Tag: Cast iron Hibachi

The pick up and inspection:
While it was obvious the hibachi had never been used, there was a fair amount of surface rust on the cooking grid, cookbox and hardware that held everything together. The wood base was dusty and faded.

 

Further inspection and breaking down:

The thing rod that holds the wood handles to the cooking grid had the most surface rust but all the nuts came free after hitting them with the wire brush and steel wool.  Same for the nuts that held the wood base to the cook box.

Cleaning:

The tools used were steel wool, wire brush, abrasive sponge and a rag.

Started out hitting any and all surface rust with the small wire brush and then finish and get into the tight areas with the steel wool.  The wood base which was dull and dusty had a nice wood grain that was exposed after cleaning with the extra fine steel wool.  I was most anxious at this point to get a couple of coats of Tung Oil on it to see it come back to life.  All the hardware benefited from the steel wool cleaning as well.

The surface rust on the cookbox made it look dull and after asking for advice on the excellent Facebook group “Cast Iron and Hibachi World” member Mike Clemons suggested washing with a scrub pad and Blue dishwashing detergent.

The base and handles get Tung oil:

The handles had what looked to be stain on them and the base looked untreated.

After scuffing off the dust with the steel wool and wiping off with a damp rag I applied a coating of Tung oil liberally with a rag to all the wood.  after about five hours I applied a second coat which really brought out the grain.  I plan to do at least two more coats or keep applying until the wood won’t take any more oil.

Lastly a light coat of vegetable oil

Before and after pics: