I've got a nicely made, unmarked #8 that I have stripped, seasoned, and have used several times.
I had some bacon goop stick the other day, so I put hot water in it, ate, then scrubbed the pan with a plastic pad.
Dried the pan, got it warm, coated it with some lard, then baked it for an hour at 400 like I normally do.
I noticed the pan had a dull, brownish, almost rust look in the cooking surface just a little bit ago before I made breakfast, which was fresh spinach that I fried in butter, and two toads in a hole( egg fried in the center of a piece of toast).
Spinach did OK, but I noticed a sticky substance, while wiping the pan out. Eggs stuck worse than anything before.
I did notice that the pan did not bead water in certain areas, so I scrubbed it with oil and salt.
Iwonder if I screwed up and baked some bacon sugars or something into the season? Will I have to strip and start over?