Need some advice

B

BobThomas

New member
Please keep in mind this was before I found this website.

A couple weeks ago I saw that the seasoning was chipping away from the pan. I figured I could just sand it off and reapply it. Well, I used my sander and had a dark gray pan. I started re-seasoning it using bacon grease. I would apply a coat of grease, put the pan in for an hour at 350 F. Let it cool for an hour and re-apply the grease. I did this three times. I was getting a spotty seasoning.

Than I realized I should have been using Crisco and spread a thin layer of that on. Put it in for 350 again and the pan came out with a reddish brown tinge. I'm not sure if this is rust or something else? I was thinking of doing a vinegar bath with steel scrub and starting anew. Just wanted to get some advice before going forward again.

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You could strip it and start over, but I wouldn't use a sander. There are enough ways to remove seasoning and build-up that don't require risking abrading the iron. Fastest in your case would be HD Easy Off in a trash bag. Bacon grease can work as well as Crisco, but where the instructions say wipe it off as if you're trying to remove what you just slathered on, it literally means that. The brown tinge isn't unusual, the fat is just turning color from the heat. Seasoning turning black also depends on other things besides just oil carbonizing over the course of repeated cooking.
 
Looks fine to me. I would not strip it again to re-season. I would bake it at 475° for an hour and then just use it. I believe some occasional flaking of seasoning is OK and it normally repairs itself with cooking. Great grandma did not re-season her CI.

Hilditch
 
W. Hilditch said:
Looks fine to me. I would not strip it again to re-season. I would bake it at 475° for an hour and then just use it. I believe some occasional flaking of seasoning is OK and it normally repairs itself with cooking. Great grandma did not re-season her CI.

Hilditch
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I agree with Hilditch, I recently had a pan that had taken on a color just like yours after being recently seasoned. I used a cotton rag to wipe on a very thin coat of oil (grape seed) and then baked it at 450 degrees for half an hour. The high temperature will give your iron the deeper black color you're looking for.
The brown tinge isn't rust, it's the color of the bacon fat you've been putting on and a high temp run will give you beautiful results!
 
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