How to Restore Very Cruddy Cast Iron Skillet to Usable Condition Without Electrolysis!

This shows the process of stripping, cleaning, sanding, and the seasoning of a cast iron skillet from start to finish minus to minute details. This was a shopping trip with my daughter-in-law to find vintage antiques and she found this vintage piece she wanted restored for Christmas! I trimmed a lot from this video while at the same time showing you the essential steps you want to take to restore a skillet yourself!

Stages of this video for easier viewing:
3:00 What this skillet looked like before restoration
5:44 Lye bath set up to begin the stripping process
7:04 Checking skillet after initial lye bath soak & initial clean/rinse
7:40 Rinsing skillet out with Dawn mild dish detergent & scouring pads which you can purchase from Home Depot or Lowes, etc.
8:14 Back into the lye bath for additional 3 days....very stubborn pan. Boy was I wrong!
9:02 60/40% Vinegar/water soak process explained
10:50 Results of vinegar/water soak and now we need to take emergency measures as time is of the essence!
12:03 Next day results thus far and more cleaning explained
14:05 Sanding process and station explained
14:48 Results before seasoning begins
15: 31 One more thing explained before you begin the seasoning process
16:38 Final results after 4 rounds of seasoning. Pan looks smooth and is a bronze color after this initial seasoning. It turns blacker the more it is used.
19:11 Before and after pictures of this Griswold skillet - Enjoy!!!