Sanding an Iron Skillet?

[Mycon]

Although it looks like CI threads are in vogue right now, I didn't see this question come up. The search bar didn't yield anything either, but I apologize for repetition anyway if someone has already had this discussion

Last year I picked up a new Lodge skillet, but I haven't used it much because every single thing I try to cook in it sticks badly. I've done everything short of totally stripping it to bare metal and it still happens. Even bacon adheres!
The only thing I can think of now is that I just happened to get a particularly rough one. I know they smooth out over time and use, but it takes so long to clean the pan each time that I just avoid cooking with it altogether. The pebbling is bad enough to catch and stop a spatula in places, and it shreds paper towels that I use to re-oil after cleaning. Has anyone sanded or smoothed out cast iron before? I've looked around online, and the general recommendation is a rotary orbital sander with fairly fine grit. Then of course, immediate washing and re-seasoning.
Would you gents recommend this, or has anyone here done it?

 

[Wid]

I've seen posts on a ci page that a fella did this, seems to had worked for him. Why not go and look for a vintage skillet and restore it. They are far and away a better product.

 

[skip]

You can no issues and I have done it. just make sure season it well.

 

[Alacrity59]

The first Lodge pan I bought seemed to have velcro hooks. I sanded it down with a palm sander 80 and 120 grit re-seasoned and now it works well. Took about 20-30 minutes of sanding.

For bacon try moving it around a bit when you first lay it into the pan. Temperature is important. It takes some time to get cast iron to temp. Medium or a bit lower is where I cook bacon. Any temp more than medium high will burn off your seasoning. As you learn how not damage your seasoning, maintain, and build it, it gets easier.

 

[NickCutlip]

I've sanded two Lodge skillets and it made a world of difference.

I used a random orbital palm sander from Harbor Freight and 60, 100, 150 and 220 grit paper. The paper from Harbor Freight didn't seem to be working so I replaced it with paper from Lowes.. It got rid of the pebbling but not the pitting. This filled in with seasoning.

I use these skillets almost every day, usually for eggs and hash browns, and sticking is no longer a problem ( I do melt a little bit of butter in them first).

 

[mretzloff]

Dave, I think there are easier ways to address this problem. I would start out by washing the cast iron skillet with some hot water and dish detergent. I have found the factory-applied "seasoning" to be worthless. I would then take a look at this article. It explains the science behind seasoning. I had a lot of trouble with my Lodge before following Sheryl's advice.

Once your skillet is seasoned, make sure to always heat the skillet up slowly (it may take five to ten minutes), never cook above medium (medium on cast iron=high for other materials, like stainless steel), and always use hot water (but never soap) to clean the skillet afterwards. The most important thing, however, is to use the cast iron skillet regularly. If you only use it to fry up some Sunday morning bacon, the bacon will stick. I use mine every day to make bacon and eggs for breakfast, and nothing ever sticks.

Good luck! Cast iron is a great material once you get it to work properly.

EDIT: I agree with Mike. Try frying bacon at a lower temperature. I fry mine on medium low (it does take ten minutes, though), and the bacon is perfect every time and never sticks.

 

[Pattorashu]

Improper factory seasoning and a bad mold are two very different things. Unfortunately it sounds like OP's skillet shouldn't have passed QC, but lodge isn't known for that anymore IMO.

Sanding won't hurt the cast iron, as other people have said, though I recommend buying a decent random orbital sander, since they're useful buggers anyhow.

And to re-iterate, season after you sand, and give it a thorough clean lol.

You shouldn't have problems with cast iron no matter if you use it every day or once a month, IMO.

 

[Mycon]

Sorry to necro a thread, but I realized that I had forgotten to upload my results. You can see in the photos below the before and after. There was a small ring that I could not maneuver the sander into getting rid of, but all in all I got about 95% of the peaks sanded flat. The first re-season was in the oven, but it seemed to get soft when heated so I switched to the stovetop method. It smoked up the house pretty heavily and the topmost layer wore off, but the first few layers seemed to finish polymerizing into a nice smooth non-stick surface. I can actually cook eggs in it now!

