Cast iron semi restoration help

[jsmorrow2s]

I have what seems like a ton of cast iron pieces. All from lodge, well all except a 5 qt enameled DO. They are all stored appropriately (ie not touching and not in a humid environment). They are all a deep black, but a couple of pieces have “blemishes” for lack of a better term. They’re still non stick and function just fine but the blemishes are annoying and I don’t want it to ruin the pan years down the road. I have tried using a salt and vinegar scrub. No bueno. Then got my kettle roaring hot and just took all of the seasoning off, then reseasoning. Once again it still looks blemished. And it’s just on the inside of the pan, no the outside.

The following is my standard operating procedure on cleaning for clarification: once cool enough to handle with bare hands, they get scraped with a plastic scraper. Then with a coarse bristle brush, scrubbed under warm water. Once visually clean, I turn the water to cold for a rinse. Immediately dry with a towel or paper towel. Then onto the stove where I heat it under meds heat until the handle is almost too hot to handle. I spray with a light coat of canola oil and use a dedicated cloth to evenly coat the pan. I then store upside down on stove until cool.

They don’t picture well so I won’t post a picture. I really don’t know how to describe it. Any help would be nice!

 

[jsmorrow2s]

This is the best I can do in regards to what I’m talking about

 

[jsmorrow2s]

In the picture, you can see what most of my cast iron looks like, outside of those “blemishes”. It doesn’t look like rust. It’s just so weird

 

[4ever3]

Adams...

Paging Adams....

 

[sudsandswine]

Looks to me like the coating you've built up is flaking off....I have a pan like that after the wife cooked something in it I need to take it down to metal and re-season it.

 

[Cook]

That's just the carbonized surface flaking off. I've seen that heavy carbon fail to hold on many times. About the only cure is to take it back down to bare iron & start over...which isn't the end of the world. All the pans I've done that to come out the other side pretty darn non-stick.

I use a self-cleaning oven cycle of 3-4 hours to eradicate it of all that isn't part of the iron itself.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Calling 16Adams! This guy knows.

 

[16Adams]

I’m no expert and it won’t hurt my feelings for a Brethren to over ride me. I’ve not experienced exactly what you’re seeing but cast iron is dang tough. With computers often times unplugging waiting a minute and plugging back in solves the problem. The cast iron version of unplugged and plugged back is placing your CI skillet upside down in the oven middle grate, running the oven 450/500 for an hour, and applying a light coat of oil.

I can’t promise this will work, but it would be my first step before , no- no before, it would be my first step

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I fully agree with applying the oil after the pan is heated. It works.

 

[ModelMaker]

Is it difficult or even proper to use one of those cupped wire bristle brushes you chuck in a drill to just grind it down to bare metal and start over?
Ed

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3pcs-Derus...108294?hash=item1ab0305946:g:HZsAAOSw6pxf~Gyp

 

[16Adams]

Cast Iron recovery is like cooking chili. Lots of ways to get there. I’ve set in oven on cleaning cycle then when cool enough to handle hit with wire brush. I’ve done this multiple times with vintage cast iron. I’ve never done this with pre seasoned cast iron from Lodge. I’d be interested to know how that would work as well.
That’s why I mentioned the most conservative route I know. My 89 year old mother told me to use it, oil it and keep it away from water when not in use.
Was hoping something that simple would work here. Non issue as OP never returned to the conversation

 

[jsmorrow2s]

Sorry I’ve been a touch busy with work. But yes, I’ve already blasted it once over a fire to remove the original seasoning bc it was flaking. When I re-seasoned it I oiled it then baked it at 400 for an hr, let cool, reapplied oil and rebaked it I think 4-5 times. Still flaking. I use it at least weekly if not more often. I might just take steel wool to that area and try to reseason that way.

But yes, lots of ways to skin a cat. Unfortunately I work through Wednesday of next week and will try to rehab it then. Thank you so much for the help! I truly do appreciate it!!!

 

[16Adams]

Cool. We all learn. A few days ago I found a new small lodge in back of a cabinet. Wife reminded I bought it to “try something”. What that try was was removing all the pre season coating. Basically seeing what’s underneath and is it as slick and light weight as a Griswold or Wagner without the factory seasoning. Reckon I got derailed. Please post up if you Strip it down to bare metal and your process used. There are quite a few cast iron fans both active and lurking here.

Thanks again

 

[jsmorrow2s]

Cast iron is where it’s at! This forum got me hooked, which in turn got the wife hooked lol. Now it’s almost all we use outside of a couple pots for noodles and such.

Want to use the oven? Got to take the cast iron out first!

How about the stove? Need to shuffle around the cast iron to use the burner you want!

How about the counter? You guess it! There’s cast iron stored there as well.

