How To Clean My Wagner Cast Iron Skillet

dgilman · Feb eight, 2022

I had a run of good luck yesterday in the antique stores, and not merely with razors. I've been fooling around with a new Gild cast iron skillet lately, and it came to my attention that a lot of serious home cooks consider the vintage CI wares superior to mod ones for various qualities. I decided to start looking for usable CI pieces along with razors, and yesterday, I caught a nice viii-inch Wagner skillet.

The internet seems to agree that Sheryl Amble's method is the optimal technique for seasoning both new and vintage CI, and who am I to debate? I can't bear the thought of buying expensive flaxseed oil merely to flavour a few pieces of equipment, merely I went as far as buying safflower oil, which seemed the adjacent all-time affair on the grocery store shelf in terms of Canter's metrics.

My only question is this: how much scouring and cleaning, if any, does this skillet need earlier I start the seasoning process? Having looked at a few similar B&B threads, I'g convinced that my new skillet is in pretty decent shape for its age: no aging anywhere, and non even any serious rust that I can see for certain. The flash on my camera makes the within of the pan expect much redder than it does in natural lighting; I can run into some bits of ruby that I assume are rust in the little dings fabricated by cooking utensils on the bottom, and in that location'due south some whitish-ruddy bits around the outer border of the cooking surface that I'm guessing is a combination of rust and practiced onetime-fashioned scuzz. At that place are also several modest patches of something black, hard, and irregular in texture on the pouring mouths; I tin't tell if this is the remains of a seasoning layer, or an outer layer of the iron itself that has worn abroad with use. (Nigh of the metal is super-shine, and frankly makes my Lodge expect coarse and impuissant.)

What exactly are these various discolorations, and what all is necessary to remove them? Should I even bother? Or should I only rub the within with some copper wool, and then commencement seasoning like I would do with a newly manufactured skillet?

lwt210

While I accept never used the following process, I have read that a good manner to strip the seasoning is to utilise oven cleaner and a plastic trash pocketbook. Spray down the skillet with the oven cleaner, stick it in the bag, seal information technology up, and stick information technology outside and allow the sunday 'bake' it for a couple of days.

That is a chemical way of doing information technology. Some prefer to stick their skillet in a cocky cleaning oven and run the cleaning cycle. I have heard of skillets peachy and warping in that process.

I have used flax seed oil to re-season old skillets and to season the modern, so-called preseasoned ones with adept results. That flax stinks to high heaven and volition foul up your business firm (or at least to my nose does). I seasoned mine exterior in a charcoal grill.

The trick for me was to get a real thin coat and practice it several times. Thicker coats get gummy.

Only one time I get them seasoned to where I like them, I use vegitable oil or olive oil (whatever is handy) to oil them and keep them squeamish and seasoned. Cooking bacon every now and then is good for them too. Nada sticks to mine and I clean them with hot water and Kosher common salt.

Skillful luck with it. I am certain more tips are to follow soon.

Matt_Bloodletter · Mar 24, 2022

I take bought and used several pieces of priced CI and to be honest I find some of the procedures to be over the acme. If yous want to get rid of that quondam mojo, and then clean it off. But I'll get out on a limb and say that if yous just utilise it and season it as appropriate with standard oil that you have on hand, it volition be back to looking like new inside a few cooks. My vote is to just use the thing. I know that won't sit well with some but the darn things will outlast us all if given whatsoever care.

Edit - to exist clear - I would go through a make clean and flavour process before using it the outset time - mainly to get rid of surface rust. But that'due south just me. To a certain extent these things are similar fine leather - pocket-size imperfections add together to the appeal !

Mick

I never "squeaky clean" any of my iron cookware and a lot of mine is pre 1870 gate marker pours.

some people put them on bench wire wheels and take them downward to metallic.

Then....

Somewhere betwixt zip and raw metallic should exist fine :001_smile

As far as seasoning the pan.. well it should have been pretty well seasoned over the past lx-seventy years it has been used.

