Cast Iron Rough vs. Smooth Debate Laid To Rest (For me anyway)

All things Lodge Cast Iron on Amazon - amzn.to/3Xq0CAI
Lodge Cast Iron is made to be used right out of the box. The "orange peel" texture is there to keep a firm, permanent grip on the seasoning, and smooth out over time as carbon and oil polymerize into a bond with the metal in all the little nooks and crannies.
In my experience with sanding a Lodge cast iron skillet smooth, you've removed it's ability to hold on to the seasoning. This means you must continuously season to prevent rust.
The rough cast iron vs smooth debate is laid to rest for me. Sanding cast iron smooth has always resulted in high maintenance. I just leave my Lodge cookware as-is, and they just get better with time.

[@brandall9481]

I sanded my $20 Lodge griddle with 40 grit, orbital palm sander. About 10 minutes. Knocked off the high points that always snagged paper towel and food. Re-seasoned like a champ. I love it now. A little sanding with 40 grit goes a long way and does not affect the pan's seasoning.

[@sodothehivesonhisleg]

I think a light sanding with 80 grit is appropriate for lodge. I do it anyway to improve the feel of the pan, sand down the casting edges on the handle etc

[@scottgraham1153]

I bought a 12' lodge Blacklock few months after they first came out, I absolutely love it. It's a little lighter and the cooling handle is longer. Making it a bit easier to handle. I personally think it's better that my Stargazer, and my field.in many applications.

[@maxcontax]

I have a $235 10” Stargazer, machined and a $29 10” Lodge, standard issue. They cook up identically. Sometimes it’s not the skillet, it’s the cook…I use and love both these pans.

[@jerkjoker1]

I was give a generic walmart brand cast iron pan as a gift since I had started getting really into cast iron cooking. It did pretty decently with the seasoning it had but In my experience it performed a lot better once I sanded and reseasoned it(and I didn't go for perfection) .high points mostly, left some low points. To each their own, happy cooking to all! 🍻🍻

[@spindiamond]

My first cast iron skillet was a Amazon Basics and it was rough. I sanded down the high points to about an orange peel texture and re-seasoned it. Currently the easiest pan I have in my kitchen to season and maintain and I have a couple Wagners.

[@murmenaattori6]

Exactly as it should. Only smooth out the high casting defects. And if finished smooth, it should be scored to create some texture.

[@Welderman007]

I have three pieces of lodge cast iron, I have sanded all of them enough to take the roughness away but still left a texture, ( Don't go until it's absolutely smooth). I reseasoned them and they went from 3 pans that I hated to 3 pans that I love.

[@locker1325]

The man tells the truth. I still like the idea of some minor buffing.

[@1gx619]

I think Cowboy Kent Rollins might disagree with you on this one. However, he too does say to NOT sand it down too much. Maybe that was your mistake?

[@mjc4942]

I think I like what he CKR has done. Just knock the high spots down. Then season again.

[@torfinnjohnsrud793]

My 12 inch lodge skillet will skate eggs and I've never done any sanding. Just seasoning and use. Smoother might be aesthetic, but I have zero performance issues with regular lodge surfaces

[@j.d.mandrell5985]

100% with you here, have several new Lodge, and even some imported cast iron pans that are similar, and there is absolutely no need to sand them down. Just give them a few rounds of seasoning and then USE it to cook some bacon or ground beef, and you'll have a great non-stick piece, good to go!

[@lodgecastirondude]

Amen brother!

[@ZCRAIZED1]

I have not had that experience at all.

[@jerrym3261]

With your ruined skillet, if you go back to basic cooking with cast iron; clean pan, put it on at the temperature setting where it cooks best (a low medium low), let it heat to temperature. add oil, let that come up to temperature, add your food, does it work? Personally, I'd like to find a pan that doesn't accumulate seasoning. I'm 99% sure I would have no problems cooking in your ruined pan. If it's sticky, I would remove that and not season it.

[@paultharp4626]

Hand sanded my lodge with 80 grit > looks and performs beautifully

[@rospencer611]

If you had access to a sandblasting or alumina blast booth you could probably salvage the smooth pan with a coarse grit blast. Then thoroughly clean and re-season. Sand would be better since you probably wouldn't want aluminum oxide imbedding into the iron and promoting corrosion. You wouldn't get that with sand. I've also tried both ways on Lodge and can agree the rougher surface actually works better than mirror smooth in terms of seasoning retention and cooking performance. I'm guessing the rough surface probably retains a tiny amount of cooking oil in the 'valleys' and the food only physically contacts a small portion of the pan at the 'peaks', which minimizes adhesion.

