Cast Iron Kettle (Le Creuset) - enamelled inside, but some chips, rust

I picked up a Le Creuset cast iron tea kettle in a second-hand shop. It seems to have a few chips out of the inside coating, and there’s some rust as a result. I scrubbed it all out, and soaked with vinegar, salt etc. to remove the rust.

The question then is how to prevent rust from recurring. I’ve done some tea soaks, with the tannic acid converting the rust to “black rust”, but the black rust seems to wash away fairly easily, re-exposing the cast iron, and thus more (red) rust.

Does anyone have suggestions on a way to “seal up” these chips in the interior enamel?

4 Replies
OMGsrsly said

Le Creuset will re-enamel all of their stuff. If you’re in the States, it should be fairly simple. (I have a pot I need to save up to send in. Cast iron is heavy, and postage is ridiculous.)

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Do you know if this is still true? I had read that Le Creuset had changed some of their policies owing to abuse; and indeed on their website the warranty seems to be confined to the original purchaser.

OMGsrsly said

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to contact them and ask. Mine was a gift probably about 15 years ago now. I don’t have a receipt or anything.

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Thanks. I’ll contact them and see what they say.

I’m still curious, for my own edification, if nothing else, about possible ways of sealing up the pits. Would repeated “tea soaks” effect this? Or would I actually need to “season” it with oil?

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