You should merely need to RE-season it if you take off all of the old surface

Argonaut

I soak mine in liquid dishwasher detergent, apply thoroughly and put in a trashbag overnight. Everything should scrub relatively easy after that. Then you tin re-flavour any mode you lot wish, my favorite is a bacon cooking extravaganza.

dgilman

Allow'due south come across....that's one vote for basic cleaning and seasoning, one vote for "simply beginning cooking," and i vote for overnight rust stripping and thorough re-seasoning.

The consensus appears to be, um, non. :001_smile Oh well, at least I know that even experienced cast atomic number 26 cooks disagree virtually these things! I'll effigy something out.

lwt210 · Mar 25, 2022

That is the matter near cast iron: anybody has their own method.

Apply and cook method will piece of work. You could endeavour that to first things off. If you are getting too much sticking with your foods, you lot could go back and endeavour the strip and re-flavor method.

The flax oil method is, for me, a way to cheat a picayune and get a proficient, stick free coating in a short period of time. If I had a pan that looked like the pics y'all posted, I'd strip information technology downwardly and offset over, particularly if I didn't know what the previous owner had used the pan for.

Mick

The affair is.... There is no right or incorrect way to deal with it.

If you lot are one of those ewww disgusting...... blazon of people who would never think about ownership a used razor, then have it sand blasted at a shop that specializes in engine rebuilding (they sand blast heads and blocks and a cast fe pan is no dissimilar from a cast iron engine head).

If you are the blazon of person that tin can look at a pan and see the generations of cooks that used and loved that pan, just bring together in the pans evolution and don't worry about it.

AjaxLepinski · Mar 25, 2022

Looks like information technology needs a practiced sand blasting.
You lot'll get some good suggestions from the guys in the Direct Razor Restoration forum.
The guys there accept a wide diversity of mechanical and restorative experience and I don't think they'd mind helping you lot out.

PugslyCat

I know what the OP means about the pictures coming out with a cherry-red tinge that makes the pan wait like it has more than rust than can exist seen with the nake middle. That discouraged me from posting pics of the CI chicken fryer that I cleaned upwards concluding year in the Rehabilitating Rusty Cast Iron Skillet thread.

My restoration project was a family unit heirloom that I didn't desire to run through the cocky-cleaning bicycle of the oven, although I would certainly consider that for any CI that I bought inexpensively plenty. I sprayed mine with oven cleaner and left it outside in a garbage bag overnight to remove all of the existing seasoning. It worked well, and your skillet looks to have about the same amount of left over seasoning that mine did.

To remove the rust, start with several SOS pads. Having some coarse table salt and oil in the pan provides some added abbrasives. That should be able to remove any surface rust. If it doesn't, consider chucking a wire castor in the drill. My pan had a chapeau with concentric circles in the lid that would accept been a acquit to hit from all angles with the brush, so I opted to soak in a vinegar and water mixture. After a few hours I hit it with the SOS pads over again and was rust free. One suggestion that was floated in my case was to use electrolysis, which is something I'd like to practice if I ever have several pieces to clean upwardly at one time.

dgilman · Feb eight, 2022

After considering the opinions I got here, I decided to encounter how cooking-ready the old skillet was. Since it had been sitting for unknown amounts of time in an antiquarian store gathering various sorts of grime I didn't want to swallow, I scrubbed the inside with a copper wool pad, with safflower oil and fibroid salt. My thinking was that this would permit me scour and prep for seasoning at the same time. After giving it a skillful going-over, I wiped out the pan then equally to leave a very sparse film of oil. Then I seasoned it for an hour at 500º.

Here'southward how it looked after that procedure:

You can see how the oil has settled into those niggling, formerly rusty dings.

This morning, I tried frying some eggs and soy chorizo in it, with a generous dollop of safflower oil to goose along the seasoning. Hither is how the skillet looked later on I served myself breakfast:

It'll need some other few seasonings to really striking its stride, I think, but it seems to be coming along nicely.

Thanks over again for the suggestions, gang! I'll refer back to them if I happen to pick up another CI piece that needs a bit more rehabilitation.

pinecone

Style to go, your doing great, use it,apply it,use it, the more than you lot use information technology the meliorate it will get. Presently your throw teflon in the garbage where it belongs.

