://www.motherearthnews.com/menarch/archive/issues/059/059-024-01.htm

Cindy R [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Kansas City, MO, USA

Ed. note, June '07: Sorry, that link is no longer functional.

Hi there.

We have a Moores Heater (Joliet Stove Works) dating back to late 1800's early 1900's. There are a few spots of rust and I'd like to know how to clean it.

Lauren C [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
Homeowner - Tarrytown, NY

Hello all:

I'm looking into placing a pot belly stove outside on my deck under a gazebo.

How do they weather? I live in Ontario.

Anything special I need to do to prolong the life of it.

If a pot belly stove is not a good idea any suggestions??

Thanks,

Mark [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
vaqw - Canada

WELL I HAVE READ MOST OF THE LETTERS (E-MAIL) AND HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT EVERYONE IS MAD. FIRST OF ALL THE MOST DIRECT APPROACH IS TO ACCESS THE STOVE AND TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION. IF IT IS RUSTY, SO WHAT? IT WILL BURN OFF WITH A GOOD HOT FIRE. IF BOLTS ARE IN BAD CONDITION, REPLACE THEM. NO MATTER WHAT THE PROBLEM IS IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF GETTING DIRTY AND TAKING THE DIRT BY THE HORNS. I HAVE RESTORED STOVES THAT LOOKED LIKE THEY SHOULD BE SOLD FOR SCRAP..........ANSWER.... HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE. GOOD LUCK AND QUIT WHINING!!

Gary V [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Ashland, Ohio, USA

In a response to Sam S from UT I like how you cut right through. a simple 1 2 3 works just fine. with most people did the same. my uncle has a antique business of his own and basically has the same formula.

Loralee K [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Chico, CA, USA

I bought a home with a wood burning stove, which I intend to use as a heat source. Upon firing the stove, I realized that the unit had been painted with non-heat resistant enamel. The smell was terrible and the paint curled and peeled in some places. Is removing the stove and sand blasting the only option for me?

Donna H [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Cumberland, MD

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. with each "refinishing" job I used 000 Steel Wool [link is to product info at Rockler] 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 Stove Polish [link is to product info at Amazon]"... rub this on... NOT TOO THICK let it dry and use 000 Steel Wool [link is to product info at Rockler] to polish... fire the stove good and hot...this bakes the polish in...it will smoke just a little, and walla 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 Blaster [link is to product info at 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 [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Salem, Virginia, USA

No sense in going overboard if your stove isn't in real bad shape. Taking the whole thing apart and sand-blasting it takes a lot more time and money, not too mention its messy (which means you can either get sand all over your house, or you can lug that heavy stove into the yard...a real pain either way). A drastic overhaul is only really necessary if: a) The stove is completely covered in thick rust and looks like it was sitting in saltwater for the last 10 years, or b) You get your advice from someone who is in the business of reconditioning stoves and wants your money.

If it just needs some basic refinishing, don't spend all that time and money! You just need 3 things:
1) Steel Wool [link is to product info at Rockler] (start coarse if needed, then go with more fine wool)
2) High temp paint (One brand has already been recommended in this thread)
3) Good old fashioned ELBOW GREASE (the rust isn't just going to come off like magic, you've got to work at it and show it who's boss. Accept that fact and deal with it).

Jim S [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Madison, WI

Post a new question

 

Answer or follow-up on this subject (in non-commercial fashion).