How do you renew the surface of your damaged cast iron skillet?

Answer 1

Clean the skillet of any residual grease, oil, food particles with a dish soap and fine steel wool. Allow to dry. Then apply a light coating of a vegetable based cooking oil. Allow to sit for a couple hours to several days - applying light heat will allow penetration of the oil more quickly. Then wipe it clean of any excess oil and it is ready for use.

Answer 2

first, scrub the skillet down to the bare dark grey metal, using fine steel wool. Then rinse well and dry it thoroughly. When it is very dry, warm it up on the rangetop on medium heat, not so hot that you can't touch it. Wipe some vegetable shortening all over the pan to form an even coat. You can do the outside with a thin coat, too. Then, put the pan in a slow oven, about 250degrees Fahrenheit, for an hour or two. After one hour, you should wipe the pan quickly to even out the oily coating. When the pan looks quite black and dryish, or when you are tired of the smell, turn the oven off and let the pan cool down. You might have to wipe any excess drips. To maintain this nonstick coating, never use soap when you clean your pan, just hot water. Rub a bit of oil or grease on the pan after you dry it, almost every time you use it. I always heat my pan to dry it, but just a bit. If the pan gets pale grey or even a bit rusty, scrub it down, dry it and grease it again.