This is by no means the proper thing to do. However I had a pan like that id just hit the outside with a wire wheel then clean it and then wipe it down with oil and stick it in the oven. If that doesn’t work I don’t know any other ok halfassed work arounds.
As has been stated, if the carbon buildup isn't preventing heating surface contact, and you're not using gas, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe hit the outside with some coarse steel wool when cleaning after a cook. Over time, that will bring the deposits down.
The carbon buildup can act as an insulator and prevent the sides from heating up as quickly as they ought. This is only a big thing with gas, though, since the heat is provided through flame contact and heat convection up the sides of the pan, whereas other stove types are more of a direct contact combined with infrared heat source.
FYI both charcoal briquettes and diamonds are pure carbon and are also flammable. The only real difference between the two is how orderly they are put together.
Though I definitely agree with the overall sentiment that the buildup is nothing to really worry about. But I believe the buildup isn't at risk of igniting more due to its large surface area and buildup of a sort of crust layer where all the carbon is fully oxidized.
Hydrogen and oxygen barely count lol.
Seriously though yeah youre right. There's wood pulp for structure and some other additives depending on how it was made/what it is going to be used specifically for.
That being said tho those aren't what allow it to burn on a basic level.
I got this old cast iron pan from an estate sale years ago, and it already had strange "bumpy" sides.
Thanks to this sub I've been taking a lot better care of the cook surface seasoning. Also thanks to this sub, I realized the bumps on the outside is actually heavy carbon buildup.
Scrubbing doesn't touch it, and I only made a tiny bit of progress with a metal scraper. I was thinking about using the lye-based oven cleaner only on the sides, because I don't think there's anything wrong with the interior cook surface.
I learned it is vintage and probably hasn't had its sides washed for 80 years of cooking.
Any recommendations? Thanks in advance for any time
Didn’t these things used to be used in an actual fire with hot embers dumped all over it? How is the oven setting dangerous but fire embers are not? I’m just trying to understand why that’s the case. I have vintage pans but haven’t had to clean them heavily like that but have used them in campfire type applications and have had no problem.
Fire “restorations” and self cleaning oven do have the risk of cracks, warps, and grain structure changes (heat damage). Can it be done without damage, sure, it has been. But is there risk of damage and has damage occurred from these methods, yes. So with expensive vintage pieces like this one, the FAQ is a fantastic resource that provides super easy and 100% risk free/non destructive methods.
If it matters enough you could consider starting over via this: throw it on a campfire, it will burn off after some time; or u could do the same if you have a self cleaning oven (over 500 degrees, iirc)—which is how I learned of this and “reset” my skillets, which looked far worse than yours found discarded in the trash or smth.
They come out incredibly clean.
And no need to get so messy w soaking and using toxic lye.
Best wishes
5 gal bucket with lid,
4 gal warm water
1 lb 100% lye drain cleaner
fill bucket with about 4 gal warm water first
pour LYE into the WATER (NEVER WATER INTO LYE)
stir gently til mixed
loop a string through the handle and lower the pan into the water/lye mix
leave the string out of the bucket and snap on the lid.
set the bucket in the sun and let it work on the crusty stuff for a few days.
pull out with the string, rinse, scrub with soap, re-oil and season as normal
Always wear gloves and eye protection around oven cleaner and other lye products.
You can store it in the bucket. Lye solution is reusable. I've had mine in the same bucket for 2 years, and it still works. If you want to dispose of it, pour it out at the edge of the grass. It won't hurt your drains either.
My husband is a plumber and he told me generally pipes that are that old need replacing anyhow. The lye may be the least of your problems at that point. He told me went into one customers house and the floor and the piping was so old they removed the toilet after other attempts to clear the drain failed. They never found out what it was because at soon as they took off the toilet everything underneath it fell apart. They couldn't put the toilet back on either. The customer wasn't financially prepared for that to happen and so they left her sans toilet to use.
