How to make Rough Cast Iron Buttery Smooth for Faster and Easier Clean Up

A pre-seasoned cast iron skillet is ready to use, but I take it a step further! Pre-seasoned cast iron skillets have seasonings that have been sprayed on. This factory seasoning is very rough and coarse which in my opinion makes it easier for foods to stick and harder to clean. Also the rough bottom of the cast iron can scratch stovetops, counters, and tables if you aren't being careful with it. Sanding down the coarse surface will make it smooth, easy to clean, and still give your foods a great sear. I show you how I make my cast iron smooth by sanding down the factory seasoning and reseasoning it.

For details on how to season this cast iron skillet, check out this video for the 3-step method:

#howto #castiron #seasoncastiron #lodge#season #howtoseason

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[jaysmith]

I always sand my new cast iron, something I could never imagine doing in the past. Hand sand it with 80 grit sand paper, then 150 grit. Then 4-5 seasoning sessions in the oven with avocado oil at 530 degrees for 2 hours. They come out incredibly smooth and non stick

[srybishop]

This is the difference in Lodge cast iron and the old Wagner or Griswold cast iron. The pans were actually lighter, and were finished perfectly smooth, and they are a pleasure to cook on. Lodge is just not the same, in my opinion. Polishing it smooth might make it comparable to the older cast iron cookware.

[katgv]

I got my first cast iron pan (12") many years ago from an antique/thrift store for $20.00... all I had to do was soak it with the spray on oven cleaner in a plastic bag over night... then wash and coat with oil and put in the oven for a few hours and that thing has been on top of my stove ever since and used every day.... I have a lodge 10x14" griddle and grill almost a tray and also a 10" pan and they are horribly rough, no matter how much oil I put in them the food always sticks, I was ready to throw them in the trash till I saw your video. So I used my granite polishing discs(only took from 30 grit down to 200 grit to get the griddle smooth... now too seasoning it and the next pan. TY for the tutorial

[Rodsrib]

Thanks for an informative and helpful video.
I just purchased a Lodge cast iron skillet from Walmart. They had about 7 of them there, and almost all of them felt like coarse sandpaper, very bumpy and rough.
I examined all 7 of them, and found one that was smooth.
So I got this time.

[janetchaffee]

Nice job. I have also sanded my cast iron but only the cooking surface. Worked great. May I suggest to not use flax seed oil it will flake off over time.

[Thomas-josp]

Your video is fantastic as well as your technique! One piece of advice I would give you is you could also use a drywall sponge sander instead of the round sticky sandpaper, that'll really get some smooth edges.

[fishn]

A lot of people ask how long it takes I did this with two of my pans first one I sanded up to 220 grit it took a few hours got it looking nice but the seasoning did stick very good so I sanded it with 60 grit after that it works great second pan I just sanded it with 60 grit took less then 30 minutes, also if you do this to your pan and the seasoning doesn’t stick very good put it in the oven use the self clean to cook off any seasoning then put it in 50/50 water and vinegar for a few hours then wash with cold water and and then start the seasoning process over the trick is don’t over sand it just makes for more work in the end

[reydelossantos]

Try 60 grit flap disc - hugs the contours of the pan with ease. I sable to have each of my pans ready for seasoning within 15-20mins. Salute!

[GilaMonster]

They eventually smooth out but it take lots of seasoning sessions. I’m still going to do this to one of my pans, I have 3 10” pans and I only need on. So don’t mind trying this on one of them.

[isnamthere]

Nice work, nice video. I doubt that your bare hand will actually be touching the handle that much. Or if it does, the roughness of the handle will be the least of your worries.

[gramig]

They tell you it's due to public preference but not true. It's all about saving them money. They should have finished the process properly but instead John Q public is left to do it himself. Thanks for the video.

[nancyfurlow]

My husband used an angle grinder on our cast iron and now it is as smooth as glass!

[edricheson]

Nice work Jason! I have two lodge cast pans that I will try this method with. All the best to you

[berniem.]

Very good video on the whole process. My only criticism would be the use of quite fine sand paper. At 200+ grit, the finish gets very smooth which may look good, but gives the seasoning a hard time to adhere.
Luckily, it appears, you either started out with a rather high grit or didn't put too much time in the first round. Therefore, you didn't go deep into the metal and left those pits. They give the metal some texture and help the seasoning to adhere better.

I start with 40 grit sandpaper and only remove the 'spikes' while leaving the pits. You could already stop there and the scratchy surface would hold the seasoning very well. But I continue with 60, 80 and sometimes 120 grit to refine the scratch pattern without making the surface overly slick. I wouldn't go higher than 120 grit. The fine scratch pattern combined with the still slightly pitted surface holds the seasoning very well.

Like you, I also sand the outside of the skillet and remove sharp edges and smaller flaws. Handling and especially cleaning such a skillet is almost fun and worth the effort.

[mikerobertson]

Good job. Personally, I have no problem with rough surface, and my Lodge pieces work fine straight from the factory.

[jamesconn]

My thoughts exactly !! Ya know the Experts is goin to flip !! Good job !!

[havootu]

Gosh you are so handsome. Came for the info, got a nice surprise🤭. Hope yall having a good day❤️

[dimmacommunication]

I sanded the cooking section and re did the seasoning with grapeseed oil ( flax seed stinks too much 🤢 ), the trick is to heat it up to 500f ( 300°c ) and then come back to 390f ( 200°c ) and reapply oil then back again.
I did this like 12-13 times and seasoning got perfectly black and slippery flat.

[stanswihart]

60 grit with the sander works great. After you get it smooth go up to 80 grit.

[PD-ydfr]

To blue the pan, go see a welder, have him use an oxyacetylene torch, will blue it in seconds, would only cost a few bucks