Argonaut

Well washed! As stated before there are no perfect answers to old cast iron. Personally, the ones I've aquired at antique stores, I stripped to bare metallic, I know information technology wasn't neccessary, but they gave me the willies. The pans that were handed down to me from my Great Grandfather still have their liftime of seasoning. Both sets of pans work equally well, but I prefer to use PaPa Giovanni's pans. Enjoy yours, it should bring you lot a lifetime of good utilize.

lwt210

Looks like you are well on your way to getting that pan in shape.

Personally, I know I have arrived when I can bake southern cornbread in ane and and then plough information technology upside down and the cornbread just falls out without whatever of the crusty lesser function sticking to the pan. Or when fried eggs but slide around.

Skillful luck with it.

Alacrity59

"the willies" pretty much is where I'yard at. I have no problem when my seasoning makes its way into my meal but information technology is hard to take blindly what went before. I'm not certain why that is . . . Do I suspect they fried upward road killed skunk 3 times a week . . .? I dubiety it. Only all said I simply feel better going down to metal and seasoning the pan myself.

Well done! As stated before there are no perfect answers to one-time cast iron. Personally, the ones I've aquired at antique stores, I stripped to blank metallic, I know it wasn't neccessary, but they gave me the willies. The pans that were handed downwardly to me from my Great Grandfather still have their liftime of seasoning. Both sets of pans piece of work every bit well, just I prefer to use PaPa Giovanni'south pans. Relish yours, it should bring you a lifetime of good apply.

jbaca · Mar 27, 2022

1 thing I take found to actually scrape the sometime whatever off is stainless steel wool the stuff scours cast iron gets rid of surface rust....found mine at a eating house supply

system60

The cyberspace seems to concur that Sheryl Canter's method is the optimal technique for seasoning both new and vintage CI, and who am I to argue? I can't conduct the idea of buying expensive flaxseed oil just to season a few pieces of equipment, merely I went equally far as buying safflower oil, which seemed the side by side best thing on the grocery store shelf in terms of Amble's metrics.

I heard this has issues with it somewhen chipping/flaking off, which has happened to me. When I re-seasoned my Lodge pan I did 3 coats of flax and I only use plastic for silicon spatulas when using it. Going to be re-seasoning it again soon with either Safflower or skilful old crisco.

ricardo9505

nice pan. I Simply buy cast atomic number 26 pots at yard sales out in the burbs or antique shops. one-time ones are THE best. I take my drill and brush drill bit, metal castor bit, and just smoothen away for a infinitesimal or so. Then dishwashing liquid followed past the curing process. for curing I take throw it in the oven until hot, brush on oil, let sit in oven, treat again. I practise this iii x'southward then allow it air dry.

jkingrph

I use most of mine outdoors and store outdoors in a large plastic cabinet. Since it is not used on a daily, or even weekly basis when I stop with it it is washed using water only, no detergents, so dried, and warmed upwards on my burner to remove any moisture and so coated lightly inside and out with mineral oil. Mineral oil will not harden or turn rancid as vegetable oils or animal fats may do.

BowTieGuy

Adept job on getting that skillet up and running. I would just add, I do a lot of CI rejuvenating and I always accept it down to the bare metallic for one simple reason - you merely don't know if grampa used information technology equally a bedpan, or for changing the oil in the Farmall, or for feeding the goats out in the thousand.
Now that I've got your attention - I use heavy duty oven cleaner (aye, the kind with noxious fumes piece of work best!) steel wool and lots of elbow grease to accept it down to the metal, then plain old canola oil in the seasoning. And I accept plant I like the old CI much better than a sure popular current brand - rhymes with dodge - simply because the surface is smooth and eventually gets to exist almost like a mirror if yous use it a lot. I too disagree with using soap - once a proper pan is properly seasoned information technology will be completely non-stick and a simple wipe with a paper towel should practice the trick, followed by a nice coat of oil earlier putting information technology back on the rack. As always, YMMV.
Coincidentally I'm enjoying, as we speak, a big piece of a behemothic skillet-made chocolate flake cookie. Relish that iron, folks!