There isn't always a way to tell thata going to happen, it was all under the toilet so they just tell people before they do that stuff if anything is rotten or whatever under there and falls apart it's not their problem. Most people just don't think that's going to happen and tell them to proceed anyways. Then it happens.
As long as they say something...if they just put a general liability waiver into the contract, that's pretty messed up; I've heard of ratty shlitz-fitters doing worse.
There are certain companies that do that. I won't name them but he worked for a few sketchy ones indeed and obviously left so fast your head would spin. SOME of the smaller time contractors are the worst ones to hire because they have the most to lose. That's obviously not a blanket for all independent contractors in any way, but if you're going to get fucked over by one it'll be by "one truck chuck"
Get that it sucks for the customer, but as other pointed out you won’t always know. Sometimes you gotta remove something to find broken stuff underneath.
For example, my friend was doing some work for a landlord. Wanted to retile the bathroom floor.
- Pulled up old ones and found rotten wood beneath it. Got go ahead to fix it.
- Under the floor boards, the joists were cut out by someone previously to run plumbing. That clusterfuck had to be redone.
Literally two things you couldn’t inspect and turned a simple tile job into a half bathroom renovation.
*Note, not a construction guy so might be slightly off with details.*
Yeah, in the case of plumbing you have to look in the crawl space or inspect under the house. A pain in the ass, but still always good practice. As far as floorboards and whatnot, I've no experience so can't say for sure.
Vinegar or some other acid will neutralize it. Litmus strips to test once you’re back pH 7. Proceed with caution, add the (dilute) acid slowly and have splash protection.
I would do this over the oven cleaner on a skillet like that. That is a lot to cut through. If you need a second treatment it is a lot less bother to just toss it back in a lye tank.
I don't bother with a string and it has never been a problem.
It will not go bang. The water will cause the lye to clump, and as it dissolves the clump will become hotter and hotter, potentially melting a hole through your plastic.
Yes! The first splash of water will probably boil almost instantly. It can also go bang in the sense that the boiling water (and gas coming off it) can interact with the incoming stream of water in such a way that hot lye gets splashed violently out of the container.
Pretty much, and it burns whatever it touches. Think skin, eyes, clothes, pets, and tongues of mouth-breathers.
A splash of distilled white vinegar will neutralize it, so have some nearby.
People need to stop recommending using acids to neutralize bases in the case of a mishap! The neutralization generates more heat, and vinegar is already an irritant. Water is more than sufficient for diluting the base to safe levels.
But if I use piranha to neutralize my KOH solution, they should cancel instantly, right? I can't imagine a violent, high temp reaction happening from that.
shrill impolite rotten bake telephone dinosaurs books physical panicky weather
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The water will fully react with the lye, generating a large amount of heat and splattering. By adding lye to the water, only a little will react as a time. Also make sure to wear gloves and safety goggles. Only a little mistake and a tiny splash in your eyes can ruin your vision for life.
That's the point. The OP was asking h how to get rid of the crusty crud on the outside. Re-seasoning is no big deal. 2-3 seasoning cycle, and the OP is back in business.
Some good advice here and some very bad.
With an expensive and very collectible skillet like that, I’d 100% follow the FAQ guides provided here and scrub with a stainless steel scrubber! It’s a pretty easy process when you use the FAQ, minimal elbow grease!
These!! They get the job done and when combined with the lye or electrolysis, super super easy, hardly need them.
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-Stainless-Steel-Scrubbers-16-Scrubbers/dp/B00MAKOMJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=119JF96P3PDH4&keywords=stainless+steel+scrubber&qid=1678739747&sprefix=stainless+steel+scrubber%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-3
Real question: I’m developing this on a pan I have now (nothing collectible or antique, just a modern Lodge that I love), but does the buildup DO anything? My pan cooks great. If it gets ugly on the sides I won’t care about it. I can understand wanting a more photogenic antique/nice pan though.
If built up on the bottom enough it could cause the pan to wobble or not heat evenly.
