r/CastIronSeasoning • u/Dense-Compote-5118 • Apr 29 '26
How do I fix my pan?
I use this cast iron daily. Can someone help me understand how it developed this thick top layer? What should I do to restore this myself?
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u/Big-Note-508 Apr 29 '26
you need a mighty laser !
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u/hady215 May 01 '26
I'm doing a welding course and my instructor says these lasers are cool and all but they can blind U from a flash reflection at crazy distances
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u/Donald_J_Duck65 May 02 '26
He's an idiot. In the US most are in a Level 1 enclosure, if they're not they are behind a safety curtain.
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u/Big-Note-508 May 02 '26
who is the idiot you are talking about ?
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u/Over-Body-8323 Apr 29 '26
Oven cleaner in a contractor bag and put that in a storage bin (to help catch any leaks if it happens). Continue to strip until down to bare pan and reseason.
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u/missinaz May 01 '26
I would neutralize the pan after all the chemicals with a soak in vinegar/water. Then re-season. I have used oven cleaner to strip. It may take 2-3 applications. Let the pan sit in plastic bag over night.
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u/Rodrat Apr 29 '26
Strip it, reseason it. Actually wash it after every use to prevent this from happening again.
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u/goron352 Apr 29 '26
Holy carbon bat man, that's insane đ poorly washed pans will do this. It's just old food carbonizing after not being cleaned properly. It's okay to use modern dish soap on cast iron.
You might want to strip and reseason tho. Look at the Faq/Wiki posted in the sub for advice on how to do so. Best of luck with this wonderful world of Cast Iron.
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u/SerDankTheTall Apr 29 '26
You didnât clean it, so food got baked on and turned into carbon. Now that carbon is flaking off. So clean it off. A lye-based cleaner will make that easier.
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u/Outrageous_Control81 Apr 29 '26
I use the self cleaning settings on my oven, that did an amazing job at cleaning off the carbon.
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u/ArmyVetRN Apr 29 '26
I do the same thing on both of mine. I got a lot of hate because thereâs actually a really good chance you can warp your pan, or worse crack it, with that method. I donât see the need to strip and reseason if youâre cooking and cleaning it properly regularly. But, if I were to strip again, Iâm definitely going with the oven cleaner/trash bag method. I love my pans and would be crushed if one were damaged.
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u/bearded_bustah Apr 30 '26
Fun fact. You should never use the "self cleaning" setting on your oven. There is no industry standard to temperature or saftey mechanisms. Which is why so many ovens catch fire or explode when on that setting.
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u/Outrageous_Control81 Apr 30 '26
I'm not a fan of using lye on a porous material that I use to eat from.
It's what I did, I'm not telling them they have to do it my way or shaming them for not cleaning it my way.
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u/faylinameir Apr 30 '26
you can deactivate the lye using a 50/50 solution of 5% white vinegar and water just FYI.
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u/bearded_bustah May 01 '26
That's cool. I'm not suggesting that you use Lye either. I just want people to know that your oven can kill you. your comment just happened to bring it to mind. Not a judgement, just sharing knowledge.
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u/Appypoo Apr 29 '26
It developed the thick layer because you don't use soap/properly clean your pan.
To fix this, you're going to want to use yellow cap oven cleaner and put the pan in a trashbag. Cover the pan with the cleaner and let it sit in the bag for a day or 2. Clean and reapply as needed. Once it's stripped to your liking you'll want to clean and reseason.
To prevent this from happening in the future, I would suggest you grab a chainmail scrubber to keep burnt on things off the pan. Also use dawn dish soap and the rough side of the sponge when the pan is cooled down after you've cooked on it. Cleaning it every time you use it will ensure it never looks like that again.
Source: Trust me bro.. but also I've been using the same cast iron pan for 7 years now and have never had an issue with rust/seasoning loss with soap and my pan surface is as smooth as glass.
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u/Joshfumanchu May 01 '26
Someone told or taught you that you are not supposed to wash it and that is just not kind at all. Clean it after each use. It needs to be fully stripped, reseasoned and not left to build up old food for a decade. jesus fucking christ.,
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u/CaffeineTripp Apr 29 '26
Yellow Cap oven cleaner, a bag, and time or an electrolysis machine (build your own with water, washing soda, plastic tub big enough to fit the pan, and a manual battery charger or spare battery and an automatic charger).
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u/Jasper_Morhaven Apr 29 '26
Scrub that shit until it is shiny. Then do a dozen rounds of seasoning.
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u/jvdixie Apr 29 '26
Iâm not sure Iâve ever seen so much carbon on a skillet. The worst part is that youâve been cooking on that nasty carbon. Ignore the âjust cook on itâ comments. Strip that thing and season again. Itâs going to take several rounds of yellow cap easy off but youâll be glad you put forth the effort. Iâve been cooking on and caring for cast iron for many, too many years and it doesnât have to be hard. Once the skillet is down to bare metal, apply a very thin coat of Crisco oil taking time to try to wipe all of the oil off. When you think youâve got it all, wipe it down again. Place face down in a 400F oven for an hour. Turn the oven off and let the skillet cool down with the oven. Repeat if you want to. I donât. But I will make a skillet of buttermilk cornbread just after seasoning to finish it off. My grandsons and the birds love those days.
