4 ms·

I got a cheapo Lodge for this reason, but I wonder if the more expensive makes add some postprocessing steps to smooth the casting. I found the rough Lodge fin

I got a cheapo Lodge for this reason, but I wonder if the more expensive makes add some postprocessing steps to smooth the casting. I found the rough Lodge finish to be unworkable since food kept sticking, and it was hard to clean. I ended up sanding it down to a glass finish and reseasoning it, and now it works properly.

cauthon 8y ago
How did you sand iron? (sorry if this is a naive question)
- Retric 8y ago
  Same way you sand anything, as long as the grit is harder than what your sanding it works just fine. Iron is only 4 on the Mohs Scale which is below glass, so many types of sandpaper work fine.
- foobarian 8y ago
  I tried by hand first, but it was going too slow so I used an angle grinder with a sandpaper wheel.
- fencepost 8y ago
  Check assorted youtube videos. Abrasive disks of various sorts are easy to come by, though you're likely going to want a plug-in drill or angle grinder - maybe an 18v 6AH battery would give you the oompf you'd need, but I wouldn't count on it. The key things I'm going to highly highly highly recommend are a good filter mask, good ventilation (or excellent ventilation and a big shop fan blowing past if you have a beard) and a way to securely hold the piece you're working on. I don't have a link, but I like what one guy put together with a heavy duty board - a hook at one end through a hole, and a hook at the other through a slot that could be adjusted to fit the piece. Don't tighten down hard at all unless you want to risk breaking things, just enough to keep what you're working on from shifting around as you sand.
lainga 8y ago
I think that's the go-to process with any new Lodge product. I did it too with similar results. I hear that Lodge actually gives their pans a rough finish precisely to make it harder to clean - and thus more likely to retain oils used in cooking - for the benefit of normal people who don't know that you need to season cast iron.
shostack 8y ago
How do you refinish a lodge skillet? Someone accidentally used the rough side of a sponge on it and there's a shiny metal peeking through now. Also, is it safe to cook with before refinishing with that spot?
- megous 8y ago
  Clean it. Put cooking oil on it. Heat it to 170-180°C (depends on oil type, and I use infrared thermometer to check). Keep it at that temerature for 30min or so. It's non-sticky again. That's what I do with my cast iron pan. Alternatively you can put it into oven and bake it at that temperature.
  - shostack 8y ago
    Interesting. How much oil should I use for a 9" pan? Looks like 170-180 is below the smoking point of any oils I'd potentially use, but does the actual oil matter? Is vegetable, canola, or peanut totally fine?
    - megous 8y ago
      Very very little oil (no poodles). I use a paper towel to spread it thin. You can even bake the pan upside down to ensure no poodles can form if you have non-level bottom of the pan. Use some refined oil or lard. Goal is to keep it below smoking point. It works to reseason the pan after minor damage (not yet rusted, but lacking non-sticky surface). I use the pan almost every day, so I don't have experience with fixing heavier damage. If the pan gets sticky to the finger afterwards (it shouldn't if you avoid poodles of oil), don't worry. It will resolve itself after a few cooking cycles.
- fencepost 8y ago
  I'm a little late to this, but it's called seasoning (or reseasoning) and you can either try to take it down all the way to bare metal or just work on building up additional layers. Plenty of articles available for either, I'm sure I'm leaving things out. Don't get too distracted by fancy processes, remember this is something people have been doing for hundreds of years. If you want to go bare-metal and have an oven with a self-cleaning cycle, that's probably the simplest way to go - put the cast iron in there open-side down and run that cycle. I'm not sure just how much smoke this will release, but you might not want to do it on a day when you can't open windows. I've also seen notes that this can sometimes cause warping, so buyer beware. To build up the seasoning, it's basically going to be multiple repetitions of putting on a thin layer of a high-smoke-point food-safe oil, heating and repeating. Darker color generally just indicates more layers. In some ways it's almost like you're varnishing the cookware with an oil-based varnish, but without some of the other components of varnish. A lot of guides will recommend flaxseed oil for seasoning, it's also known as linseed oil and used to be pretty common in varnishes and wood finishes. For a contrary (and easier and cheaper) view, see https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont_recommend_flax_seed_oil/ https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont... (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil about oil-based varnishes)

cauthon 8y ago

How did you sand iron? (sorry if this is a naive question)

