I used 80, then 100 (couldn't find 120) and then 220 and could tell a HUGE difference. I just used normal ol' sandpaper from Home Depot.

I used automotive and kept a touch of water in the skillets while I was sanding. The automotive sandpaper is a little tougher than normal wood sandpaper, and the water aids in keeping both the sandpaper from clogging up, as well as keeping the sanded surface cleaner.

I used a wire wheel on my peanut grinder to strip all of the old finish off, then used a random orbital sander to sand it down. Wash thoroughly between grits, give a good final wash and dry, then re-season.

Getting rid of the ridges and valleys and smoothing out the cooking surface turns a pedestrian cast iron pan into a wonderful pan to cook on. I still need to make a weekend project out of my dutch ovens, but thus far having done it with all of my skillets has made cast iron about the only type of skillet or pan I use anymore.

quote:

---

What color was it post sanding, pre seasoning and then post seasoning?

---

During the stripping process, it was a dull grey. After sanding, it was a much brighter grey - almost silver.

It became progressively darker as I seasoned it. First round turned it brown, then the brown became darker and darker. After a while of every day use in cooking, it's black like you'd expect cast iron to be. Look at the pictures on the bottom of Page 1 and you'll see.

Coat #7 in the oven now.

Damn, thats plenty man. Start cooking on it now and get the good seasoning going. Dont overdo it.

7 coats later. Not as black as I'd expect, but never nice smooth serve.

Damn with all the electricity spent on those coats you'd a had a brand new set of Le Creusets!

quote:

---

I used a wire wheel on my peanut grinder to strip all of the old finish off

---

Is your "peanut grinder" an actual tool or slang for a drill/dremel/???

This thread has inspired me to re-season some of our cast iron that we don't use because of the current seasoning. Any hints on the easiest way to strip off the existing seasoning would be greatly appreciated.

Peanut grinder = 4" angle grinder

Thanks!

Easiest way to strip the old seasoning is to just put it in a fire for a while. It will be obvious when it's burned off.

Interesting idea bam02. Sounds like a job for my outdoor propane cooker...

Need some advice...

I had 3 cast iron skillets that were re-seasoned using the methods in this thread. Burned off the old seasoning with an outdoor cooker, sanded the cooking surface smooth to a 150 grit finish, used flax seed oil purchased at Whole Foods in a 500 degree oven. The seasoning was finally looking good on the sanded surface but only after about a dozen rounds of oil & heat. And then the seasoning started flaking off of one skillet without even being touched. I did another round and that seemed to make it even worse and now all three skillets are flaking. Bright shiny cast iron under the flakes. Seasoning looks beautiful everywhere except where it is flaking off.

What went wrong? Too many seasoning treatments? Oven got too hot somehow? Oven not hot enough?

My grandmothers cooked exclusively in cast iron skillets. The skillets did not stick. My grandmothers were not chemists and probably never had flaxseed oil. They used bacon drippings or lard exclusively. Best fried eggs, sausage, bacon, chicken, fish, etc. I have ever eaten were cooked by those ladies, who btw rendered their own lard and made their own soap. We are advanced now though.

An enameled cast iron would likely be much healthier. Excess iron that accumulates in your body is your enemy.

My mom actually has a disease that causes her body to store excess iron. Her doctor said that she wouldn't get enough iron from an iron skillet to hurt her.

quote:

---

They used bacon drippings or lard exclusively.

---

Read in one of the links or one I googed that lard is no longer the best choice for the initial seasoning because a commercially raised hog's diet is different than that which the old farm raised hogs used to eat. Modern hogs are fed grain while they used to eat a lot of table scraps and whatever. This in turn has changed the quality of their lard.

Sounds plausible but I have no idea if this is fact or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_overload

Haemochromatosis (excess iron) is a metabolism disorder. It's not caused by dietary intake.

Never had any experience with the problem you have agent maroon.

What exactly was your technique when seasoning with the flax seed oil? I used run of the mill vegetable oil for my first go around, so maybe the oil has something to do with it.

Agent-

Here's my opinion on things. The best way to get your skillets seasoned is just to use them. Granted, you don't start with something like eggs (since it's not "non-stick" yet).

For your current skillet (the one flaking), I'd start with scrubbing in hot water with a stiff-bristle brush. Drain excess water off then heat on the stovetop OR in the oven (200 degrees or so) to dry completely. Once the water is dry and the skillet is still hot/warm, spread a thin layer of oil (I use canola) over the entire skillet (inside, outside, handle) using a paper towel. Return to the warm oven (turned off) to cool.

In my experience, the BEST thing for skillets when the seasoning gets a bit "off" is to cook a batch of biscuits in them. I'm not sure why it works, but it does. Now, I'm talking homemade, scratch buttermilk biscuits, not the canned variety.

