Preseasoned Lodge skillet wears off easy

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Caslon

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I tossed out one Lodge 8" preseasoned skillet because I was tired of spending electricity money trying to season it well in the oven after it lost it's non stick properties. So i bought me another one. Not a big deal as a new one only costs about $12 at Walmart.

So I buy another one thinking I'll have better luck. On my previous one, I used a scrubber that holds dishwashing liquid in it. Even tho I didn't press the button to dispence soap, the non stick qualities went away. Maybe with the hot water and a tiny bit of residual soap, it caused the seasoning to go away, I dunno.

So I buy another one and have cooked nothing but bacon in it. Hot water and a scrub brush to clean it. The non stick coating is gone again.

The factory seasoning on Lodge skillets seem to me to be very thin, despite how the surface looks stippled as if the seasoning is thick, it isnt.

To my surprise, I found that others season pre-seasoned lodge skillets before using them. Now I know why.
 
I have two Lodge Logic pans. I washed them and started cooking in them. At first, I just cooked bacon and other foods that called for oil (fat) in the pan. The seasoning has built up and is better than ever.

I don't know why you are having this problem.
 
It must have to do with how I clean them after use. Except, I just use hot water or sometimes boil water, then use no soap regular dish scrubber.

I'm spending money in oven electricity cost seasoning them which almost starts to approach the $12 cost for a new one. I'll try cleaning this one and reseason it more than once to assure a good coating.

Seasoning at 400F or whatever for hours multiple times has me concerned about electricity cost.

I really want to get it to where I can see water run off the skillet after final rinse. Right now the water just stays on the pan and my bacon is sticking bad while being cooked.

Maybe I'll try the stove top seasoning method where you let it get smoking. Maybe do that 3 or 4 times.

And make sure not one molecule of dishwashing liquid is there upon cleaning. It didn't foam up using my dish scrubber with soap in the handle, so I thought I was ok using that. Maybe a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid is the cause.
 
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Using your oven for an hour or two costs $12 ?

No, but a 400F oven going for hours multiple times doesn't exactly cost just pennies.

I just cleaned it using Lemi-shine and a 3M green scour pad. The oven is heating. One thing I've learned is to not put very much oil or crisco on the pan at all before putting it in the oven. A super thin almost non-existent coating is how I'm doing it now. I'll repeat this a few times and let you know. I'll get a dish scrubber without soap in the handle too, even tho I didn't press the button on the scrubber to dispense soap, some probably got in the cleaning water.
 
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At any rate...

Lodge preseasoned cast iron skillets are not intended to be "nonstick"

It takes a great while of use and seasoning to get a cast iron skillet to literally be nonstick like a Teflon pan.

Follow Andy's advice about cooking bacon and sausages in it.

You can also season a cast iron skillet outside on your grill. That might be cheaper.
 
If you have a continuing issue with cast iron cookware maybe you should switch to another type of cookware.
 
What material is the scrubber made of that you have that dispenses soap? Is it a bristle brush or some kind of scouring material?
 
Simple nylon bristle brush with soap in the handle. I'm not using that anymore for cleaning my skillet. I bet with the hot water and all, some soap got dispensed, even tho I saw no signs of that while scrubbing it.

I've had the skillet in the oven at 400F at just about 2 hours now. A very thin coating of crisco. I'll let it cool on its own and repeat this 2 more times, using very little crisco each time, then, clean it more carefully. I'm ok with cooking just bacon or sausages for the first 10 times. Actually what I do is pour some water in the skillet, heat it to boil and then use a bristle brush. I bet some soap got in there, removing the thin carbon buildup.
 
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If you are boiling it then there should be no need to scrub it. Just a wipe out to dry with a paper towel should suffice. I can't ever remember scrubbing my CI pans. :angel:
 
If you are boiling it then there should be no need to scrub it. Just a wipe out to dry with a paper towel should suffice. I can't ever remember scrubbing my CI pans. :angel:

Maybe that's why my newly seasoned skillet loses non-stick.
I cook gringo taco beef in my skillet eventually, I tend to want to at least run the brush around after it's come to boil. Maybe I should let that taco mix residue remain and not clean it so thoroughly? hehe. Seriously you may be right. My cooking something else afterwards won't taste mexican tho?
 