I’ve wanted a cast iron wall that have hooks on it to “display” my pieces and make it easier to store and select what I want to use. The wife and I came to an agreement that we get to do that in the next house. Hopefully, house up for sale this spring and start building later this summer (fingers crossed)

 

[Cook]

Here are a few pictures of a small restoration I did on a not-so-old pan. I personally knew this pan to be in use for at least 20 years before I took it home to restore it. It was a restaurant beater that stayed on a range top and typically had oil in it to fry things...that's why it has all that carbonization. I restored it a few years ago so I'm guessing it's still a young 25-30 years old...still a new piece. These pictures aren't to show anything about vintage iron...just about what restoration can look like.

For restoration of a pan in this condition, place it in the oven's cleaning cycle for four (4) hours...as soon as the oven unlocks, the pan will still be screaming hot...and ready to accept seasoning without any further heating. I simply give it a quick, dry wipe to remove all the crud that baked off...a dry steel scrubber is handy along with some dry towels. Then immediately wipe it with lard. Follow that with wiping it as dry as you can to remove the excess fat, then boost the heat back up on the range top (on high). When the bottom stops smoking, coat the entire pan with lard a second time, wipe off all of the excess, and allow it to cool. That's my entire seasoning process. This pan was non-stick the first time I ever tossed an egg in it.

All of my CI restorations receive that same treatment. I never buy a used piece that I don't strip...I don't know what's in those pores...

By using the self-cleaning cycle, there is zero scrubbing. When it comes out of the cycle, everything has already fallen off...everything. I just need to quickly wipe off the dust so that I can apply my first coat of lard while it's still hot.

~~ THIS METHOD D-O-E-S SMOKE UP THE HOUSE ~~

 

[Cook]

And I rarely heat up a pan after washing & reoil. I don't need to.

I always clean under cold water with a steel scrubber. Knock off all of the stuck on bits, and when I feel that scrubby running slick on the bottom, I stop. Rinse with cold water, and dry with a towel. By using cold water, there is always enough fat/oil left on the pan surface that I don't need to apply any additional oil.

I've never had a pan go rancid...and I've never heard of anyone that I know who has.

 

[ElectronFlux]

If your pan is a preseasoned Lodge those blemishes are their seasoning flaking off.
The only way to get rid of them for good is to take the whole pan down to bare iron.
Sticking it in a hot oven won’t take it off, as Lodge’s process of putting it on is hotter than your oven can get. Using a wire wheel in a drill is also not recommended, it can damage the pan and add the steel from the wheel to the pan.
The best, and least labor intensive method to do this is the electrolysis method. I use it to strip every vintage piece I acquire. It also got all the preseason off an abused Lodge pan I have.

The Wagner & Griswold Society has a wealth of knowledge on all things CI. I found them shortly after I caught the CI collecting bug.

Here’s the link to their page for cleaning/ strip methods..

http://wag-society.org/cleaning.php


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[16Adams]

Here are a few pictures of a small restoration I did on a not-so-old pan. I personally knew this pan to be in use for at least 20 years before I took it home to restore it. It was a restaurant beater that stayed on a range top and typically had oil in it to fry things...that's why it has all that carbonization. I restored it a few years ago so I'm guessing it's still a young 25-30 years old...still a new piece. These pictures aren't to show anything about vintage iron...just about what restoration can look like.

For restoration of a pan in this condition, place it in the oven's cleaning cycle for four (4) hours...as soon as the oven unlocks, the pan will still be screaming hot...and ready to accept seasoning without any further heating. I simply give it a quick, dry wipe to remove all the crud that baked off...a dry steel scrubber is handy along with some dry towels. Then immediately wipe it with lard. Follow that with wiping it as dry as you can to remove the excess fat, then boost the heat back up on the range top (on high). When the bottom stops smoking, coat the entire pan with lard a second time, wipe off all of the excess, and allow it to cool. That's my entire seasoning process. This pan was non-stick the first time I ever tossed an egg in it.

All of my CI restorations receive that same treatment. I never buy a used piece that I don't strip...I don't know what's in those pores...

By using the self-cleaning cycle, there is zero scrubbing. When it comes out of the cycle, everything has already fallen off...everything. I just need to quickly wipe off the dust so that I can apply my first coat of lard while it's still hot.

~~ THIS METHOD D-O-E-S SMOKE UP THE HOUSE ~~

It’s a beautiful thing when old cast iron comes back to life. Must resist, bug starting to bite, again

 

[jsmorrow2s]

Ok so with the oven cleaner cycle, can I replace that with direct heat on a kettle? The wife would kill me if I smoke up the entire house lol

 

[jsmorrow2s]

And the electrolysis thing just scares me. Idk why