Retric 8y ago
Same way you sand anything, as long as the grit is harder than what your sanding it works just fine. Iron is only 4 on the Mohs Scale which is below glass, so many types of sandpaper work fine.
foobarian 8y ago
I tried by hand first, but it was going too slow so I used an angle grinder with a sandpaper wheel.
fencepost 8y ago
Check assorted youtube videos. Abrasive disks of various sorts are easy to come by, though you're likely going to want a plug-in drill or angle grinder - maybe an 18v 6AH battery would give you the oompf you'd need, but I wouldn't count on it. The key things I'm going to highly highly highly recommend are a good filter mask, good ventilation (or excellent ventilation and a big shop fan blowing past if you have a beard) and a way to securely hold the piece you're working on. I don't have a link, but I like what one guy put together with a heavy duty board - a hook at one end through a hole, and a hook at the other through a slot that could be adjusted to fit the piece. Don't tighten down hard at all unless you want to risk breaking things, just enough to keep what you're working on from shifting around as you sand.

lainga 8y ago

I think that's the go-to process with any new Lodge product. I did it too with similar results. I hear that Lodge actually gives their pans a rough finish precisely to make it harder to clean - and thus more likely to retain oils used in cooking - for the benefit of normal people who don't know that you need to season cast iron.

shostack 8y ago

How do you refinish a lodge skillet? Someone accidentally used the rough side of a sponge on it and there's a shiny metal peeking through now. Also, is it safe to cook with before refinishing with that spot?

megous 8y ago
Clean it. Put cooking oil on it. Heat it to 170-180°C (depends on oil type, and I use infrared thermometer to check). Keep it at that temerature for 30min or so. It's non-sticky again. That's what I do with my cast iron pan. Alternatively you can put it into oven and bake it at that temperature.
- shostack 8y ago
  Interesting. How much oil should I use for a 9" pan? Looks like 170-180 is below the smoking point of any oils I'd potentially use, but does the actual oil matter? Is vegetable, canola, or peanut totally fine?
  - megous 8y ago
    Very very little oil (no poodles). I use a paper towel to spread it thin. You can even bake the pan upside down to ensure no poodles can form if you have non-level bottom of the pan. Use some refined oil or lard. Goal is to keep it below smoking point. It works to reseason the pan after minor damage (not yet rusted, but lacking non-sticky surface). I use the pan almost every day, so I don't have experience with fixing heavier damage. If the pan gets sticky to the finger afterwards (it shouldn't if you avoid poodles of oil), don't worry. It will resolve itself after a few cooking cycles.
fencepost 8y ago
I'm a little late to this, but it's called seasoning (or reseasoning) and you can either try to take it down all the way to bare metal or just work on building up additional layers. Plenty of articles available for either, I'm sure I'm leaving things out. Don't get too distracted by fancy processes, remember this is something people have been doing for hundreds of years. If you want to go bare-metal and have an oven with a self-cleaning cycle, that's probably the simplest way to go - put the cast iron in there open-side down and run that cycle. I'm not sure just how much smoke this will release, but you might not want to do it on a day when you can't open windows. I've also seen notes that this can sometimes cause warping, so buyer beware. To build up the seasoning, it's basically going to be multiple repetitions of putting on a thin layer of a high-smoke-point food-safe oil, heating and repeating. Darker color generally just indicates more layers. In some ways it's almost like you're varnishing the cookware with an oil-based varnish, but without some of the other components of varnish. A lot of guides will recommend flaxseed oil for seasoning, it's also known as linseed oil and used to be pretty common in varnishes and wood finishes. For a contrary (and easier and cheaper) view, see https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont_recommend_flax_seed_oil/ https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont... (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil about oil-based varnishes)