Ooooh, cast iron pans, cleaning once well seasoned:

You may use either a tiny amount of dish soap in cold water, OR hot water on its own, to remove stubbornly stuck-on bits. A green scrubby used lightly will restore the smoothness of the seasoning's finish to Teflon smoothness. However, always lightly re-season lightly or heavily as needed with a spritz of spray oil on the freshly-heated pan. Polish excess oil off when the pan cools.

A rusted pan can be sanded down to bare iron and re-seasoned; sometimes dry salt will serve to sand it, or the automotive sander used carefully will serve. :~) But a rescued rusty pan, if seasoned properly, will have a long second life.

Seasoning, according to some people, is best done stovetop, frying chicken. According to others, a long, slow bake in the oven is best.

~S~