[@lodgecastirondude]

Yes, many suggest sandblasting, which does sound like it would work. But then, why sand a pan smooth, then sandblast it to make it rough again? Why not just leave it rough LOL. And this is why this whole debate has been laid to rest in my mind. It was actually laid to rest many years ago for me. But I needed content LOL.

[@john767687]

I sanded a lodge smooth and like yours it just wouldn't hold seasoning. I used vinegar to etch the inside of the pan and now it holds seasoning well and is still smooth like vintage pan.

[@lodgecastirondude]

Interesting. I used vinegar also. It held seasoning for an extra few uses, but still eventually wore off.

[@brandall9481]

how long did you etch the pan? Details? I bought a Stargazer, which comes from the factory way over polished; does not hold seasoning. I'm thinking about etching it....

[@brianh2287]

This totally triggers me as well. I agree with you 100% . I had a friend that bought a cast iron for the first time and he was going to sand his down. When he told me this, I just showed him how to use it, and he says he has never had a problem since. I did leave a comment on your other video about it not being cruelty free. All in jest of course. 😀

[@chartriedangpotichar5161]

I tried both way it worked for me

[@RRaucina]

Steel pellet shot blasting might give a great surface for seasoning. Lodge likely shot blasts them just out of the moulds, but I don't know the medium used

[@chmasy4437]

Sand blast the smooth pan It will create a surface that will accept a season.

[@fbeaston]

Lodge gets smoother over time. Never sand as you found out.

[@lodgecastirondude]

Yes, I found that out many years ago. But I smoothed out that pan for the video to prove the point. Thanks for commenting!

[@terrencetwohig7547]

You started out a lil scary but I agree. Sanding is a waste of time on Lodge. The Walmart stuff I have done a little n it worked out fine. Keep ‘em coming Brother

[@mistertor]

I have a couple no name skillets that probably came from China, and they actually have little concentric ridges throughout the whole cooking surface. I have seasoned them up and the ridges have not bothered anything.

[@lodgecastirondude]

Interesting. Probably the ridges are intended to help hold seasoning as well as make it more non-stick.

[@corpsie666]

Sanding so that a pan doesn't snag paper towel is 100% worth it. Anything beyond that is user preference.

[@kitten375]

So, I just bought my first cast iron pan ever. It's a pre-seasoned Lodge, 10 in. I'm afraid to even start using it. Haven't even removed the sticker. It feels so rough. Many videos have assured me that the tiny black specks that will appear in my food are normal and not harmful. My question is, will this always be the case after some use and the required seasoning? Will there always be black specks in my scrambled eggs? Help.

[@mjc4942]

Congratulations. I don't think you'll always have black specks. Once you get used to cooking with it I think you'll love it. Just takes some getting used to it. You lightly clean it soon after use. Most of the time I'll use paper towel to scrub with just water. Then dry and sometimes a thin coat of oil. Sometimes you have to season back up. It's you like corn bread you'll love it baked it cast iron.

[@Alienking01]

I wonder how sandblasting would fare against 80 grid when it comes to seasoning sticking to it.

[@GilaMonster971]

There is minimal difference when cooking with my smooth antiques and a well seasoned cheap pan.

[@youztuber5000]

I used some 80 grit to smooth out the high points my spatula was catching on after the factory seasoning rinsed off in the sink 🙄 I didn't smooth it out a lot as I had heard online that mirror polishing caused seasoning to flake and didn't improve cooking performance. So far so good, I find the seasoning process fun.

[@castironkev]

🍳👏🍳

[@davidyummus6259]

Dimples in the cast iron pan means LESS contact area for sticky protein like Eggs AND gives you pockets for hot fat :) The absence of common sense these days is alarming lol. I don't cook eggs in cast iron anyway,... Yes, I cook them on medium heat in Teflon because Teflon is fine at low to medium heat.

[@lodgecastirondude]

Right on! Thanks for chiming in bro. Happy cooking!

[@warrenfantom666]

I think the environmental impact of producing Teflon is more of a problem than any immediate health risks (Teflon is explicitly designed to NOT react with anything, so any ingestion would probably be harmless). As you said, high heat off gassing is an issue. I personally would rather just have one pan that does everything that won’t end up in a landfill after 3 years. Some basic temperature control and cast iron does nearly everything I ask it to

[@MaxFeken]

I agree, love my lodge (for frying, searing meat, dry roasting dried Mexican peppers and cooking cornbread) but i'm breaking out the non-stick pan for eggs. Just don't pay alot of money for non-stick and keep the temp below med-high and don't preheat).