 

[Legion]

That's a big difference! My skillet is a cheapish Chinese one, and it looks like your before photo. (Lodge skillets are still pretty damn expensive here.) Having said that, I spent a good amount of time seasoning it with coconut oil, and I have had no sticking issues. I'm going to switch to a metal spatula soon, and I've read that will smooth it out some, over time. I'd sand it, but I spent a good amount of effort on the seasoning, so I'll keep it as is for the now.

 

[Jim]

Nice job Dave! That original finish was bad.

 

[NickCutlip]

Looks like it was worth the effort, Dave.

 

[YetiDave]

Really nice work, I've been thinking about doing the same to my Lodge

 

[Sullybob]

That's a huge improvement. The after pic looks like my mom's old Griswold skillet.

 

[SinnerinRehab]

Very well done! Have you ever used koscher salt to clean your iron? scrubs well and is good for daily use of cast irons. My collection has grown from skillets to flat tips and grills. They are great for grills also.

 

[Legion]

Very well done! Have you ever used koscher salt to clean your iron? scrubs well and is good for daily use of cast irons. My collection has grown from skillets to flat tips and grills. They are great for grills also.

How is kosher salt different to regular salt? I've heard it is good for cleaning skillets, but I have honestly no idea where to get it in Australia.

 

[YetiDave]

It doesn't contain any anti-caking agents; rock salt will do exactly the same job

 

[oc_in_fw]

Nice job Dave! That original finish was bad.

That is how all three of my Lodges look. My wife doesn't like using them. I have seasoned them well, but still get sticking. I may just bite the bullet and sand.

 

[Alacrity59]

How is kosher salt different to regular salt? I've heard it is good for cleaning skillets, but I have honestly no idea where to get it in Australia.

It is coarse (larger grain size than table salt and as noted above no additives for flow or iodine). The proper term would be Koshering salt as it is used in the Koshering process of meat. It is rough stuff. Personally I'd use it only when you really need to. Nylon scrubbie or nylon brush are my favourites.

Salt comes in a wide variety of forms. Perhaps you would find something called pickling salt where you are?

 

[Legion]

I can probably find rock salt. (I can probably find kosher, if I look properly. Is it a Jewish thing which I might find in a Jewish grocery store, or is kosher just a descriptive term in this instance?) So far I have had no issues getting the pan clean with just a nylon dish brush and hot water.

 

[OkieStubble]

That is how all three of my Lodges look. My wife doesn't like using them. I have seasoned them well, but still get sticking. I may just bite the bullet and sand.

I think I got my Lodges pretty close to the time you got yours oc, I f I am remembering the timing of your thread correctly. I remember talking about re doing the seasoning ourselves in the oven and creating a patina on them. There are alot of misconceptions about Lodge cast iron skillets. mretzloff (Matthew) hit the nail directly on the head with his advice and the informational link on caring for cast iron even the Lodges is a great link and is must read material for inexperienced users.

I have vintage Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, no name American and Modern Lodge cast iron. I use the modern CI more regularly than the others. If one truly understands Cast Iron, they can learn that there really are not many differences between cooking on the smooth surface of vintage CI vs cooking on the rougher modern Lodge surfaces. The problem users of Lodge are finding isn't the cooking or seasoning, it is how you care for it inbetween that makes the difference in sticking. Here is a numbered step by step process that works for me, and if followed to the letter will most likely work for anyone who uses modern Lodge CI. My Lodge never sticks and never has. And here are the steps why:

1. Purchase modern Lodge skillet.
2. Wash pre seasoned Lodge skillet in hot water and dish soap. (yes, dish soap.)
3. Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Pre heat new Lodge skillet on stove top on low heat.
5. Rub a thin layer and I mean thin, inside and out of Lodge skillet(including handle) with Canola oil. You can use another type of oil with a high smoke point. Do not settle here, it has to be an oil with a high smoke point. Not bacon grease, animal, butter, etc.
6. Dry off all excess with a paper towel leaving only a thin coating.
7. Place upside down in the pre heated oven. No need for tinfoil or pan because of the very thin layer of oil it will not drip if done correctly.
8. Let sit in oven baking for exactly 1 hour, if it smokes, let it smoke it is polymerizing the oil to the skillet and creating a hard slick surface.
9. After an hour, turn off oven. Do not open oven door. Let the skillet cool down with the oven completely.
10. when completely cool, take skillet out and repeat above steps 4 thru 10, 5 more times. Not 4 not 6, 5 more times.
11. If followed exactly, you will witness the polymerization happen. When done, your skillet will have a hard non stick surface.
However, this is only the beginning. You have to learn how to cook, on it, clean it and care for it, because against popular belief, stuff is sticking not because of the surface, but because of the way you are cooking or caring for the surface.

