Possible to restore or beyond repair?

A

AdamK

New member
Hey everyone,

So my grandma game me this pan she has had forever apparently (but does not know where she got it from).

Food was sticking to this so I started looking into what kind of a pan is this and how to season it (pretty new to cast iron).

Turns out this is a Le Creuset Blue Enameled Cast Iron 9" Frying Pan.

I looked up ways to strip cast iron pans and reseason them from the ground up, but I am weary about doing this due to the enamel on the bottom and the severe crustiness of it. I mean its so crusty that only spots of blue show through the bottom (see pics).

Can I still restore this beautiful pan, or is it beyond repair? If I can, how should I go about this?

I really do hope that I can restore it and keep the beautiful enamel intact!

I appreciate any advice! :icon_thumbsup:
 

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Here are a few more pics!

Man look at those scales on the last pic...she needs help please!!!
 

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The first thought would be that enamelware isn't typically allowed to reach the condition seen here. Bare iron, possibly; enamel, no. Unfortunately, what will remove the build-up, lye, also risks compromising the gloss of the enamel.
 
Doug D. said:
The first thought would be that enamelware isn't typically allowed to reach the condition seen here. Bare iron, possibly; enamel, no. Unfortunately, what will remove the build-up, lye, also risks compromising the gloss of the enamel.
Click to expand...

I saw that in the post above mine titled "cleaning enamel", people suggested using dawn and water and boiling the enamel.

My other thought was to set the oven to the oven clean setting and letting it run. This should char off all of the crust, but will it damage the enamel? What do you think?
 
Enamel will not survive SCO. Sadly, this appears to be a no win situation. You could try boiling it if you have a vessel large enough.
 
Doug D. said:
Enamel will not survive SCO. Sadly, this appears to be a no win situation. You could try boiling it if you have a vessel large enough.
Click to expand...

I do have a fairly large pot that will probably for most of it in. I saw other sites recommend boiling in baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Could this damage the cooking surface and require more extensive re-seasoning?
 
Doug D. said:
Therein lies the problem. Enamel isn't supposed to be seasoned.
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I thought that these vintage Le Creuset cast iron skillets only have enameling on the outside, and are cast iron with seasoning on the cooking surface, hence me trying to preserve the seasoning on the inside and not that crusty mess on the outside haha.
 
Doug D. said:
What appears to be bare iron on Le Creuset is typically coated with a clear glaze.
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Hmm, I do know the pan's cooking surface slightly rusted when cleaned with warm soapy water (cleaned it well when I got it). That's why I thought it was a simply cast iron cooking surface.

Also I thought I saw on this site or somewhere else sombody say old Le Creusets had enameled bottoms, and a seasoned cast iron cooking surface. So that information is wrong?
 
Can your Grandma remember what the inside of the pan was
like when it was new? It would be handy if it weren't enameled.

(I would boil it until some of it softened, get the loose part off and boil it some more. I'd probably use Dawn but if that didn't work, I'd try all these suggestions. Or ry those first. Just don't let it boil dry!)
 
I've heard that people use some type of solvent to clean these up, it dissolves the grease and crud but not the enamel, but I don't know what kind of solvent. I will probably do some experimenting with what's out there the next time I find one of these crusty "seasoned" Le Creuset pans. What I have found to be fairly effective is using a very hard plastic scraper, like a windshield ice scraper for larger areas, and a reusable plastic chopstick for smaller areas to chip away at the carbon. Then try scrubbing with Bar Keepers Friend cleanser, which will work to remove stains from the enamel once it is exposed.
 
It's designed for baked-on grime such as would occur in a single use. It gets off brown stuff pretty well, but carbonized black, if it did work, would take a whole lot of DPD.
 
Personally I would take 00 steel wool and rough up all the seasoning and put a frest coat over it. Since it is your Grandmas I wouldnt totally strip it since you know who cooked on it. Stripping it you risk ruining the underlying coating on it and if you leave it you keep her pan in its nostalgic condition. Just my humble opinion. Either way, happy cooking!
 
Wow, I was not expecting all of these replies. Thanks everyone for pitching, in I appreciate it!

I haven't had a change to do anything to it yet, but I did read somewhere else that you can simmer fully enameled Le Creusets in hydrogen peroxide and a little bit of baking soda for some time ~15mins, and the crust should scrape off easily.

I will probably try this when it's a little warmer outside so I can use the grill (it's supposed to smell like burned food from hell while it's simmering).

I will post an update when I have tried it in case this information is useful to others!

---------- Post added at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:37 PM ----------
DonnaM said:
Can your Grandma remember what the inside of the pan was
like when it was new? It would be handy if it weren't enameled.

(I would boil it until some of it softened, get the loose part off and boil it some more. I'd probably use Dawn but if that didn't work, I'd try all these suggestions. Or ry those first. Just don't let it boil dry!)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately no, she doesn't remember where she got it from, and never used it herself because "she doesn't want iron in her food" haha

---------- Post added at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:39 PM ----------
Robert.Aarstad said:
Personally I would take 00 steel wool and rough up all the seasoning and put a frest coat over it. Since it is your Grandmas I wouldnt totally strip it since you know who cooked on it. Stripping it you risk ruining the underlying coating on it and if you leave it you keep her pan in its nostalgic condition. Just my humble opinion. Either way, happy cooking!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advise, I will do this after my boiling!
 
Please keep us updated as you start experimenting. It will be helpful info in case we run up against a similar pan. :grin:
 
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