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There is no need to boil it, that action is keeping any coating you have built up to become soft and then you scrub it away. Hot running water with a soft scrubber (Blue 3M or nylon bristles) should be all it needs. Then put it on the stove to dry it quickly, coat with thin film of crisco and let it cool down.
 
I think you are over thinking it.

I wash mine (also a preseasoned Lodge) with Dawn and a scrubbie every time, dry it, smear the surface with crisco, pop it into a 350 oven for about 15 minutes, turn off the oven and let it cool in there.

That's it and it's beautifully nonstick.
 
First of all, get it out of your head that soap is harmful to the finish. It's not.

Try this. After cooking a meal, rinse out the pan with hot water. If there are any food particles stuck to the pan, use the scrub brush and soap if necessary. (I use one of those blue sponges with the plastic scrubber on one side). Then put the pan on the stove top on high to evaporate all water. When it starts to smoke, put in a tiny amount of oil and wipe it all over the interior of the pan with a wad of paper towel. Just enough oil to make the interior shiny/wet looking. Leave it on the burner on high so it smokes for a few minutes then turn off the burner and wipe out the pan with dry paper towel. Let it cool before storing.
 
IMO, the first thin coating of seasoning (carbon buildup) CAN be removed if soap is used. After a considerable layer of carbon build up is achieved, then soap won't affect the finish.

That's where I was when cooking bacon only and cleaning and my new pan and it lost it's thin non stick carbon build up properties.

So, ya, I think you have to be mindful of your cleaning methods when building up the initial carbon layer on a new cast iron pan that is lightly preseasoned. Soap in small quantities with brushing action and hot water CAN damage the newly created carbon layer (until it's built up more).

Anyways, that's how I'm approaching getting this skillet to get a built up layer of carbon.


P.S. I'm glad I used a scant amount of crisco. I used to over do it and wondered why it came out splotchy after baking.

Also, I know I'm good to go after just one seasoning, if I take care during cleaning. I'm gonna repeat the process 2 more times anyways.
 
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If I have something stubborn stuck on my CI skillet, I just pour some kosher salt into the pan and scrub with a wet dish cloth. The salt acts as an abrasive and is totally harmless to the finish. My CI still isn't completely non-stick (I still have egg issues with it) but it's getting close!
 
I tossed out one Lodge 8" preseasoned skillet because I was tired of spending electricity money trying to season it well in the oven after it lost it's non stick properties. So i bought me another one. Not a big deal as a new one only costs about $12 at Walmart.

So I buy another one thinking I'll have better luck. On my previous one, I used a scrubber that holds dishwashing liquid in it. Even tho I didn't press the button to dispence soap, the non stick qualities went away. Maybe with the hot water and a tiny bit of residual soap, it caused the seasoning to go away, I dunno.

So I buy another one and have cooked nothing but bacon in it. Hot water and a scrub brush to clean it. The non stick coating is gone again.

The factory seasoning on Lodge skillets seem to me to be very thin, despite how the surface looks stippled as if the seasoning is thick, it isnt.

To my surprise, I found that others season pre-seasoned lodge skillets before using them. Now I know why.
The stippling is due to the rough poorly finished surface. It can be rough enough to abrade paper towels used for wiping out pans or applying / spreading oil.
 
The best thing to use is, burlap. You can buy it at a fabric store or sometimes a potato sack.
I boil water in the pan, And scrap it clean with a stiff nylon brush. Then use the burlap to scrub it clean.
I then rub a thin coat of oil all over. Ready for the next use.
When I buy a new piece of cast iron, weather pre seasoned or not, I boil it, scrub it clean with hot soapy water and go on with a fresh seasoning. Using flack seed oil and repeating 4 or 5 times. Thats how you get it to last for years. You have to have that layer of oil in the pan and not scrub it away. If you do, its time to re season again. The more layers, the less non stick.
Acidic food will take the finish off the pan, so try not to cook an acid type food. I have certain peices of cast that I use only for tomatoes and such. But then they are re seasoned when needed.
 
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