On Apr 19, 5:51 pm, The Space Boss wrote:
I found a BEAUTIFUL vintage wok at a thrift store. It came in a large
wooden box and has two utensels with it (a ladel and a spatula-type
tool). It seemed to have a little rust inside, so I cleaned it off
with CLR and a metal scouring pan until it SHINED like new.

Then, to make sure I got all the CLR off, I ran it through the
dishwasher. When I took the wok out, to my disbelief, it had formed a
fresh coating of rust on the inside of it again. I wiped it off with a
paper towel, and it seemed to come right off (bright orange on the
paper towel), and it looks OK now.... but I find it a bit disturbing.

Is this normal?

Yes, there was no seasoned layer on it so it formed rust. Just wash
the rust off again by hand and once you season it you won't get any
more rust. It should never be put it in the dishwasher again. I'm
not sure what CLR is, but assume it's a strong cleaner. You won't
need that again either.

Is the Wok OK to use?

Yes. Given how you describe it, it is very likely steel. They can go
and go nearly forever with proper care.

Can rust hurt you?

Well, not really. It's iron oxide, which is not food but not toxic
either. If any were left after being scrubbed off it would be a
miniscule amount.

So what you do now is season it and maintain it. It's very similar to
cast iron. Put the wok over high heat and when it's hot, rub it with
oil -- peanut or safflower or corn or sunflower, not olive. One way
to do that is with long tongs holding a wad of paper towel soaked in
oil. You will see the wok darken and change color as the oil gets hot
enough. Coat the entire inside surface of the wok with oil, and tilt
the wok in all directions to hit all of it with maximum heat. When
you've produced a little smoke from as much of the surface as
possible, remove from heat, let cool, and wipe off all excess oil.
You've now finished the initial seasoning.

From now on, after each time you use it never use soap to wash it,
just wipe/brush/scrub with water, preferably while the wok is still
hot. Periodically wipe the clean wok with a folded paper towel with a
little oil to renew and continue building up the seasoning/coating.
As time and usage go on a dark, hard, extremely smooth surface will
develop -- better than any non-stick pan. -aem