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Comment by BooneJS | Hacker News Reader

Anyone try to physically polish cast iron? My Lodge pans are well seasoned but still have a rough surface area that can cause bits to catch.

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Yes, I used a DA orbital sander (pneumatic) to remove all the rough surface from the inside base of a Lodge pan. This, of course, removed the seasoned finish. The new surface was harder to season (took several months to get a uniform surface with no spots that would wear off under scraping/abrasion), but it's very capable now. I prefer it to the rough stock surface.

Wear a respirator unless you want to taste rust every time you breathe for several days.

Get a Carbon Steel pan instead.

These are similar metal composition to cast iron, where you can season them with oils, but are forged (ie pressed) into shape, rather than cast. So you get a smooth surface, which is easier for non-stick use and lighter weight.

Carbon steel are better for eggs, omelettes, etc, but cast iron are often better for steaks/meats, because they retain heat better. There are tons of videos on Youtube if you are curious.

I have done it. I picked a lodge cast iron off of a stoop once and it had started to rust. I used fine grit sandpaper in an electric sander and got a decent result. Compared to the other lodge pan that I bought new, the one I polished is smoother and nicer to use.

[edit]: I did not polish it nearly as much as the mirror finished ones in the link nearby. I only did the cooking surface, and probably worked on it for 15 minutes.

I would like to know as well.

A 12" Lodge skillet costs $30 [1].

A mirror-polished 12" Lodge skillet costs an eye-watering $250 [2].

Even if this is a special case, what is it about the polishing process that adds $100 or more to the base cost? I'd be interested to hear from anyone in the know.

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[1] https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/round-cast-iron-classi...

[2] https://www.summershinemetalpolishing.com/product-page/mirro...

Supply and demand?

It takes small flap/disk sanders, lots of flaps/disks, and lots of time. Just taking off the high spots takes 10-15 minutes. A mirror finish requires working through progressively finer polishing compounds and can be quite time consuming, particularly in the spots harder to reach with power/pneumatic tools (like the transition between the base of the pan and the walls).

Edit: Given the text on the site, it appears this is a single individual craftsman polishing those pans, which likely also contributes.

seems the polishing is done by a second party. by the website's own text, they are made to order. 250 for something an individual probably spends an hour or two on is not that bad in terms of price.

Dont do this.

Get a carbon steel pan instead. Same material as wok's, and they will take a seasoning.

I like the BelleVie, because it hits the mark on cost/quality, but you have to be accepting of a slightly uneven seasoning, or strip them once a year and start over (spring cleaning project).

Carbon steel is a great choice for light cookware and general use (i.e., what you'd use a Teflon pan for), but cast iron beats it handily for e.g., searing or use over a fire. Cast takes longer to heat (and to develop even heat), but it has a high thermal mass (resists variation in heating) and is happy to dump that heat quickly into e.g., a steak.

Especially since you can just get a carbon steel pan for 50

Polishing likely isn't required, but there are cast iron pans out there with a milled surface that seem to be a good compromise. That said, food sticking is mostly due to proteins bonding to the surface, so I'm not sure how important surface roughness is. I also have a carbon steel pan which is quite smooth, and I've not been able to get a seasoning on it that is as good as my cast iron pan so the cast iron remains more non-stick.

I tried this. It was a huge pain in the ass, made a big mess, took a lot of time, and still isn’t perfect. It definitely has a better nonstick surface now, but while I’m usually inclined to be cheap and do things myself, I might spring for a pre-polished one in the future.

Either deglaze with water and scrub with a wooden spoon or try hot water and a bamboo brush or add a bit salt and scrub it with a sponge.

Generally the more you use it the better it gets.

The JWST folks contacted me about my mirror-finish cast iron. Eggs still stick.

I went through about a dozen different seasoning formulas from reddit. Still stick. Someone then insisted my #10 Lodge must be from the 40s when the iron had too much boron or whatever because of war shortages. Really.

Every conspiracy in modern times is a distraction effort from the only real one: seasoning doesn’t work.

I’m sure a few of them will show up here. They’re everywhere.

Not really sure what half of what you said actually means, but you can get excellent results with a cheapo lodge, grapeseed seasoning and cooking with butter. I'm lazy as hell, and it typically lasts me many months of effectively non-stick cooking. You can't cook acids with it, but I'm not sure where you've gotten the idea that seasoning doesn't work. Perhaps you haven't been able to make it work yet?

Vintage cast iron pans have a smoother surface

Some modern, e.g., Stargazer, pans also have a smoother surface, though with the requisite price bump due to the extra care and finishing needed post-casting.

Thrift store/"buried in the back yard" pans are still my preference.

I clean mine with steel wool, which does the same thing as polishing. Works like a charm

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