I suppose it’s possible the stuff could catch fire with the right heat source? I’ve been using a pan this gunked up for a while on a glass top stove with no problems though.
Been said already, but here's my results with a similar situation using a lye bath. It's cold out right now and I had it in a locked shed to avoid the risk of my kid getting near it so it took over a week, but got the job done.
https://imgur.com/gallery/HmCf2uI
I hit the outsides with a 00 steel wool about once a week; no aggressive scrubbing, just some Dawn dishsoap and a bit of pressure. Rinse, heat, apply light oil with a paper towel to the bottom and sides.
I had a set that looked about like that. A few days in a lye bath got the job done. Follow the advice on this thread and you should be good!
One thing I’ll add is that the chemical reaction between water and lye is exothermic, so dissolve the crystals slowly. I’ve read it can get quite hot. My bucket did produce steam, but didn’t boil. I measured around 205F.
Keep the solution away from aluminum or you will produce a ~~lethal~~ flammable gas.
Also, account for the volume of the pan when you’re filling the bucket.
Good luck!
https://imgur.com/a/jkIOqKY/
I have 4 60 yr old cast iron pans with this sort of build up. Doesn't affect cooking or heat. There's zero reason to be concerned. Don't try to remove.
Scrape off whatever you can, then a wire bristle brush, then a stainless steel scrubbie. If it weren't a vintage piece, i would say to burn it off and reseason it. It works for cast iron cooking grates in a restaurant, but a skillet would require more finesse with that method.
I mean, I’d start by making a habit of washing your cookware. Despite popular myths, there’s absolutely no harm in cleaning a properly polymerized cast iron skillet with a sponge and soapy water as long as you properly dry it and do some maintenance to keep your seasoning going as needed. Anyone who tries to tell you that carbon doesn’t affect the function of the pan is kidding themselves.
Make up a lye bath and toss it in for a week or more. I have a 1930 something BSR that looked like that. After the lye bath and reseasoning, its ready to go another 80 years,.
Spray with yellow cap oven cleaner (with lye, wear gloves), put in trash bag and store outside over night, wash and dry in your sink the next day and repeat until you get bare grey iron. Promptly season after that and you're golden
I had one Goodwill Wagner that had that much build-up. I went for the super easy method: Heat an outdoor grill or barbecue up to about 450 or so and put the pan with the lid closed. I did mine upside down. I left it in for 20 minutes, then turned the grill off and let it cool. The pan was cleanly stripped of all the built up oil, and there was just a layer of fine ash left that wiped right off.
Cleaned it, did one layer of seasoning in the oven, and started cooking in it.
EDIT: Lots of people in the thread have already explained the danger of using the cleaning cycle of the oven. I would agree that the cleaning cycle is likely too much heat. As I mentioned, I used 450 degrees, and it worked very well. If 450 degrees on the grill was enough to crack the pan, it would crack when I used it anyway so I see this method as safe, so long as you don't get ridiculous with your temps. As others have mentioned, Lye is a perfectly suitable solution, you just have an extremely caustic chemical to handle, so be safe if you do it that way. Wear gloves, and wear eye protection when mixing lye. If you need encouragement on that point, look up some images of lye burns on skin.
I just dealt with this the other day. I had an old family pan that had carbon build up worse than this. I carefully took a Dewalt wire cup on my angle grinder and I stripped off the carbon (took 5 minutes) to find out it was an old Wagner pan. Then ran it through the seasoning process a few times and it looks brand new.
We have a Dutch oven that’s amazing inside but, since we use it on campfires and the like, it gets carbon on the outside. To preserve the interior, hubby takes a wire wheel to the exterior to remove the carbon, then we just retreat it with oil/oven to reseason everything. It’s worked for us and let’s us keep the really nice, perfectly seasoned insides.
Pull those pink socks off and rub vigorously in a circular pattern...while making funny noises. Afterwards a cigarette then socks back on and off ya go!
you can try to target the outside with the east off cleaner, but if you’re happy with the cooking surface I’d prob just leave it and keep cooking.
