Cleaning the outside only

[Mark Zizzi]

Have you ever bought a used skillet where the inside is absolutely perfect..that slick shiny black carbon patina that took many years to aquire, but the outside is crusty? I'm wondering why you couldn't soak the pan in the lye bath with a spacer underneath so it just keeps the rim above water. Clean the outside but preserve the inside. Anyone ever tried this? Of course this would only apply to a pan you plan on using. Just curious.

[Trevor Lawrence]

I have done the opposite.... Left the years of seasoning on the outside and just lye/reseason the inside.

Im sure it could be done!

[Mark Zizzi]

Well that's interesting Trevor. Never thought about doing it the other way around. I suppose if it's nice on the outside without too much build up, you might want to leave it alone. I'm still at the user stage..not a collector by any means yet. It's the cooking side I look at the closest. Some of these old pans I'm looking at, it would almost be a crime to submerge in lye. Newly cleaned and seasoned just ain't the same as what they had to begin with.  ;)

[Sandy Glenn]

Food for thought, Mark... if I buy something for a user I always clean and season it before using it.  You never know what may have been cooked in it.  I shudder. 

The only exceptions I've made have been when I've purchased from other WAGS members and know how it was cleaned and what type of lubricant was applied.

[Mark Zizzi]

Hi Sandy..Yeah I thought of that, but wouldn't 3 or 4 rounds of reseasoning the exterior in a 500 degree oven take care of any possible "cooties"? I mean it has to pass the nose test for motor oil or something wierd like that, and a close visual inspection..but if there is zero rust or crusty build up and no funny smell..it probably was just from years of cooking good food, I'm thinking. Whatever it was, I've probably eaten worse, lol.  :-X

[Cheryl Watson]

Unless the inside has a fine coat of lead based paint.
I actually know some folks that failed to strip and restore a skillet, and were cooking food in a painted skillet because they thought it was beautifully seasoned.

Made them ill.

[Mark Zizzi]

Ok, now that wouldn't be good. I'm wondering who the heck would be that stupid to season over a painted pan and use it. That has to be an extremely rare occurrence. Have you ever found paint under the seasoning before, Cheryl?

[Cheryl Watson]

I strip and reseason all. It is/would be extremely difficult to establish/or know what is under seasoning, or what appears to be well established seasoning.

I have seen enough inexplicable things done to CI cookware......
Not worth the risk, IMHO.

Even the family skillets... I had no idea what the males in my family might have used those set aside skillets for, but I know my Grandpa's and Dad might have been inventive with their applications........

They ALL got stripped.....  8-)

[Duke Gilleland]

Saw a huge DO one time that had been painted with what I figure was red primer. NEVER did get it clean >:( Even after 2 weeks!

[Mark Zizzi]

ok, so far it's 2 guys for, 2 women against. It's looking like a gender based decision, lol. 

uh-oh..I forgot about swmbo..she's gonna be on your side.  :-/ ;D

[Russell Ware]

Mark,
I contend that until you completely strip and clean a pan, you will not know if it is a good user or not. In a box-o-fun I picked up recently there was an older Lodge SK8 skillet. Looked like it was the most cooked in and well-seasoned pan of the bunch. But everything in the box-o-fun goes into the lye. And believe it or not that skillet ended up being THE most rusted skillet I have ever received. Both the bottom AND the cooking surface. I'm sure that pan would have eventually rusted through. It was also a difficult pan to clean; because, the seasoning was embedded in the rusty buildup. Why anyone would leave someone else's seasoning on a piece is beyond me. And don't forget that old seasoning hides cracks REAL well. If you don't believe me, I've got a Favorite #10 and a Gris slant 8 both sold to me sworn not to have any cracks - until you pull 'em out of the lye! I don't care what temperature you bake your CI at, old seasoning is not a good thing to leave on a piece. You never really know what's lurking underneath until you clean it. And you'll never know if your pan is a keeper until it is totally clean.

[Mark Zizzi]

Yeah I 'spose you're right Russel. I think soaking just the outside would expose any cracks or rust...but rust or paint hidden on the cooking surface wouldn't be good. It was just a thought. Thanks for the input.  ;)

[Karen Kale]

ok, so far it's 2 guys for, 2 women against. It's looking like a gender based decision, lol.

Mark, when I read your initial post, I honestly thought you were typing too fast and actually meant "Of course this would only apply to a pan you plan on NOT using".

I don't think the guys were advocating this at all, but in case you're still considering this, let me add my vote to "against". I'm a little obsessive about the cooking surface too, and it's pained me a few times to strip some really nice looking pans, but as the others said ...

It is not worth risking your health for a nice looking pan. You'll build your own patina on it, and you'll know what's in it.

[Mark Zizzi]

Hey Karen, well at that time I hadn't seen Dukes post so it was me and Trevor against Sandy and Cheryl.  :P
That tie didn't last long though, lol. Personally I don't see how using someone elses seasoned pan is any different than eating out at a restaurant...or take out Chinese..or going to a friends house for dinner, but that's just me, I have a CI stomach, lol. Also,  I would be willing to assume that if I didn't find cracks or rust on the outside after a thorough cleaning, that the inside was good to go also. If I did find rust outside, then I would strip the whole pan. I didn't think about the possibility of paint though... and I also forgot to think about what the better half (SWMBO)would say about it.
No way!  [smiley=TFRFA1237.gif]   :D ;D

[Claudia Killebrew]

Well, I would strip the whole pan. BUT, if someone wanted to strip just the outside, I would suggest using oven cleaner. That would be easier to control than a shallow lye bath.

[Dwayne Henson]

Unless I know the history, it gets stripped. Stripped one and underneath, there were a some bright shiny dots in the pan itself that I could pick out with a knife point, yeah it had been used to melt lead at one time, and had been used afterwards to cook. I can't find it, but one of my favorite photos was off of eBay. It showed a piece of cardboard with three skillets on it and black spray paint was everywhere. The seller even bragged about in the description how they had a new coat of stove black and were ready to use!

[Mark Zizzi]

Unbelievable...thanks for sharing that, Dwayne...I'm convinced. :o