My husband and I collect and extensively use cast iron when cooking both indoors and outdoors. Our current collection includes > 50 pieces (some family heirlooms, some new purchases, some from estate sales, some found in the barn that needed major work). We use canola oil and moderate heat (350 degrees) to maintain our seasonings. If we have to start from scratch or refurbish, we'll burn off the pieces in a fire (fireplace or campfire) then follow the same protocol. The more you use the stuff, the better it becomes.

Sorry for the long post. Good luck and get to using it!

quote:

---

Haemochromatosis (excess iron) is a metabolism disorder. It's not caused by dietary intake.

---

That involves a lot of stored iron with a wide variety of health effects.

On a lesser scale than that found in heamochromatosis, excess iron is conjectured to be the reason why women have little heart disease prior to reaching menopause but once they stop losing iron during menstruation, their rates of heart disease catch up to and even surpass that of men.

The issue is not settled.

There is also concern about the role of iron in diabetes.

eric76, I'm betting you can also find studies promoting the use of CI.

Either way, the amount of iron you are talking about is extremely small, and most likely a non factor in 99.9999% of people.

quote:

---

Either way, the amount of iron you are talking about is extremely small, and most likely a non factor in 99.9999% of people.

---

It's not that small. Certain foods cooked in cast iron can have many times the amount of iron that it would have if cooked in something else. You probably shouldn't cook anything with a high acid content in cast iron because the amount of extra iron can be excessive.

For someone who has haemochromatosis, the issue is better understood, but for everyone else, nobody really knows how much iron is too much.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill. If it were that big of a deal, there would be umpteen studies and probably some ban on CI somewhere. But there isn't.

Besides, if you are cooking on a seasoned CI skillet or pan, you are getting very little contact with actual iron as there should be a layer of carbon (the seasoning) between the CI and the food itself. That's why a good CI pan or skillet is black and not silver or rust red.

polymerized oil technically.. Or a petina coating.

My grandmothers both lived into their 90's. I think micro-worrying is a bigger health problem.

BTW, the hogs got grain and table scraps as well as doing some wild rooting. I say live while alive and don't live to not die because it is coming. That said, all things in moderation.

I think one of the great things about cast iron is heat distribution and maintenance. I don't see why enameled cast iron would not do that and also eliminate cleaning and seasoning problems. I did not know there was such a thing.

The "smoke point" of most cooking oils is anywhere from 375F to 450F...The smoke point is the point at which the oil starts breaking down and hence, starts to smoke...my guess is 500F is way too hot, imo you need to keep it between 300-350F, this will open the pores of the iron but still be cool enough to make the oil effective

Thanks for all the replies.

Was going to attempt to use the skillets and hope the unseasoned spots improved with use, but with just very light washing the seasoning was flaking off so that wasn't going to be possible.

So... I removed the faulty seasoning by burning it off on the outdoor cooker and started over. Interesting to note that it took substantially longer to remove the flax seed oil seasoning than it did the peanut oil seasoning that I was removing with the first attempt.

After reviewing the process to make sure I was doing according to the link on page 1, I started over and have already completed two rounds of seasoning. I'm going to stop at six and start cooking. Another observation - the seasoning appears much darker & more uniform than at the same point on the first attempt.

quote:

---

Haemochromatosis (excess iron) is a metabolism disorder. It's not caused by dietary intake.

---

Yes, that's what she has. She was told not to take vitamins with iron, etc. So she asked about cooking in an iron skillet and the doctor said that the amount of iron you get from cooking in it would be miniscule.

Anyway, I grew up with my parents cooking in CI and I cook in it now. I guess everyone has to decide what they are comfortable with.

If dietary iron is so dangerous then why is it in so many vitamin supplements? The answer is that absorption of iron from the digestive tract is a very tightly controlled process. If the body doesn't need it then it isn't absorbed. Most or all of the iron just passes through.

This isn't limited to iron absorption. One of my professors used to call vitamin supplements "poop enhancers" because so little of anything was actually absorbed.

And if you're otherwise healthy but digesting iron is a concern then just limit the use if CI to frying and cooking non-acidic foods. You'll probably get more iron from a couple of chicken fried steaks than you'll ever get from the skillet itself...

What I always find funny is people who use cast iron cookware but who refuse to use aluminum cookware because they are afraid of getting Alzheimer's from the aluminum.

Eric76-

You are a rabid anti-cast ironite!

[This message has been edited by Bam02 (edited 8/2/2012 11:24p).]

My little thread found new life.

quote:

---

You are a rabid anti-cast ironite!

---

I just warn people from time to time.

To the best of my knowledge, it never does any good.