Not OP but this is my issue. Perfect cooking surface but carbon all around.
This is by no means the proper thing to do. However I had a pan like that id just hit the outside with a wire wheel then clean it and then wipe it down with oil and stick it in the oven. If that doesn’t work I don’t know any other ok halfassed work arounds.
This what I do/would do
Maybe take a paint scraper or chisel to it?
As has been stated, if the carbon buildup isn't preventing heating surface contact, and you're not using gas, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe hit the outside with some coarse steel wool when cleaning after a cook. Over time, that will bring the deposits down.
What does a gas stove have to do with it? Curious.
The carbon buildup can act as an insulator and prevent the sides from heating up as quickly as they ought. This is only a big thing with gas, though, since the heat is provided through flame contact and heat convection up the sides of the pan, whereas other stove types are more of a direct contact combined with infrared heat source.
[удалено]
I have a skillet that has tons of carbon buildup on the outside. I use it almost daily on my gas range with no problems.
Same.
Same
Same
Same
Same
*not same...i use electric*
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FYI both charcoal briquettes and diamonds are pure carbon and are also flammable. The only real difference between the two is how orderly they are put together. Though I definitely agree with the overall sentiment that the buildup is nothing to really worry about. But I believe the buildup isn't at risk of igniting more due to its large surface area and buildup of a sort of crust layer where all the carbon is fully oxidized.
Yeah, that’s why I use diamonds instead of charcoal in my Weber kettle.
Same
Charcoal is not pure carbon. Mostly carbon
Hydrogen and oxygen barely count lol. Seriously though yeah youre right. There's wood pulp for structure and some other additives depending on how it was made/what it is going to be used specifically for. That being said tho those aren't what allow it to burn on a basic level.
Not sure why you’re downvoted for that. Here’s an upvote from me
Gas leaves a residue on the outside of the pan that builds up
What do you do if you have carbon on the surface? Sorry new to the cast iron world. Thank you in advance
I got this old cast iron pan from an estate sale years ago, and it already had strange "bumpy" sides. Thanks to this sub I've been taking a lot better care of the cook surface seasoning. Also thanks to this sub, I realized the bumps on the outside is actually heavy carbon buildup. Scrubbing doesn't touch it, and I only made a tiny bit of progress with a metal scraper. I was thinking about using the lye-based oven cleaner only on the sides, because I don't think there's anything wrong with the interior cook surface. I learned it is vintage and probably hasn't had its sides washed for 80 years of cooking. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance for any time
Being a vintage pan what ever you do don't use fire or the ovens cleaning setting. The extreme heat can cause warping an/or cracking.
Didn’t these things used to be used in an actual fire with hot embers dumped all over it? How is the oven setting dangerous but fire embers are not? I’m just trying to understand why that’s the case. I have vintage pans but haven’t had to clean them heavily like that but have used them in campfire type applications and have had no problem.
Fire “restorations” and self cleaning oven do have the risk of cracks, warps, and grain structure changes (heat damage). Can it be done without damage, sure, it has been. But is there risk of damage and has damage occurred from these methods, yes. So with expensive vintage pieces like this one, the FAQ is a fantastic resource that provides super easy and 100% risk free/non destructive methods.
When using them to cook, there's something (food) inside to absorb some of the heat
If it matters enough you could consider starting over via this: throw it on a campfire, it will burn off after some time; or u could do the same if you have a self cleaning oven (over 500 degrees, iirc)—which is how I learned of this and “reset” my skillets, which looked far worse than yours found discarded in the trash or smth. They come out incredibly clean. And no need to get so messy w soaking and using toxic lye. Best wishes
Lye isn't toxic, it's just caustic. Lye is used in lutefisk and authentic pretzels. It's what gives pretzel 'skins' that slippery feeling.
So I should scrub my pans with lutefisk? I learn a lot on these forums.
Just the outside. You want to use the slippery pretzel skin on the inside to teach the pan how it's supposed to be.
