Wood Cook stove surface? (Cast Iron)

This is my first post since finding this forum so please bear with me and be kind. Hope I am posting in the correct place. So I have an old woos cook stove in my in my cabin that I have dragged around for about 40yrs before building the cabin. We don't use it a whole lot and the surface does have some rust pitting and very fine surface rust on it now. My cabin is in WI and not heated in the colder winter months. We heat with wood. What can I do to prevent the surface rust? It occurs after we use it. I have coated it with veg oil and olive oil in the past but have heard to use lard, tallow or coconut oil. What about stove polish on the cooking area? Thanks for all and any suggestions. Mike

Looking forward to seeing the replies as the cast iron top of the cook stove in my next home has a similar issue!

Hi Michael
Welcome to Permies! If you find anyone is not kind to you, hit the report button - we're quite strict on that sort of thing.
I haven't got anything of direct use to you and am quite interested in what people suggest myself. I have one observation from my own cook stove: I have a range burner with a 'dogbone' shaped coking surface. One side is directly above the firebox and gets pretty hot, the other side is the 'simmer side' which I find doesn't get that hot, and actually fails to keep things at a simmer unless the stove is burning fairly hot. The hot side keeps nice and smooth - I occasionally have to scrape off burnt on food (I sometimes cook direct on the plate and cooking oil tends to turn to a varnish) but no rust. The simmer side is slightly pitted and rusty. I use it far less. Logically I would have expected the side I cook on to get rustier (hotter, more spills and abrasion) but that isn't the case in my experience.

Cast iron is cast iron is cast iron. For ours, my goal has been to polymerize some fat on the surface. That requires three things: fat of some kind (obviously), heat, and time. I've used a couple of different fats on the stove, including tallow (smelled ghastly when polymerizing) and coconut oil (takes more applications but smells nice, like baking). Higher heat equals faster polymerization, so hot areas of the stove won't need as many applications to achieve a seasoned surface. Lower heat means you'll need more applications. In neither case is it a "one-and-done" kind of thing; it needs frequent application to begin with and then enough to maintain it. I aim to make it look like a well-seasoned cast iron pan; very black and just a smidge toward shiny.

Commercial stove polishes have some pretty scary ingredients that are then vaporized into your home. I avoid them.

Everyone will probably have their personal choice for what kind of oil to use.

I have always used whatever kind of oil I have on hand for my cast iron skillets.

Here is an article from Lodge for their suggestions for their cast iron products:

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/oils-cast-iron-cooking-and-seasoning

Our forum does have several wood cook stove owners so I am hoping you will hear from one of them.

To remove rust, use a wire brush and then sandpaper. Wipe clean with a moistened cloth. I think the rust comes from acidic food spills, since I get small spots only.

To season, you can use many oils, but use them SPARINGLY. The stove gets very hot and you don't want the excess oil to burn. I did it once and learned the lesson! Better too little and a repeat than a room full of smoke.

There are products called "stove black" or Rust protector like WD40, but their instructions warn not to inhale the fumes, not to spill it on your skin etc. So not exactly a mild natural product 🙄

My grandma's wood stove never shone although her cast iron pans did. I think it is unrealistic to get that finish on a stove without harsh chemicals. After all, we cook with pots and pans, not by spilling the food directly on the stove 😄

First I want to thank everyone for the replies. I'm not too worried so much about the pitting. But I would like to prevent the light surface rust. My cabin has a concrete floor along with having it shut down during winter does create some moisture issues. Nothing real bad but will cause the surface rust. The cabin is totally off grid and run with solar so I believe I may frequent this forum more now that I found it.  

[quote=Michael Miller
t I would like to prevent the light surface rust. My cabin has a concrete floor along with having it shut down during winter does create some moisture issues.  

No problem if you lightly oil it and have good ventilation

I came across an article on rust removers vs. rust converters and found it useful (though it meanders a bit). It mirrors my understanding that after using a rust converter, the surface should not require painting (or oiling).

https://rxmechanic.com/rust-converter/