First restoration done and questions for next

M

MichaelA

New member
Just finished restoring and seasoning my first CI pan. I've been using a Lodge flawlessly for several years that is straight out of the store (unseasoned by myself other than cooking). I recently found what I believe to be 1930's Griswold and a Wagner in my house though, and began researching heavily. I stripped and seasoned the Wagner as it was the less valuable pan, and it came out perfect with a 6 coat glassy Crisco baked surface.

Before & After
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I want to do the Griswold by the book, but had a question before I start. Can I save the near 30 year seasoning on the inside or am I better off stripping? The pan is black as night but has heavy buildup and white markings on the outside and bottom. I have lye on the way as we speak but wasn't sure if the stories of ultimate flavor coming from old seasoning.

I also have a question about lye baths. Is a 5% vinegar bath adequate for neutralizing a pan after the lye?

I have soybean oil on the way as well. I'm going to try that instead of Crisco as I found that it has the highest iodine value which I've read is linked to bonding sites and hardness during polymerization.


Thanks in advance
Michael
 
The Wagner looks great, nice work :icon_thumbsup:

For the Griswold, I wouldn't worry too much about keeping the old seasoning. After you clean it up and use it for a few months, it'll be good to go. The only reason I would avoid cleaning it is if there is sentimental value in the seasoning. For example, my dad has my grandmother's jet black set of Favorite skillets. Presumably some day they will come to me, and I wouldn't dream of taking the seasoning off of those.
 
A good seasoning provides a near non-stick surface but the misconception that it provides flavor is just that. Or a seller trying to justify why a cruddy pan should cost more than a clean one.

Simply rinsing the pan well after the lye bath is all that's necessary. Some like to wash with Dawn dishwashing liquid after any type of stripping and before seasoning, and that's OK.

If you have Crisco, use it. Or PAM, canola, or refined grapeseed. Collectors have found that attempting to apply scientific principles to seasoning has met with inconsistent and sometimes disappointing results, is not worth any extra expense, and have returned to the old standbys.
 
Michael, here's an option for your Griswold worth considering; strip the outside and bottom bare but leave the interior seasoning. This should be easy using Easy Off on the outside. After it's stripped warm the pan some and scrub the heck out of it with solid crisco and coarse steel wool. Then wipe the pan dry and start using. You've kept the old seasoning and, if it was good to start with it should be better now. If not it's a simple thing to fully strip and start again. By the way, I don't season skillets but just start using them and they get seasoned pretty quickly. As Doug said, no need to neutralize the lye, just rinse off pretty well. Many (most?) collectors seem to embrace the "more you do to a pan for seasoning the better" and that might be the case but I have other things I want to do other than to keep oiling and baking, oiling and baking, etc. The original seasoning instructions from the foundries were very simple and did not entail all that some like to do to attain that very black look which only happened in the old days after much use of a pan.
 
Thanks everyone!

The pan is somewhat sentimental. So I guess a better question to ask is can old seasoning be harmful? I wasn't sure if it can go rancid like oil or if bacteria is a problem. This pan was my grandmothers and was found in one of her old cabinets and has probably beens sitting in there for 30 years.

I cleaned the pan with warm water and a soft sponge today and the inside looks fairly good besides a sticky spot which I assume is just old oil and one scrape to the seasoning. I put it on the stove on medium heat and it smoked aggressively at fairly low temp.

I'd like to save the seasoning, although I am more than willing to strip it if there are any health concerns. My sentiment won't overpower making a rational decision.
 
At least you know that the seasoning is from your Grandma so it's in the family whatever might be in it. I would not hesitate to use it after cleaning as I suggested with steel wool and crisco. Wouldn't the heat of cooking kill any bacteria? I'm still healthy and, if a pan does not look like it has been used to drain oil, melt lead, etc. I will clean and cook. We probably encounter more problems from eating in some restaurants than using an old iron skillet. You might heat in your oven at something like 400 for half an hour to kill the little buggers.

Here is an early skillet which I cooked in for the first time last night (unless I had done so years ago and forgot) and I "cleaned" it with steel wool and crisco. Stripping this skillet might reveal a primitive casting and remove a layer of "history".

More about this pan-
https://www.facebook.com/groups/griswold/permalink/733592560004784/?stream_ref=2
 

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Every time Steve posts a picture I wish the iron could talk to tell its story. Always the most interesting looking pieces.
 
Thanks John,
I have asked and begged that skillet to tell me where it's been and what it's seen but be damned if it will spill the beans and there is even a small spillway on the side of the pan. I am just now learning how to post photos on this site. I think I may have it down now.
 
Steve Stephens said:
At least you know that the seasoning is from your Grandma so it's in the family whatever might be in it. I would not hesitate to use it after cleaning as I suggested with steel wool and crisco.
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Very cool skillet!


I may just do this tonight. I'll make a lye bath that only submerges the outside of the pan and lay it in since I don't have oven cleaner on hand. I can steel brush the rim that is missed by the bath.

After, are you suggesting I steel wool with crisco the entire pan or just the outside and leave the inside as is? Also, should I do an quick crisco layer or two on the cooking surface just for the heck of it before I jump into cooking?

Thanks, again.
 
I meant to scrub the inside (cooking parts) after warming the pan with solid crisco and coarse steel wool. Scrub hard all over then wipe up the mess with a paper towel then start cooking. If dirt bothers you you can wash, wipe more oil, or whatever to make the pan as clean as you want. I am thinking of protecting and conserving the old seasoning on the pan which, for nicely seasoned pans, makes sense to me. The outside of the pan should get a coat of crisco then rubbed off unless you are a gluten for work and want to season the outside which it totally unnecessary. The outside only needs a light coat of oil to protect from rusting. You may be able to "float" the skillet on top of the lye by sitting the pan on an object then raising the lye to the very top. I float skillet covers upside down in the lye when the Griswold ones have the porcelain interior so I don't etch the porcelain. The covers float perfectly right to the outer rim.
 
Steve Stephens said:
I meant to scrub the inside (cooking parts) after warming the pan with solid crisco and coarse steel wool. Scrub hard all over then wipe up the mess with a paper towel then start cooking. If dirt bothers you you can wash, wipe more oil, or whatever to make the pan as clean as you want. I am thinking of protecting and conserving the old seasoning on the pan which, for nicely seasoned pans, makes sense to me. The outside of the pan should get a coat of crisco then rubbed off unless you are a gluten for work and want to season the outside which it totally unnecessary. The outside only needs a light coat of oil to protect from rusting. You may be able to "float" the skillet on top of the lye by sitting the pan on an object then raising the lye to the very top. I float skillet covers upside down in the lye when the Griswold ones have the porcelain interior so I don't etch the porcelain. The covers float perfectly right to the outer rim.
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Will do. I'll report back after it is in cooking condition. Can't wait for it to be a daily user.
 
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