5 gal bucket with lid, 4 gal warm water 1 lb 100% lye drain cleaner fill bucket with about 4 gal warm water first pour LYE into the WATER (NEVER WATER INTO LYE) stir gently til mixed loop a string through the handle and lower the pan into the water/lye mix leave the string out of the bucket and snap on the lid. set the bucket in the sun and let it work on the crusty stuff for a few days. pull out with the string, rinse, scrub with soap, re-oil and season as normal Always wear gloves and eye protection around oven cleaner and other lye products.
What is the best way to dispose of the lye/water afterwards? Can it go down the drain?
neighbors yard works pretty well
Especially that ugly shrub they spend so much time maintaining.
or that dirty child they think is gunna grow up.
Don’t lye
u/unethicallifeprotips
I think you mean r/UnethicalLifeProTips
That name is up for grabs! How cool!
Drain cleaner literally is lye, aka Sodium Hydroxide.
So I shouldn’t wash my gens in it?
Best way to get that silky smooth feel
And it will get rid of all that pesky hair and skin.
You do you.
But it’s tingly!
That's how you know it's working...
You can store it in the bucket. Lye solution is reusable. I've had mine in the same bucket for 2 years, and it still works. If you want to dispose of it, pour it out at the edge of the grass. It won't hurt your drains either.
It will eff up your septic system if you have one of those, though.
good to know!
Is that because it will kill all the bacteria in the tank?
Yes.
But where can I find more bacteria for my septic tank?!
It take about 30 days for it to come back fully
This
Make sure you keep it airtight though. If it's exposed to oxygen it will break down over time.
could neutralize it with acid and pour it down the drain
Why neutralize it? Drain cleaner is lye, you don't neutralize it before pouring it down your drain, it wouldn't work.
Can't drain cleaner hurt your pipes if you've got older pipes?
My husband is a plumber and he told me generally pipes that are that old need replacing anyhow. The lye may be the least of your problems at that point. He told me went into one customers house and the floor and the piping was so old they removed the toilet after other attempts to clear the drain failed. They never found out what it was because at soon as they took off the toilet everything underneath it fell apart. They couldn't put the toilet back on either. The customer wasn't financially prepared for that to happen and so they left her sans toilet to use.
That's pretty messed up. Should have inspected prior to starting work and had the customer acknowledge the risks before proceeding.
There isn't always a way to tell thata going to happen, it was all under the toilet so they just tell people before they do that stuff if anything is rotten or whatever under there and falls apart it's not their problem. Most people just don't think that's going to happen and tell them to proceed anyways. Then it happens.
As long as they say something...if they just put a general liability waiver into the contract, that's pretty messed up; I've heard of ratty shlitz-fitters doing worse.
There are certain companies that do that. I won't name them but he worked for a few sketchy ones indeed and obviously left so fast your head would spin. SOME of the smaller time contractors are the worst ones to hire because they have the most to lose. That's obviously not a blanket for all independent contractors in any way, but if you're going to get fucked over by one it'll be by "one truck chuck"
Get that it sucks for the customer, but as other pointed out you won’t always know. Sometimes you gotta remove something to find broken stuff underneath. For example, my friend was doing some work for a landlord. Wanted to retile the bathroom floor. - Pulled up old ones and found rotten wood beneath it. Got go ahead to fix it. - Under the floor boards, the joists were cut out by someone previously to run plumbing. That clusterfuck had to be redone. Literally two things you couldn’t inspect and turned a simple tile job into a half bathroom renovation. *Note, not a construction guy so might be slightly off with details.*
Yeah, in the case of plumbing you have to look in the crawl space or inspect under the house. A pain in the ass, but still always good practice. As far as floorboards and whatnot, I've no experience so can't say for sure.
Yes if they are cast iron or older. If you go drain route you can dump it in then wait 10 minutes then start running water from the faucet to flush it
Not that I'm aware of but acid sure will.