Cooking on a modern Lodge skillet:

I personally think, the non smooth surface on a modern Lodge skillet is great, and here is why. The high peaks and low valleys in the lodge surface helps a newly acquired Pantina build up and take hold much faster than on a new smooth surface. Patina is a hard black non stick surface that is built up not just over time, but over time when done correctly. The valley's on the Lodge, start to fill up with Patina. Overtime the valley's fill and begin to catch up to and smooth out the surface , blending in with the peaks. What you have after this happens is a pantina that really takes hold and never goes away short of abusing the skillet when improper cleansing and caring is done.

Cooking in Modern Lodge:

1. Just because you oiled the skillet before you put it away, does not mean that the next time you are ready to cook with it, you can just get it out, heat it up and start cooking.
2. First heat the skillet up slowly on low heat.
3. Add oil.
4. Let oil come to temperature. Biggest mistake I see, is putting in cold oil and immediately putting in cold food without letting oil come to temp seperately.
5. I cant remember one single time ever, cooking on high heat with a CI skillet. Med High like with a stir fry? Yes. High? just haven't ever needed to.
6. Do not cook acidics in cast iron. use stainless.
7. When done cooking, let the skillet cool. This doesn't mean let stuff sit in it for 3 days. It just means, let it cool before cleaning.

Cleaning modern Lodge:

1. There are many ways to clean a modern Lodge cast iron skillet. However, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
2. I have owned my modern Lodge for 2 years now. I clean a cool skillet in hot water with a Lodge bristled skillet brush only for normal washings.
3. Not using dish soap in a cast iron skillet is a myth. There are times that it is important and neccessary. Cooking fish? want the smell out? Use dish soap. Don't let it soak in dish soap. But use running hot water, dish soap, and the same bristled brush. Do not listen to people who will tell you it is going to hurt the seasoning or Patina. It will not. If you are cooking correctly with the steps above, it will create sooner or later, a hard Patina that a little dish soap will not and cannot hurt.
4. Do not use a copper or metal scratcher. Doing so will make food stick.
5. Do not use a green scotchbrite pad. Doing so will make food stick.
6. Do not use any kind of salt to get out tough food. Doing so will make food stick! If you must do this? Re season the skillet in the steps above!
7. Tough cooked on food? Hot water in skillet, put on low heat on stove top until tough cooked on food is soft. Add a little oil to water to speed process. Use bristle brush and hot water to finish up. Not coming out? Do it again, but do not scrub.
8.After washing, dry with a paper towel

Caring for modern Lodge cast iron skillet:

1. Here is where following the steps is important to keep your Lodge skillet non stick for future cooking dates.
2. Don't just hand dry the skillet after washing and then think on putting it away.
3. Don't hand dry and oil skillet and think on putting it away.
4. After washing, only by following the washing steps above, Paper towel dry.
5. Put skillet on stove top.
6. Dry skillet on very low heat.
7. Rub oil on skillet. This oil doesn't have to be a high smoking point oil, use what you want, but again not dripping. use a very thin layer. Olive, Canola, coconut, Vegetable, lard, it doesn't matter.
8. After oiling, let sit on stove top on very low heat until you just barely see the skillet starting to smoke.
9. Turn flame or burner off, and let sit until just warm and you can handle the skillet to dry off with a paper towel. Getting all excess oil off. The skillet will look oiled, but feel dry.
10. I just leave my skillet sitting on the stove until next time. But you can hang it on a hook or store in a cabinet. If storing in a cabinet, do not stack on another cast iron skillet unless you seperate them by placing a paper towel between them.

I know this is a huge wall of text. If you don't have modern Lodge, don't read it. If you have modern Lodge but don't want or need any advice on using it? don't read it. This is for those who are frustrated with their modern Lodge CI but don't want to resort to sanding it down. They really are wonderful skillets. Every bit as good as the vintage. I own both, and would put my Lodge up against any.