Repairing cast iron after it's been incorrectly cleaned

[Jensen]

I shudder when I even think of this ...

When she emigrated from England, my great-grandmother brought a wonderful cast iron griddle with her. I have no idea how old it was at that time but she emigrated over 100 years ago. My great-aunt "rescued" it when Granny was going to throw it out and then my mum "rescued" it when my auntie was going to toss it. In turn, I "rescued" it from my mum's housecleaning.

It was in wonderful condition until my beloved decided to "clean" it. In his defense, I should say that he was a machinist at the time and, as anyone who knows machinists will attest, in their view, shiny metal is always better than not-shiny metal.

Let's just say he "cleaned" away 100 years of patina to get to that shiny metal.

Sigh.

Even though this happened almost 10 years ago, I've resisted tossing the griddle out. Although the patina is gone, the underlying metal that made it such a great cooking surface remains, right?

Recently, I thought that, if I were to season it by rubbing it with lard and then popping it in the oven whenever I used that, it might just build up a pale shadow of the incredible patina it once had. I'd be willing to do this, even if it took several years of living in my oven.

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of "cleaning" and, will my thoughts have any effect on the shiny new surface?

[Fat Guy]

The "hundred years of patina" thing is in my opinion overrated. If you reseason and use the pan for a few months, it should perform beautifully.

[Adam Balic]

The "hundred years of patina" thing is in my opinion overrated. If you reseason and use the pan for a few months, it should perform beautifully.

How many pans you own and with 100 years of patina do you own and what scientific test have you preformed to confirm these views?

[Fat Guy]

9 and 4 and 0.

[Adam Balic]

Less then half then huh? A clear bias in your sampling I'm afraid.

[Fat Guy]

Whatever, dude.

Jensen, your pot is already stripped. So reseason it and see what happens. You've got nothing to lose. Let us know how it works out for you.

[hwilson41]

I'm with FG on this one, despite his lack of scientific testing . Maybe we should keep in mind that all cast iron was new at one time or another, and it's only within our lifetimes that pre-seasoned pots, griddles, etc., were available. I have a friend who grew up in coastal NC, and she said that every so many years (no idea how many), her grandmother would take her old cast iron skillet out in the front yard and set it on fire when she thought the "patina" was getting a bit heavy. Then she'd wipe it out, and start accumulating the patina again. Of course, she hadn't done any scientific tests either, I'm sure, but from the reports, her food was superb.

Lard in the oven a few times sounds like a good idea to me, but just cooking with the griddle, seeing that it doesn't get "cleaned" again, and it should be fine within six months, maybe less if you use it a lot.

THW

[Dave the Cook]

I have zero experience with 100-year patinae, but I have plenty with stripped cast-iron. This is absolutely no problem, Jensen. The oven thing will work, as will many other seasoning techniques, a number of which are listed here. If all else fails, a stripped cast-iron griddle is a great excuse for frying bacon.

[babka]

whenever a well-intentioned house guest gets ahold of the cast iron before I can hide it, I reseason it by oiling and leaving in my oven for a few days with just the pilot light on.

works wonders.

[Brittany]

Season that griddle and start using it, is the best thing for it. I have a couple of skillets that the kids broke the handles on. Had the handles welded back on and they work just fine. Grandmother use to put the skillets in the fire place when they got to much crud on them and burn them off. Reseason them and of she would go.

Cast iron cooking seems to be coming back.

Charlie

[Dave the Cook]

. . . her grandmother would take her old cast iron skillet out in the front yard and set it on fire . . .

Grandmother use to put the skillets in the fire place when they got to much crud on them and burn them off.

These days, a session in the self-cleaning oven does the trick. Works for ultra-nasty grill grates, too.

[Mabelline]

I well remember the 'pot fires', usually in the fall, when it was cool and we did other tasks like butchering, canning and packing. I think it was an accepted way to get a fire high enough for cleaning without burning your house down, don't you?

[Jensen]

The "hundred years of patina" thing is in my opinion overrated.

I shall cling to that thought whenever I remember what it used to look like (and feel like, and cook like). <sob, gasp, gurgle>

If you reseason and use the pan for a few months, it should perform beautifully. [...] Jensen, your pot is already stripped. So reseason it and see what happens. You've got nothing to lose. Let us know how it works out for you.

That's kind of what I was hoping lots of you would say (and heartfelt thanks to you all for supporting me in this, my darkest hour ).

I'm going to give it a go. I feel like it just might work. Also, thanks for the seasoning link, Dave ... I will check 'em out.

cheers,

jen

[tennesseespice]

About ten years ago, I too *rescued* a cast iron skillet that had belonged to my great-grandmother. Sadly, it was in very bad condition - it appeared to have been harshly washed and then neglected for who knows how long. I even had to scrape off rust *horrors!* before I could even attempt to reseason it. I just kept it nicely oiled and used it as much as possible. It didn't take too long at all for it to be back in shape.

