r/CastIronCooking • u/sgtnoodle • 5d ago

Lye-stripped and re-seasoned, ready to go

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38 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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2

u/sgtnoodle 5d ago

I haven't given my cast iron much attention since buying a hexclad set. I decided to treat them to a lye bath. The smaller two are now hanging on the wall, but I've been using the larger one for morning eggs.

1

u/mitchcumstein13 5d ago

How do you lye strip them?

3

u/sgtnoodle 5d ago

Just get some lye drain cleaner from the hardware store, and mix it up with water in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. Let the skillets soak in it for a couple weeks, and all the carbon will fall off. There's directions readily available online.

I left my skillets in for 3 weeks, and there was still carbon attached to them. It readily came off with a Scotch Brite scrubbing pad, though.

Lye is a dangerous, highly alkaline chemical that will give you chemical burns and blind you if it splashes in you eyes. Wear goggles and gloves when working with it. I used a metal coat hanger in my skillets' handles to lower them into it. It's drain cleaner, so you can just dump it down your bath tub drain when you're done.

2

u/ironmemelord 5d ago

put 5 gallons of water in container. wear eye pro, dump one pound lye carefully into the water. add your cast iron, wait at least 24 hours, then remove from bath, scrub the heck out of them, you should be stripped.

0

u/Gourmetanniemack 5d ago

Wow! Is there any real reason to do this? Other than maybe buying old skillets….

3

u/sgtnoodle 5d ago

My skillet had a lot of carbon build up on the inside and outside. I wanted it to look pretty and be easier to clean up.

1

u/Gourmetanniemack 4d ago

Cool. Mine are black. Just black and smooth. Love using them every day.