Second attempt at seasoning this old Lodge #castiron pan. Stripped with oven cleaner, used steel wool and sandpaper to get off as much of the old gunky seasoning as I could.
Used a method I found that seemed to make sense:
Preheat @ 200°F / 15 min
Apply coat of Crisco; wipe off excess
Back in the oven @ 300°F / 15 min
Wipe down again
In the oven third time @ 400°F / 2 hours
Let cool completely
Repeat process twice more
This is four times through. It's not turning any darker...
1/2
...but I like the copper color. At this point I'm just going to start cooking with it. For comparison, the pan on the right is a brand new pre-seasoned Victoria I've cooked on a few times.
I think this procedure is solid, as the two wipe downs prevented any pooling or built up spots during seasoning. You'll see the scratch marks which are a result of my sandpaper use and not being patient enough to step down to finer grits. But the pan feels glassy smooth.
@voltronic One top tip I saw is to put the pan in the oven, bottom up, over a drip tray.
From what they were saying, it allows any oil which *might* accumulate as it warms to drip away, leaving a more even finish.
Might be BS! 🤣
@stueytheround
I did that in the previous terrible seasoning cycles and now again in the from-bare-iron new seasoning cycles. I think this seasoning is quite even this go around; it's just a lighter color than I was expecting. But I'm going to have one more cycle a bit hotter as a few have recommended.