Is this a pitting issue or just needs more cleaning?

[Spurgeon Hendrick]

Hey guys, I took the hearth griddle out of the e-tank this morning and ga e it a good scrubbing with a stainless steel Chore Boy. Then I scrubbed it with a stainless steel brush. Then I sprayed it with Dawn Power Dissolver, let it soak for about 15 minutes, then scrubbed it again (with a 0000 steel wool pad).

At first I thought it had some weird pitting to it. After all the scrubbing, I’m wondering if what I’m seeing might be a thin layer of stubborn, carbonized grease. I really put some muscle into the steel brush and it didn’t seem to matter. I went ahead and quickly put one round of seasoning in it (because it might be awhile before I can get back to it and I wanted to give it a layer of protection.)

Take a look at these pics and let me know what you think I should do. Should I spray it with some Hevy Duty Easy-Off and let it sit in a garbage bag for a few days? (It’s too big for my lye bucket.) Put it back in the e-tank for a few days? Or do you think it’s just bad pitting and this is as good as it gets? (I know the bottom is crazy pitted, although some of that might just be crude casting. I’m wondering if I can salvage the cooking surface and top of the handle.

Please pardon the bleed out in the surface. Like I said, I rushed getting a round of seasoning on it before I had to leave this morning ... and I knew I was going to start over anyway. ;)

[Russell Ware]

Both sides have pitting. Understand that it's an old piece. It hasn't been used in a long time, so it can develop some troublesome rusting areas, depending on how it was stored. The photos aren't close up enough for me to see anything but the pitted areas. It looks like an old piece that has been stored long and not keep seasoned. Try posting photos of unseasoned iron. It's tough to answer your question and identify rust if new seasoning has been put on a piece.