right now i have a old griswald 9'in frying pan
i dug out of the basement, been there a looong time
anyhow i'm using the random orbital sander to clean it.
the rest will have to be done by hand sanding.
the wagner 10'in&12'in i used to have many moons ago my sister filtched.
said i did'nt need so many pans. really.
i reall want another 10'in wagner like I used to have.
anyhow i should have this puppy up'an going in a few days.
so what are your favorite fry pans cast iron of course.
Next time, don't do that, unless it's pitted too badly to worry about damaging it.
If you have an electric stove put the pan in it on the middle rack, close the door and hit the self clean function, that will blast the pan with 800 plus degrees F which will burn off any old seasoning and food particulates, and do a number on caked up surface rust.
Once the oven is done the cycle and shuts down don't open the door, just let the pan stay in the oven until the oven and pan are cool to the touch, when that's done usually a good scrubbing with dish soap and steel wool or a brass scouring pad will get rid of the residue and left over surface rust.
I know quite a few people who have ruined the finish on Griswold and old Wagner cast iron cookware by using power tools or heavy grit sand papers to clean them up, I have one 12" Griswold Dutch Oven that was hung by a chain on a tripod out doors, filled with dirt, and served as a flower pot, for several years until I rescued it, it was caked with rust, the inside was rusted and pitted, it really looked beyond saving.
I took it home and washed it off with hot water and Tide laundry soap, then let it dry and built a fire in the backyard fire pit, when I got a good bed of coals going I placed the Dutch Oven close to the fire to warm for about half an hour, then placed it in the fire pit and fed the fire with more hardwood, when the pot was glowing cherry red I let the fire burn itself out and went to bed, the next morning it was cold, I brushed it off with a steel brush and washed it out with steel wool and dish soap the outside and inside walls of the pot and outside bottom were in very nice condition, the inside bottom finish of the pot was pretty badly pitted, I'd had have to grind off an 1/8" or more of the bottom to get past some of the pits.
Instead, I seasoned the pot and lid (which fortunately was found in a shed on the property in great condition), and I used it to slow roast a pork butt for pulled pork, I lined the Griswold with HD aluminum foil, gave it a spray of Pam and placed the seasoned pork roast in and put the lid on, then 16 hours @ 225*F. and we have a great juicy, tender, garlicy, fall apart roast pork and clean up was a breeze.
Over time I used the pitted vintage Dutch Oven for all manner of great meats, beans, chili's, and baked breads, it's always worked fine and cleaned up great, the pitting in the bottom never proved to be a problem after a good seasoning was baked in and maintained.
