Hey everyone! Diving into the world of cast iron since my wife and I are trying to live healthier and hate buying pans every few years.
So I bought an off-brand/no label set off Amazon that was on sale. I guess you could say I am treating them as a modern day "control" group. I am seasoning additionally 2-3 times with grapeseed oil at 475 for an hour.
And then there are the pans I have in the pictures. One is a cheap Walmart Mainstays skillet (most rust in it). This was my guinea pig pan I bought and my wife soaked it without me knowing lol. I wanted to experiment with sanding this one down to as smooth as possible, and preseason about 2-3 times with grapeseed.
The next one is an old Korean pan that has some kind of gunk all over it. I was going to try the easy off method, sand a little if needed, but not to a polish. And then reason.
The one im most excited about is the old number 8 and number 3 I found at Goodwill with the heat rings! My Googlings have led me to believe they are at least pre 1950 and are possibly a dept store brand made by one of the big names like wagner or griswold (please correct me if i am wrong as i am new lol) These are nice and smooth in the bottom, aren't heavy, and have no pitting whatsoever. The little 3 pan has some buildup but other than that looks great. These two I am unsure of how to go about it. I know the number 3 needs a strip no matter what, but could I season on top of the number 8? It looks like its in solid shape. Or should I strip it. And as far as stripping the older stuff goes, is there a safe vs unsafe method I need to be aware of? What would you guys reccomend as far as cleaning and reseasoning?
Very excited to get started and find more older pieces out in the wild! Wife says i need a hobby, and now im already looking into making my own electrolysis tank and other tricks of the trade lol. Let me know what you guys think! 😁