I have my Grandmother's #8 skillet (no brand name). I used it extensively many years ago. It has not been used in years. It was in (not climate control) storage for several years.
When I got it out of storage, it had light rust on it. So, I slathered it with cooking oil and stuck it in the oven. Needless to say, it left an uneven surface. I pulled it out to use it a week or so ago, and the food stuck to it.
So, a couple of days ago, I used salt and a steel wool pad on it trying to get the yuck off. That didn't work very well. So then, I bought a brass attachment for the drill, but it was too abrasive and then stainless steel, etc. until I finally resorted to sandpaper to get the yuck off of it. I'm now down to bare metal on the bottom of the pan.
I didn't attempt to clean the outside of the pan although it is lightly rusted, nor did I attempt to clean the inside walls of the skillet, as they weren't rusted or caked from my botched attempt to re-season it. I don't think it's ruined, because it feels smooth to the touch.
Should I proceed with seasoning or clean the whole thing with oven cleaner and start there?
And a second question, I have some cornbread pans that need work. One is a cornstick pan that is so caked with "seasoning", that it could be called crud, but I bought it new, so I guess it's seasoning. Just clean it with easy off? Remove everything down to bare metal? (Needless to say, it didn't rust in storage.)
Thanks.
bk
When I got it out of storage, it had light rust on it. So, I slathered it with cooking oil and stuck it in the oven. Needless to say, it left an uneven surface. I pulled it out to use it a week or so ago, and the food stuck to it.
So, a couple of days ago, I used salt and a steel wool pad on it trying to get the yuck off. That didn't work very well. So then, I bought a brass attachment for the drill, but it was too abrasive and then stainless steel, etc. until I finally resorted to sandpaper to get the yuck off of it. I'm now down to bare metal on the bottom of the pan.
I didn't attempt to clean the outside of the pan although it is lightly rusted, nor did I attempt to clean the inside walls of the skillet, as they weren't rusted or caked from my botched attempt to re-season it. I don't think it's ruined, because it feels smooth to the touch.
Should I proceed with seasoning or clean the whole thing with oven cleaner and start there?
And a second question, I have some cornbread pans that need work. One is a cornstick pan that is so caked with "seasoning", that it could be called crud, but I bought it new, so I guess it's seasoning. Just clean it with easy off? Remove everything down to bare metal? (Needless to say, it didn't rust in storage.)
Thanks.
bk