What is This?

The lye solution only works on build-up that has some grease remaining in it. If it has been reduced to just carbon, lye is ineffective. That's likely what you're experiencing here. Electrolysis may or may not work, either. If the lye has been partially effective to this point, leaving longer may help; it won't hurt.
 
Thanks Doug. When I eventually give up and start seasoning, with this blend in? Will seasoning even stick to this patch?
 
SJLuzum said:
I’ve had this sitting in a lye tank for 10 days or so. Every 2-3 days I pull it out and scrub it by hand with a wire brush. Not much improvement each time.

Just keep letting it soak in lye?

Thanks.

https://i.imgur.com/aBaCkXP.jpg
Click to expand...

SJ, Being in St. Paul, Min. is probably some of the problem (not that you can up and move to clean your CI) but cold temp's reduce the effectiveness of the lye solution. Since it appears that you have a carbon issue more than grime build-up it's almost impossible to remove everything from the pores of the CI. I have tried several things and a couple have worked better than others. Scraping with sharp objects is a no-no but if you're real careful you can take a straight blade razor and remove a lot of the carbon without scratching the pans surface. Once you've done that try re-soaking again in the lye to see if any additional residue comes off. I have also used a paste made from Hydrogen Peroxide and baking soda to aid in removing small areas of stubborn stains. When I have an old warped or cracked pan I experiment with them to see what does and doesn't work before trying it on a vintage valuable pan. A strong solution of Dawn dish detergent and water over the burner on medium heat will also loosen carbon somewhat so that the wire brush and or steel wool will work better.
 
Thanks MD. I am an experience "careful" scraper and have had excellent success in the past, but not so much with this one.

I am now trying the Dawn soap on the burner. Crossing my fingers.
 
SJLuzum said:
Thanks MD. I am an experience "careful" scraper and have had excellent success in the past, but not so much with this one.

I am now trying the Dawn soap on the burner. Crossing my fingers.
Click to expand...

SJ. Just from what I can make out from your pic, it appears that your square skillet is a BSR. With that being said (and for the most part of all square skillets) they are much harder to clean because they can not be ground and polished like a round skillet thus the cooking surface is a bit more rough in texture. Kind of like the modern Lodge surfaces if you know what I mean. It is therefore more difficult to bring back the original cooking surface once that surface has become compromised as in your case. I would do my best to try and alleviate what ever you can with our tried techniques and do a light seasoning to see if there is any blending in the dark surfaces. Beyond what I have said previously I have no other suggestions. Good luck.
 
That looks great. What is Heat and Clean? I've used Carbon Kleen, but only on cast aluminum and enameled surfaces.
 
Used for cleaning popcorn machines. Sounds like the same as Carbon Kleen. It doesn’t really “lift” the carbon off, more like softens it just enough to be scraped off. I was a little more aggressive scraping the inside of this CI than the ECI I’ve used it on.

https://i.imgur.com/aIsu7jI.jpg
 
I have the same BSR pan. It did have some Carbon on the cooking surface and bottom.
Had it in Lye for 2 weeks but the Temperature was only 40 were it sat.
Electrolysis over night and still had Carbon.
I used the Chore Boy SS along with Baking Soda and that removed the Carbon.
The cooking surface of these Square pans is a little rough so the Chore Boy was to way to go.
Have it in the Oven right now to Season.

Learned a lot from following this thread.
Thanks to all.
 
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