Cast iron coating coming off...

[pronghorn23]

I received Lodge brand 1 quart oven and when I took it out of the box I noticed the black coating flaked/chipped off near top and some on the lid. I exchanged it for another one, just got home, opened the box and noticed the coating off in the same area (maybe 1/4 inch square area or less}.

Is this something that I don't need to worry about if I re-season it or will it be a continual problem with rust?  Where it flaked off it's completely off and is bare metal/silver.

[Dave Bulla]

I'm not certain exactly how Lodge does their "factory seasoned" cookware but you should not have to worry about it.  Regardless of weather or not it is seasoned from the factory, I would go through the seasoning process at home too.  I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to the right way to do it and won't go into it here but I did do a topic on it previously.  Here is the link:

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000397  

Hope it helps you out.

One of the great things about cast iron is that no matter how badly it is abused, it is almost always repairable.  You can also use metal utensils with no problem.  About the only thing you can't easily fix is deep pitting from rust.  Pretty cool really.

[Bill Turner]

Contact Lodge directly? They have a website. Sounds as if your dealer got a bad shipment.

[pronghorn23]

Thank you! I'll give Lodge a call just to see what they say and probably won't worry about it.

[JockC]

Coincidentally, the current Cook's Illustrated has a brief article on the very best way to season cast iron--kind of a complicated protocol with flaxseed oil.  They tried a couple of different ways and put them through a dishwasher with commercial detergent (!!!), and this was the one that showed no effect.

[Dave Bulla]

I'd bet they just tell you to cook with it and that it will reseason on it's own if you wipe a little oil on it.  The odd thing is that on a properly seasoned pan, the seasoning isn't really a coating that can be flaked off.  It is actually bonded into the surface/pores of the pan.  If you think about it, cast iron in the past was always sold in the raw and you had to season it yourself.  This whole thing about pre seasoned cast iron from the maker is a fairly new thing.  Just go through the link I posted to you and season it yourself and you should have zero problems.  It really is easy to do.

[Hess]

If a guy were to buy an old cast iron pan or dutch oven that was disgusting, do you think it could be sandblasted (lightly) and then seasoned in a proper fashion.

It might be fun to hunt around for a few pieces and then get them cleaned up at one time...

Any thoughts?

[stickbowhntr]

if it was me, I'd get the pot hot with some grease in it wipe out good and then turn over above a open fire to dry and drip....coat again with olive oil and set aside to cool....sandblasting to my way of thinking NOT needed.

[Dave Bulla]

Hess, if they are not rusted and are just "scabby" looking, the easiest way to clean them is a self clean cycle in your oven.  All the black crust will turn to ash and you will have a pan that looks like it just came out of the mold.  Wipe off while dry.  Putting it in the sink like this will almost make it rust before your eyes.  Wipe a very thin coat of lard on the entire pan inside and out and either bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 2 hours or do it on the stove top like in my link above.  I ONLY use lard for my initial seasonings.  It works a lot better than anything else and believe me I've tried them all.  Once you get it well seasoned, you can cook with any oil you like but that first seasoning is best done with lard.  Other stuff will work and some of it pretty well but not quite as well as lard.

[Huntschool]

According to my folks and my inlaws... DO NOT EVER throw an "iron skillet" in a dish washer once it has been seasoned.  Wash gently, (do not scour) with a light detergent.

I have bought a ton of Griswold's at sales and basically, unless they were rusted through you could save em.  I would rather work up an old Gris than buy one of those new ones.  If I run into a bad "scabby" one as Dave says... I use an automotive sand blaster (silicon) and then start from the begining.

He is dead on about the lard.. funny my inlaws came from S. Missouri dirt farm and hunter stock and thy lived with these things... thats exactly how they did it...  Good on ya Dave...

JMHO as with Dave.. DONT EVER DO YOUR FIRST SEASON WITH VEGATABLE OIL...  USE LARD!

[Terry Lightle]

As far as cleaning up rusted cast iron I use a wire wheel on a drill to clean up rust the just season it again with Crisco and heat,outside I might add,