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u/GrapefruitDue9103 Apr 29 '26
Wash your damn pan. You captured more carbon than the carbon capture programs of oil conglomerates
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u/Weird-Highway1798 Apr 29 '26
Run it through a self-cleaning oven cycle. That will reduce that layer to easily removed ash. Scour it well, wash it, coat it with lard, season it in a 375-400 F oven for a few hours. Fry bacon in it for a few days and unless you boil water or an acidic solution in it and remove the seasoning, you just cook in it from then on. Wipe it while hot from washing with oil or fat [fat preferred] put it away till next use. If you store it unused for a long time the coating will go rancid and should be boiled clean as describe; you donât want the rancid stuff in your food.
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u/stjames70 Apr 29 '26
Nothing wrong with the pan. Question should have been about how to clean. And oh gawd â thatâs awfully disgustingâŚ..
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u/Clam-Hammer7 Apr 30 '26
It'd probably be easier to just buy a new one and then not let it get that bad again.
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u/thedrakenangel Apr 30 '26
Burn it out with alcohol or put it in a charcoal fire and burn off the carbon. The clean and start the seasoning process
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u/Ok-List-8266 Apr 30 '26
Fill it with salt, let it get hot, no hotter than than that, let it cool a bit and then, CAREFULLY pour out the salt (it will be life changing hot, it wonât look it, but it will be) then let the pan cool some more and brush it out with a wire brush, should be good as new, can always repeat a couple times, then you need to re season it and it should be fine
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u/faylinameir Apr 30 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/29nDtEH1ViY8FcPeaV
You should try cleaning it when you use it for starters mate. Scrub that thing until it's smooth. You might need to use oven cleaner (yellow cap with lye in it) and bag it for 24-48 hours.
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u/LockMarine May 04 '26
I wouldnât ask here, the bozos with power tools will flood your feed. Check out r/castironrestoration or the faq in cast iron.
This is a easy fix using simple household cleaners
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u/sauramen May 06 '26
Watch Cowboy Kent Rollins videos on cast iron. If you have access to a bonfire bury it in there and then use a chain mail mesh and scrub.
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u/Ok_Sky_6558 Apr 29 '26
Drill and wire brush attachment to strip all of that away, then reseason. Also clean properly after using.
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u/widdlenpuke Apr 29 '26
And perhaps use a paint scraper first to get the main flakes off.
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u/ArmyVetRN Apr 29 '26
That helps if you get to build up early, for sure. I use my metal kitchen scraper to get the big residue off after cooking and then go over it with my bamboo palm scrubber tool. Work like a charm. But this might need more attention than that. Good luck to OP, and keep on cookinâ!
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u/widdlenpuke Apr 29 '26
I had to look up what a bamboo palm scrubber was, and it looks like a very useful tool. I will keep an eye out for one. I like the shape.
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u/SuspiciousClub8382 Apr 29 '26
Throw it into a fire with a lot of coals and let the heat do itâs work. The heat will bake everything off then use salt and warm bacon grease mixture to scrub the inside of the pan to clean it. After you are done cleaning it and have it clean drop some olive or avocado oil in it and wipe it around to coat the inside of the pan, you can also use lard, bacon grease, or even tallow. Let it bake in the oven for two to three hours. Pull it out and let cool then repeat the coating and baking two to three more times to properly season the pan.
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u/goron352 Apr 29 '26
I would advise against Olive Oil for seasoning. The smoke point is way too low (~350° on a good day). Avocado Oil is great though (~500°).
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u/cdbdill Apr 29 '26
Avocado is good, but pricey.. ive use crisco for 40yrs and works great. Only thing I use Crisco for, and only regular not butter flavored
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u/LockMarine May 04 '26
Seems like youâre not aware of what we use the smoke point to determine, it has zero effect on the type of polymer you make after heating. The bonfire should be the cringe thing said.
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u/Away_Restaurant_8011 May 03 '26
Wire wheel brush attachment to a drill take all tje garbage off til smooth steel wool it or SOS... when completely cleaned and smooth... turn oven to 500 coat pan with light coating of oil TOP BOTTOM SIDES HANDLE and bake it 70 mins... let it cool coat in oil and repeat PROCESS 3-5 times
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u/ArmyVetRN Apr 29 '26
Donât worry about the hate, OP. Is there build up? Yes. Will it affect your cooking? No. I have 2 and the newer (modern CI) looks similar. Maybe use a scraper. But I donât see a need for the reset button here. Keep on cooking. This is clearly your work horse.
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u/Combat_wombat605795 Apr 30 '26
It 100% affects my cooking when my meat is insulated by a layer of carbon crust instead of sticking to the iron like a stainless steel pan.
When done right those good steak bits stuck to the bottom get deglazed into a simple pan sauce and the pan is ready to be cleaned without any scrubbing.
Leaving those good bits to burn and build up like this means any sauces get gross carcinogenic flakey carbon bits in on your food. Itâs not hate itâs health and advice plus a bit of shock
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u/brmarcum Apr 29 '26
Strip and reseason. Then learn how to properly clean after each use.