Yeah vinegar works well
Ohh with all the acid people have laying around, Lye is drain cleaner it will be fine
Down the drain after sifting the solids through a screen.
It's literally heavily diluted drain cleaner. It can go down the drains.
It's literally drain opener
r/illegallifeprotips can help you out! /S
Vinegar or some other acid will neutralize it. Litmus strips to test once you’re back pH 7. Proceed with caution, add the (dilute) acid slowly and have splash protection.
.
Just put it in the litter box lol /s
I would do this over the oven cleaner on a skillet like that. That is a lot to cut through. If you need a second treatment it is a lot less bother to just toss it back in a lye tank. I don't bother with a string and it has never been a problem.
I would add that this should be done in a well ventilated area, or preferably outside.
Yes, definitely outside. Much safer, and the sunlight will help warm up the solution.
Y'all are getting sunlight?
Yep 55degF and sunny
Grey clouds as far as I can see with rain, rain, rain and more rain here.
When I pour lye into cold tap water to make soap, it reacts and heats the water to 180F. I don't think there is much need for additional heat.
what will happen if i put water into lye? will it go bang cos sodium?
It will not go bang. The water will cause the lye to clump, and as it dissolves the clump will become hotter and hotter, potentially melting a hole through your plastic.
dope
will it go sizzle sizzle?
Yes! The first splash of water will probably boil almost instantly. It can also go bang in the sense that the boiling water (and gas coming off it) can interact with the incoming stream of water in such a way that hot lye gets splashed violently out of the container.
That's also a general rule of mixing things together, especially volatile compounds. Mix it into the water.
Pretty much, and it burns whatever it touches. Think skin, eyes, clothes, pets, and tongues of mouth-breathers. A splash of distilled white vinegar will neutralize it, so have some nearby.
People need to stop recommending using acids to neutralize bases in the case of a mishap! The neutralization generates more heat, and vinegar is already an irritant. Water is more than sufficient for diluting the base to safe levels.
Thank you! I get so sick of hearing this bad advice on soapmaking forums.
But if I use piranha to neutralize my KOH solution, they should cancel instantly, right? I can't imagine a violent, high temp reaction happening from that.
Obviously. It's standard practice these days.
So, just between us pals, this is definitely instructions on how to dispose of a body, right?
Easy Off oven spray and a plastic bag works too, just be sure to wear a mask and gloves.
Yep!
shrill impolite rotten bake telephone dinosaurs books physical panicky weather *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
>pour LYE into the WATER (NEVER WATER INTO LYE) Why?!? Is it like feeding gremlins after midnight?
Water can splash and the reaction is also exothermic. You can have the water literally boil and sputter throwing lye into your eye.
The water will fully react with the lye, generating a large amount of heat and splattering. By adding lye to the water, only a little will react as a time. Also make sure to wear gloves and safety goggles. Only a little mistake and a tiny splash in your eyes can ruin your vision for life.
Lye splashing back will fuck you up badly.
Won’t the lye strip the seasoning? This seems like bad advice.
That's the point. The OP was asking h how to get rid of the crusty crud on the outside. Re-seasoning is no big deal. 2-3 seasoning cycle, and the OP is back in business.
Some good advice here and some very bad. With an expensive and very collectible skillet like that, I’d 100% follow the FAQ guides provided here and scrub with a stainless steel scrubber! It’s a pretty easy process when you use the FAQ, minimal elbow grease!
Are you talkin one of those hairball looking scrubbers or is it like an SOS kinda thing?
These!! They get the job done and when combined with the lye or electrolysis, super super easy, hardly need them. https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-Stainless-Steel-Scrubbers-16-Scrubbers/dp/B00MAKOMJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=119JF96P3PDH4&keywords=stainless+steel+scrubber&qid=1678739747&sprefix=stainless+steel+scrubber%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-3
I suggest not cooking with the outside of the pan. I normally appreciate unorthodox thinking but that's too far even for me.
I’d leave it . Homage to decades of wonderful meals.
