Nice video, quick note; if you can find ceramic coated sanding disc, they are better than the aluminum oxide disc's. A little more expensive, but they last much longer.

Did the stripping disc you showed work well?

Go to 14:44 and hunt another video. Well intended video, yes, but let's get real and get cooking. There's a thing called a stainless steel pan. Cook in it if that's what you like and want. Let's not reinvent the wheel and get hurt and spend hours of "perfecting" and $$$ in tools and supplies over something that isn't even broken. But hey, to each their own and just follow Rule #1 no matter what - SAFETY.

I work in very hazardous environments where respirators are literally life. Good on you for wearing one and recommending them. For anyone reading this and doesn't own a proper fitting one, there's a ton of readily accessible, free information on it. Proper fitment is VITAL. You may need to buy a few to get one that fits right, but it's easily one of the best investments you'll ever make. The cartridges have a short shelf life, but they're pretty cheap. Don't skimp out on this.

Why didn't you demonstrate cooking an egg for the first time too see if it works?

🙄Its amazing to me how some people take this as serious as you do......smdh. Bro! You do realize that you're using a grinding disc attached to a drill gun, while wearing a ventilated face mask, with the cast iron pan double BOLTED down to a 2X10 inch board, that's being held by a vice grip, all bcuz you want the surface smooth so that you can fry an egg in it right? WTF bro?

Lodge is worthy of passing down. I’m just saying bro.

Hey, the textured surface is actually what make the pan non-stick.

You did a good job!

I’ve watched and i know this is old . Lost a lot of my kitchen things. Long story short. I had a cheap nonstick set. Horrible. Tossed it all and got a few lodge pieces I was missing. One month ago a new skillet. I don’t see this pitted horrible finish? Paper towels do not leave any shreds? Nothing sticks. Hamburgers, thick boneless pork chops, chicken breast, ground beef onions and peppers for American goulash. Boiled elbow macaroni in lodge Dutch oven drained everything and continued in Dutch oven. Seasoning every step. Great taste and filling meal. Made fried eggs this morning. No sticking. So what’s the big deal? Sure after a minute put spatula under to loosen no broken yolks and literally could slide around pan. So why the sanding? I wish I could put this comment on every video extolling the sanding etc. men especially seem to find it entertaining the kinds of tools and sandpaper grades they use. How about just cook in it.

Way too much talking & reflecting.

I think im gonna do this job Can't wipe that thing without lint catching all those pins

I did this with my ozark trail 5qt cast iron Dutch oven. I had an angle grinder but had the strip disc wheel that you used. I encourage anyone that has a cheaper cast iron that comes from lodge or ozark to do this to their cast iron pans. It makes a world of difference.

I’m going to do a vid on rough versus smooth cast iron finishes and the experiences I encountered. The non stick results were indiscernible. The amount of work to smooth the iron was monumental. Good vid. Ciao

FAWK dude 😬..... talk way too much!!! Hot bored looked for another vid

How did you dry, aneal, season it as you were describing? Looks amazing!

it's not that Lodge is so good, it's because it's the only cast iron that's still made in America and not made of Chinesium

When sanding the elemental advice us to always keep it moving. That is, do not stall over any spot. Old timers just hand sanded the inside bottom of any rough cast skillet or to clean a rusted pan. You need to buy a few quality full sheets of garnet paper and fold them into quarters. That's it. 120 grit is the classic but you can go more coarse to start or finer to finish if you want. But buy 120 if you are only buying one. The crappy garnet paper from Home Depot isn't worth getting. Anything they have isn't like the garnet paper that automobile paint supply houses carry. Mattos used to carry the real thing and probably still do if they haven't closed. You'll know it when you see it. And try it out. Hand work will not remove a ruinous amount from your pan even though it may take patience and time. Good luck!

I season mine on my Treager smoker. Oh my…..things taste better!

Why? Not a troll, im jus wondering why you want a mirror finish. Is this a thing the manufacturers want you to do?

I have a 15" Lodge skillet that I am going to do this to.

I popped my lodge in my Ooni pizza oven for 30 minutes and the entire seasoning just came right off! It was nice to start with a complete blank slate to get it just how I wanted.

If I could make one suggestion because its an unbelievable nasty process, set a blower to your left side to blow between you and the skillet. It'll take most of the dust out the door. I make spatulas from new Lodge skillets to support my vintage cast iron addiction. Don't let anyone tell ya that smooth cast iron won't hold seasoning, the people that say that sell rough products. What I couldn't do is get the weight down. For that reason and the smoothness we use an early 1900s Erie. That's the beauty of cast iron it can be over 100 and still work and look like new.