Good luck Jensen.

QUOTE=babka,Apr 11 2004, 11:59 AM]whenever a well-intentioned house guest gets ahold of the cast iron before I can hide it, I reseason it by oiling and leaving in my oven for a few days with just the pilot light on.

[afoodnut]

It was in wonderful condition until my beloved decided to "clean" it. In his defense, I should say that he was a machinist at the time and, as anyone who knows machinists will attest, in their view, shiny metal is always better than not-shiny metal.

Let's just say he "cleaned" away 100 years of patina to get to that shiny metal.

Shiny metal? I'm not an expert about cast iron, so please explain. The only cast iron I've ever seen, whether it's old, long used and loved, or brand new and yet to be seasoned, is dark and dull. As far as I know, I've never seen shiny cast iron. Is cast iron shiny if someone scrubs off the patina?

[scott123]

whenever a well-intentioned house guest gets ahold of the cast iron before I can hide it, I reseason it by oiling and leaving in my oven for a few days with just the pilot light on.

works wonders.

That sounds like a good way of doing it. No burnt oil stench that occurs with most seasoning procedures. I take a similar tack with my electric oven - 200 degrees for 24 hours.

[Chad]

It was in wonderful condition until my beloved decided to "clean" it. In his defense, I should say that he was a machinist at the time and, as anyone who knows machinists will attest, in their view, shiny metal is always better than not-shiny metal.

Let's just say he "cleaned" away 100 years of patina to get to that shiny metal.

Shiny metal? I'm not an expert about cast iron, so please explain. The only cast iron I've ever seen, whether it's old, long used and loved, or brand new and yet to be seasoned, is dark and dull. As far as I know, I've never seen shiny cast iron. Is cast iron shiny if someone scrubs off the patina?

Note the bold section. I suspect that if Jensen's beloved was a machinist he probably bead blasted the pan to get rid of what looked like accumulated crud to him. That would leave a somewhat shiny surface.

Chad

[lueid813]

. . . If you reseason and use the pan for a few months, it should perform beautifully.

I agree.

I bought a couple of cast-iron skillets at a church yard sale. I have no idea how old they might be, maybe 10 years old, maybe 50 . . .l They were a bit rusted and looked like they hadn't been used in years. I re-seasoned them and began using them regularly and now they are my favorites. Every time I use them I think, what a deal for $5.

Seasoning instructions

http://www.lodgemfg.com/useandcare.asp

[Jensen]

Is cast iron shiny if someone scrubs off the patina?

It is if they use a grinding wheel in the machine shop! At least he was a good machinist, the surface is still smooth.

[John Braise]

This definitely fits into the "wild ass speculation" category.

I'm wondering if there might be something special about the surface of the cast iron that could be polished off (but not burned or chemically cleaned off). In all castings, the outer surface is harder, denser, and finer grained than the interior. The metal at the surface cools almost instantaneously as it hits the mold, everything that piles up behind cools much more slowly. The rate of cooling dramatically effects the material properties.

I have no idea how much material a motivated machinist would remove from a cast iron pan to get an acceptable surface finish, but it's probably less than a few thousandths. Which, I'm guessing, is a lot less that the "skin" from the casting process. So it probably wouldn't change much at all... but what do I know?

[slkinsey]

As discussed in this thread, Wagner manufactures a "polished cast iron" pan where the interior of the pan has been machined so it is smooth. Many people I know prefer these pans above all others.

[phaelon56]

If all else fails, a stripped cast-iron griddle is a great excuse for frying bacon.

As if we need an excuse for frying up some bacon

[scott123]

As discussed in this thread, Wagner manufactures a "polished cast iron" pan where the interior of the pan has been machined so it is smooth. Many people I know prefer these pans above all others.

I've successfully sanded down the surface of a 12" frying pan. It took some elbow grease but I was able to get a nice smooth finish.

[morda]

whenever a well-intentioned house guest gets ahold of the cast iron before I can hide it, I reseason it by oiling and leaving in my oven for a few days with just the pilot light on.

works wonders.

Okay, I admit that I have been said "well-intentioned house guest" in a previous, uninformed life.

I also admit that my cast iron pan was purchased pre-seasoned.

And further, I will admit, that I fry (and eat) a lot of bacon.

My husband's mother washes her cast iron (inherited from her grandmother) with soap. It still has its patina and works great. I think one of the great things about cast iron is that it can take all kinds of abuse. It's a shame that people think that you have to fussy over these things like you would a copper omelette pan. Cast iron comes to us from a more rugged era.