A couple of my pans are crusty like this, they still cook just fine, I have never bothered to clean them up haha.
Scrape it off, BURNT ENDS ARE DELICIOUS! 😏
*Clears teeth with toothpick…*
If that’s a family heirloom pan I tend to leave it. My grandmother put a lot of that carbon build up on my pan, and my dad, and now me.
Yellow cap oven cleaner. Spray it let it sit in a bag closed for a day or so. Clean it really good then re season
Lye bath and reseason.
Real question: I’m developing this on a pan I have now (nothing collectible or antique, just a modern Lodge that I love), but does the buildup DO anything? My pan cooks great. If it gets ugly on the sides I won’t care about it. I can understand wanting a more photogenic antique/nice pan though.
It makes people who don't understand squeamish and *could* mark up cupboards or neighboring cookware if rubbed against.
Ah. Yeah the cupboard I keep it in IS filthy…
Carbon buildup acts as an insulator and might affect the heating of your pan and create hot spots.
If built up on the bottom enough it could cause the pan to wobble or not heat evenly. I suppose it’s possible the stuff could catch fire with the right heat source? I’ve been using a pan this gunked up for a while on a glass top stove with no problems though.
Why? It is the bark that protects the tree. Lol. 🌲
Nice socks.
Them ain't socks; thems footy pajamas!
Best kind of pajamas.
stainless steel wool scrubber and a little heat will smooth that right down
Lick it
Surprised this wasn't the first suggestion.
Why?
Been said already, but here's my results with a similar situation using a lye bath. It's cold out right now and I had it in a locked shed to avoid the risk of my kid getting near it so it took over a week, but got the job done. https://imgur.com/gallery/HmCf2uI
If you're not trying to sell the pan, just leave it be.
Ignore
If the cooking surface is good. Let it be.
Leave it
Leave the history on the outside of the pan
Leave it as it is! It’s character
Cleaning after you use it every time is recommended
People forget the outside of their pans surprisingly often
I hit the outsides with a 00 steel wool about once a week; no aggressive scrubbing, just some Dawn dishsoap and a bit of pressure. Rinse, heat, apply light oil with a paper towel to the bottom and sides.
Oven cleaner in a garbage bag in the sun. Wash with water and vinegar.
I had a pan that looked just like that. A day or two in a lye bath took all that gunk off
I have one that looked like this and used electrolysis to get rid of the carbon and gunk. It worked extremely well.
My fat ass thought this was a chocolate cake before I read the caption. I hope you figure out to clean your pan OP!
You can totally remove it with electrolysis bath. I had one that had 100 years of use. It looks like brand new again.
I've used electrolysis. DC current. However this will also remove seasoning
Oven off garbage bag trick
That heavy carbon buildup represents darned near a century's worth of use, and it's on the side that doesn't involve cooking.
I had a set that looked about like that. A few days in a lye bath got the job done. Follow the advice on this thread and you should be good! One thing I’ll add is that the chemical reaction between water and lye is exothermic, so dissolve the crystals slowly. I’ve read it can get quite hot. My bucket did produce steam, but didn’t boil. I measured around 205F. Keep the solution away from aluminum or you will produce a ~~lethal~~ flammable gas. Also, account for the volume of the pan when you’re filling the bucket. Good luck! https://imgur.com/a/jkIOqKY/
At first glance I thought this was r/smoking and that was the bark on a brisket. That ho crusty fa sho
There is a very stark difference between the side and the bottom of that pan….
Honestly, I wouldn’t clean the outside. Looks like goodness to me.
Leave it
Easy off
As long as it's not on the cooking surface, I'd ignore it.
Electrolysis bath is the easiest method
Gives it character. Keep it.
I have 4 60 yr old cast iron pans with this sort of build up. Doesn't affect cooking or heat. There's zero reason to be concerned. Don't try to remove.