Cast iron loves lard

Why didn't you just put the pan handle in the vice?

I have a grill pan I want to grind out. Anybody have experience with that?

You're not even wearing the right filter on the mask, why wear it?

@Scott Cush the reason Lodge leaves it that way is that their Seasoning process requires them to spray the pans as they are hung this method of doing it requires the surface to be of a rougher texture to hold the oil as it moves down the assembly line to the ovens . Long enough use will even out the seasoning at home but a smoother metal surface takes less time to get that non-stick cooking we all like about Cast Iron

The new pans are pre seasoned from the factory so no need to do all that. I have vintage 1960s 3 notch Lodge #5 skillet I found this weekend for $27.00 at a peddlers mall. Just needed a good cleaning and none of that sanding work.

I have an 11" pitted one that I have not been able to reseason successfully . I tried sanding it. It will take forever to get it smooth. I want to order an 11" one. What brands do you recommend? If it's more than 50-60 bucks, I cannot afford it. I am retired. Cook every day. I need a good skillet. I have done some looking on the internet. But you seem to know about this.

jonny sins ?

Going beyond 180 may just burnish the steel making it hard to season. My thoughts.

😂 sanded one down today with a orbital disc sander and a rubber band while I did various yard chores. No need to for anything else.

Thanks for the video. This sure beats the hell out of buying one already finished. They’ve gone up even more in price since you posted this. It’s crazy.

Ive had the lodge double cooker you worked on for over 15 years. It is the campsite master piece of cookware for small groups. Zip tie the handles for transport. Never sanded it. It gets used 6 or so times a year for a week at a time. Breakfast lunch and dinner. Its by no means nonstick. But over time, use and cleaning it isn't rough. The season builds up. Right now im seasoning my Pit Boss double cooker 14"(avocado oil) 450* 45 minutes each run. 5 should do it. Its the set lodge should make. Not as rough as lodge but not smooth either. You need some roughness to hold those seasoned layers.

I was living here on Maui when these atrocities got erected and for one they ruined the beautiful natural ocean/mountain view especially from Kihei where they can be viewed clearly from and stand out like a sore thumb. Maui's electric rates are the second highest in the country, only second I believe to Kauai, Hawaii and there was rampant propaganda that these atrocities would definitely lower our electric bill and that was a complete lie. Actually our rates have gone up from the very get go of them coming into use!

just buy a Stargazer cast iron pan. Better quality iron and come with a satin/semi-smooth finish.

Link to disks please? Both

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I need to get my wife’s cast iron back in good shape, and I tried by hand the way I learned as a scout to refurbish and re-season. This will make the process so much quicker and better. Cheers mate.

Using a carriage bolt with a washer? Lol

NOTHINGS PERFECT...... NOT EVEN A PERFECT STRANGER!

I will try this on one of my pan - wet sanding with water proof sandpaper - to avoid breathing it in.

I just bought and used a polished cast iron pan and I don't like it for the first time. Here's why. I fried up a nice hamburger. Made a mess and was hard to clean after cooking the hamburger. The taste was not as good as a plain cast iron Pan! Not at all!The cheaper standard cast iron Pan was a 100 times better! I will try a few more times to see maybe i'm doing something wrong. And I might add it was an expensive ...... Smithey pan like two hundred and twenty five dollars !

Nice Job, Thanks

i just take a cheap whetstone, put a damp tea towel under the skillet, wet the stone and skillet, and grind the skillet back and forth in a 0 45 90 degree pattern. Works really well

All of my cast is Lodge. Lodge uses a type of sand to cream the mold for forming their cast products. I’ve never sanded any of them. I’ve found that after three seasoning cycles, theres no problems at all with the rough surface.

Did bro say that -4 was a nice day!?!? 😮😲😳😨😱

THANKS FOR SHARING

I don't get why you are wasting your time with a drill. You could have gotten a mirror finish without any pitting in under an hour if you started with an angle grinder with a sanding disc and then finished it with sandpaper and polishing paste

I did this a couple years ago. Seasoning doesn't stick as well. Comes off easily, even after seasoning it many times before using. I think maybe the newer stuff isn't the same metal content as older pans. I'm going to hit mine with a sand blaster to rough it back up and re-season it. Even when it is working, it isn't any less "non stick" than the original finish, well-seasoned. Looks prettier, though.