Handling new steel for pan

[11-Nick]

I'm fairly certain that I'm going to make a mild steel pan as opposed to a SS pan.
How do I handle the steel? My biggest concern is rust. Even if I don't get to start on the pan for another month, I have a couple of months before tapping season. If I weld it, I've got to do some things immediately to prevent rust on the fresh welds in the pan. What do I do this far ahead of boiling sap to save the pan from rust issues?
Anyone who's made their own pans... as I plan out cuts/bends, can I draw on the steel with a sharpie or will that cause problems with off-tasting syrup?
Thanks everyone.
Nick

[wiam]

Sounds like most of the reasons most go with stainless.

[11-Nick]

Already hashed out in a thread not too long ago that steel pans were fine. My concern isn't with using steel to boil. It will have a coating of maple sugar on the inside to preserve it after it's used. My concern is right now... BEFORE the first boil. How to keep it from rusting. After it is welded, I would assume some sort of oil should be put on it to stop rust for the next few months. Just don't know what would cause the least effects on the syrup when I boil. I'm sure I'll be boiling out the pan with water before the first sap boil, so that will get rid of some/most of the oil I put on the pan.

[Schiefe4]

I would look into a food grade oil, maybe similar to those used as an organic de-foamer.

[Big_Eddy]

Your steel from the mill will come with mill scale and possibly some oil on it. Weld it up, keep it high and dry and it shouldn't get any rustier than it started out. It'll need a good cleaning before your first boil anyway.I'd give it a good scrub out, a wash with dish soap, then boil it hard with vinegar or baking soda a couple of times, then a rinse boil with water.

Canola oil is food safe and used for conditioning cast iron pans. Canola is used by some as a defoamer. It should work.

Draw on the outside.