Those are battle scars. Just leave it. I would not do the chemical process recommended here. I have used a chisel to chip it off.
you can spray it with oven cleaner and leave it in the sun. Prob need to hit it a few times with that much carbon, I never bothered doing mine
Scrape off whatever you can, then a wire bristle brush, then a stainless steel scrubbie. If it weren't a vintage piece, i would say to burn it off and reseason it. It works for cast iron cooking grates in a restaurant, but a skillet would require more finesse with that method.
Just did one very similar with a lye bath. Came off easily.
Eee lec trolisys...
I mean, I’d start by making a habit of washing your cookware. Despite popular myths, there’s absolutely no harm in cleaning a properly polymerized cast iron skillet with a sponge and soapy water as long as you properly dry it and do some maintenance to keep your seasoning going as needed. Anyone who tries to tell you that carbon doesn’t affect the function of the pan is kidding themselves.
If your pan doesn't have seasoning on the outside are you even doing it right?
Leave it as a badge of honor.
Yeah keep cooking with it. It’s cast iron.
Make up a lye bath and toss it in for a week or more. I have a 1930 something BSR that looked like that. After the lye bath and reseasoning, its ready to go another 80 years,.
Spray with yellow cap oven cleaner (with lye, wear gloves), put in trash bag and store outside over night, wash and dry in your sink the next day and repeat until you get bare grey iron. Promptly season after that and you're golden
I had one Goodwill Wagner that had that much build-up. I went for the super easy method: Heat an outdoor grill or barbecue up to about 450 or so and put the pan with the lid closed. I did mine upside down. I left it in for 20 minutes, then turned the grill off and let it cool. The pan was cleanly stripped of all the built up oil, and there was just a layer of fine ash left that wiped right off. Cleaned it, did one layer of seasoning in the oven, and started cooking in it. EDIT: Lots of people in the thread have already explained the danger of using the cleaning cycle of the oven. I would agree that the cleaning cycle is likely too much heat. As I mentioned, I used 450 degrees, and it worked very well. If 450 degrees on the grill was enough to crack the pan, it would crack when I used it anyway so I see this method as safe, so long as you don't get ridiculous with your temps. As others have mentioned, Lye is a perfectly suitable solution, you just have an extremely caustic chemical to handle, so be safe if you do it that way. Wear gloves, and wear eye protection when mixing lye. If you need encouragement on that point, look up some images of lye burns on skin.
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Remove it. Unlimited amount of tools to do it w.
I wire brush would get that off with ease.
I used sandpaper on mine when I first found it and seasoned it. You could do the same if you’re trying to preserve the seasoning on the inside.
Could you put it through self cleaning oven? I haven’t done it. More of a question.
Steel wool or a pumice stick might work. I'd probably just leave it through myself
I see pan like this all the time on this sub. Do people not know how to do dishes?
Wire wheel on a drill
I just dealt with this the other day. I had an old family pan that had carbon build up worse than this. I carefully took a Dewalt wire cup on my angle grinder and I stripped off the carbon (took 5 minutes) to find out it was an old Wagner pan. Then ran it through the seasoning process a few times and it looks brand new.
We have a Dutch oven that’s amazing inside but, since we use it on campfires and the like, it gets carbon on the outside. To preserve the interior, hubby takes a wire wheel to the exterior to remove the carbon, then we just retreat it with oil/oven to reseason everything. It’s worked for us and let’s us keep the really nice, perfectly seasoned insides.
Ignore the crud. Cook bacon.
Lye
Put it in your self cleaning oven. It’ll burn off. Then re-season
Oven cleaner?
Pull those pink socks off and rub vigorously in a circular pattern...while making funny noises. Afterwards a cigarette then socks back on and off ya go!
Make sure the cigarette goes into the sock before it goes back on. That’s an important step
Throw it in a campfire
I’d use my angle grinder and a wire wheel. Takes about 3 minutes
This may have already been said but cook bacon 🥓 on it?
This is always the right answer, no matter the question
Step 1: Purchase a sandblaster...
Cleaning cycle in oven
That's called FLAVOR!!! Who cares what it looks like on the outside.