Pans not taking to seasoning

[James Wilson]

Likely they will be light to dark brown? They should be slick enough at that point. Remember to always have cast iron at a high enough temperature to prevent sticking. ( the dancing water-droplet indicator)
Give them another few applications if you wish or start using them. Just give them a light wipe on the outside every time you cook with them and they will darken over time.
What I sometimes do is if I have some light ones I will give them a light oil wipe and put them in the oven when we are cooking a roast or such. After the initial seasoning they should not 'pool' unless you are going overboard with the oil.lard, butter or whatever you choose to use.
There are usually a couple sitting in the oven at anytime waiting to be used; they are being 'cooked' every time the oven is used.

Well, I put the pans in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 to dry then cranked it to 500 for an hour. Even with welding gloves on, not much left of my finger prints.

Rubbed down with grapeseed oil, and wiped and wiped til dry. Gave it an hour in the oven. Ran a second coat, wiped til dry and another hour in the oven.

Didn't get any leopard spots, but they aren't all that dark.

[Dave Sommers]

Edit: I just watched the video too. Some I agree with, some I don't, but one thing that would be a good idea with your *problem* pans is to pull them out like he does after 15 mins and wipe them out again if you see that blotchy pattern. Get it before it bakes on hard. That could def make a difference in your results.

That's exactly what I took from the video ... that and I didn't apply the Crisco and then wipe it all off. Somehow I misunderstood that part. I'm wondering if I can just try to clean the interior of the pans with soap and water and re season the inside or if I need to put in the vinegar water again to clean the entire pan ... or self clean oven ..... again.  >:(  You have no idea how hard it is to put a #9 Griswold all the way into a pickle bucket of vinegar without something sticking out .....  :-/

[George Gardner]

Robert, I used to go about my seasoning much the same way as you just tried, but grew tired of handling the 500-degree pieces.  I got to thinking about how I acquired the deep black coloring on my everyday pans.... Low heat to warm them up slowly, then bring them up to cooking temperature to which I would then add some cooking oil or a spritz of PAM.  I'd cook my meal then clean out the pan while still warm and wipe some cooking oil on until next time. 

So with that in mind, now I heat my bare iron pieces up to 200-degrees for about 20 minutes and the I wipe them down with Crisco - make sure you wipe the coat on REAL thin.  I put em back into the oven and turn the heat up to 400.  After 5-minutes I take the piece out and wipe it down with a terry cloth towel (all tags removed) and back into the oven.  I turn the heat up to 450 and as soon as the temp light goes off I turn the oven completely off and leave the pan in the oven to cool.

Has been working for me and is much easier in regards to dealing with the high heat applications.

[Cheryl Watson]

with a gas stove you need to preheat to temp before placing the pan in because the gas will give off a water vapor when it first starts up( I didnt' do that unfortunately). He also used a two inch wire cut brush on a power drill to do some gentle cleaning on a pan. (Scary I would think) Looks like his pans came out nice however.

Yes, Gas Oven will initially have a bit of moisture as it heats up, and will contribute to flash rusting during 'drying'... just crack the door for a minute or two as the temps rise inside oven to allow moisture to escape...

Didn't watch video... yet... BUT <here it comes Mark Z........ >

[size=14]NO WIRE WHEEL OR POWER TOOLS EVER TOUCH MY CAST IRON....  REPEAT.... I WILL NEVER WIRE WHEEL MY CAST IRON, NOR WILL I KNOWINGLY PURCHASE WIRE WHEELED IRON[/size]

I don't care what they say out in internet land... I can see the difference in over polished, altered surfaces, and difference in seasoning.... and I have seen a whole lotta history destroyed by individuals who used the worst kind of wire wheels, and/or applied too much pressure...  so... totally unnecessary in my book.  Less is more, and it just means you can't be as lazy when cleaning and restoring. Wonderful way to build up the arm strength and biceps.

 :) 8-)

[Robert Hynes]

NO WIRE WHEEL OR POWER TOOLS EVER TOUCH MY CAST IRON....  REPEAT.... I WILL NEVER WIRE WHEEL MY CAST IRON, NOR WILL I KNOWINGLY PURCHASE WIRE WHEELED IRON

Yep, did that once and really mucked up a nice wagner national pan. Won't be happening again.



Anyhow, fried a couple of eggs in the James Smart wood handled skillet this morning, 2 small spots with minor sticking. I think it'll season up nicely.

[Robert Hynes]

Put them through some smoky heat on the stove top, thin coat of oil, let it burn off - repeat. Starting to look pretty good.


I feel like a traitor to my cast, really taking to that Japanese levcoware pan  :o