how to restore this cast iron pan?

[MetalSlug]

I haven’t used this Lodge cast‑iron pan for about three years. I cleaned it up a bit, but I noticed some black stuff peeling off when I scrubbed it. What can I do to remove the black residue and make the pan safe for cooking again?

 

[BobsArmory]

Mix up a solution of this, you can find it at Walmart. Soak it for about 24 hours. Rinse and clean well then reseason. In the winter time I get a plastic tray from Wallmart to soak it in. I put the tray in the tub so there are no mistakes made. Use gloves!

 

[spasm3]

The black you see, is the seasoning, your pan is unevenly seasoned, maybe cleaned in-correctly. You want a black seasoned coating , as it is the non-stick property.

To remove the seasoning, you will need lye , or spray oven cleaner. Rust can be scrubbed off with 50% water/vinegar. Don't leave it in the vinegar for more than 1/2 hour or you can pit the iron.

Scrub, clean it and immediately dry and oil it with a high smoke point oil like grapeseed or safflower.

To re-season it oil it and heat it to 500F for an hour, reoil heat , re-oil heat. do the oil and 500f for an hour 3 times. ( It will smoke a lot doing this).

Maybe do it on a large grill, without heat directly under it. but you need an hour each time at 475-500f x 3 treatments.

Don't ( never) use soap to clean after use, never dishwasher, dry immediately and re-oil before storing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0078DRVT0?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp&th=1

 

[Vercingetorix]

Sandblast with walnut shells.

 

[gman2304]

Lodge has a step by step tutorial on cleaning/restoring and reseasoning cast iron on their website.

 

[mr_boring]

If it's not a heritage or heirloom piece, I would run it though a self cleaning cycle in the oven. They CAN crack if you do that, they CAN warp when you do that.

The odds are very very low that they will do either. I bring them up to a very high heat on the stove top and get the oven hot first.

Step 1, turn on oven. Heat to 500.

Step 2, heat up pan. Start on mediumish heat and let it go about 5 minutes. Turn heat up to high for a minute or 2.

place hot pan in oven, run through self cleaning cycle.

You can also use easy off oven cleaner (the one with harsh chemicals (maybe lye???) and soak it in a trash bag.

After it cools, preferably while it's still slightly warm (the untreated cast iron will begin to rust almost as soon as it cools) apply a super thin coating of oil and bake it in the oven. Depending on the oil you use determines the time/temp.

canola oil is what I use. 45 minutes at 450. The layer of oil has to be super thin, almost dry. like a half dozen drops will do the inside and outside.

 

[Variant_S]

You can also use easy off oven cleaner (the one with harsh chemicals (maybe lye???) and soak it in a trash bag.

I'd go this route. Your pan is not gunked up, so stripping it should be fairly quick, perhaps overnight. Glove up when you work with lye, as was mentioned in post #2 above.

 

[Shannow]

I used a flap disk, thorough washing and scrubbing, then heating with hemp or sesame oil for the seasoning.

 

[TnT_M]

I have thrown mine in a roaring fire before to burn off the leftover seasoning. Then restart with some crisco or clarified butter to start the seasoning again. This is the beauty of cast iron, it never goes bad.

If you don't want to do the fire method, use some steel wool and scrub away. Seasoning is the same.

 

[uc50ic4more]

I had to restore 5 or 6 of these a couple of years ago. I used a steel brush on a drill to clean up the surfaces, then used a high smoke-point oil (avocado?) and seasoned them in my BBQ at 550F.

 

[SC Maintenance]

What kind of pan? Looks like a rough finish to start. I would sand it smooth, clean and re-season.

If its a heirloom piece or was factory finished smooth then I would do steel wool by hand till its clean then refinish.

 

[spasm3]

In addition to my above suggestions, i would suggest you heat them up gradually. Don't put a cold cast iron piece into an already 500f grill. heat the pan up with the grill preferably with heat on the other burners and not directly under the pan. Burner under the pan should be off or lowest setting.

 

[earlyre]

in his books, Alton says the real temp is 500 Deg.
the lawyers made them back it down to 350.

 

[User_19876]

I second the recommendation to use lye, and then reseason. I prefer the “grill and griddle” cleaner from Sam’s. As a liquid, it’s less hassle to get it than powder like Red Devil. Apparently, the meth cooks don’t use the liquid.

If the container doesn’t have a strongly worded warning about caustic burns and blindness, it’s not strong enough.

 

[Shannow]

That's the lodge I found at the dump...in Oz

 

[Nessism1]

Powder lye in a bucket of water. Scrub with a scotchbrite every so often. A day or two should do it.

If there is rust, water/vinegar mix, will take care of that.

Getting a good seasoning layer going is where the real nuance lies.
- warm pan in oven at 200F for 20 minutes.
- wipe pan with light coat of grape seed oil, and put back in oven at 300F for 20 minutes longer.
- Use a dry rag and wipe down pan again, smoothing out oil that will likely look mottled.
- Put pan back into a 450F oven for one hour.
- Repeat as needed until your pan has a nice thick golden layer of seasoning.

 

[Vil_Riker]

I have used mechanical means - grinded with a dremel and then sanded it smooth. Then seasoned it for 3 THIN layers.

It's labor intensive but not too bad.

 

[berniedd]

a wire wheel on your power drill can make short work of that.

 

[Toy4x4]

Another process is Electrolysis . Way more involved, but it gets the job done.

 

[Panda87]

I would just get a chainmail scrubber. You’ll need one anyway to maintain the cleanliness and seasoning of the pan (no soap!). Scrub off what loose stuff you can by folding the chainmail in half lengthwise and then rolling that into a roll then hold that tight roll together and scrub in warm water.

Once scrubbed well, place on stove and heat. Add oil (a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil) once the water evaporates and turn off the pan. Use a paper towel to spread the oil all over.

Turn on the oven and place the pan in. Bake the pan at 300-350 until the shininess of the oil fades to a matte look.

Use pan as normal. Use a little oil each time you cook in it. Very salty foods such as bacon or sausage can cause foods to stick. Acidic foods can eat into the seasoning. Seasoning isn’t a one shot event; it is built over much time and many cooks.

Hope you enjoy! We love our cast iron cookware.