You asked if I could look at this in a different part of this comment thread. What you say seems more or less correct to me. I think if you approach cast iron

You asked if I could look at this in a different part of this comment thread. What you say seems more or less correct to me. I think if you approach cast iron that way, you will have good results. Basically, you don't want the pan to look "not-oiled", and how much effort you need to put into that depends on how much you are removing the existing oil during the cooking process. I think the "looks oily" test is the proper determinant for if the cast iron is in good shape. Trying to develop a "seasoning" layer is likely to just cause frustration.