I finally broke through my rusty skillet after 3 weeks of trying

Picked up a beat up #8 skillet at a garage sale in Portland last month for $10. The bottom had these crusty rust spots that wouldn't budge no matter how much I scrubbed with vinegar and salt. Tried the potato and salt method yesterday on a whim and it actually lifted the rust right off. Has anyone else had luck with that trick or am I just getting lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver8114d agoTop Commenter

Wait, so you just rubbed a raw potato on the rust and it came off? Did you have to let it sit for a while or was it pretty much instant? Kinda wanna try this on my old garden shears.

xena_murphy6d ago

Never really bought into the potato thing, always figured it was just an old wives' tale cooks passed around. Saw it work on a buddy's carbon steel wok last month and it changed my mind completely. The starch or whatever in the potato does something to the rust that vinegar just can't touch. Might be worth trying on some old hand tools I have lying around, those have been sitting in a damp shed for way too long. Glad it worked out for that skillet, rust is the worst.