I dont know what she does to the pot when I'm not around.
Will re-iterate..No Soap..paper towell and cooking oil.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

It's also important what not to cook in an iron skillet. Don't use it to make a tomato sauce , basically nothing that's acidic. After I'm done with cooking, I poure half a cup of water in the skillet, bring it to a boil, rinse it out with hot water and put it back on the stove to dry it. When cooking fish I add some salt to the boiling water, you don't want your steak to taste like salmon. After I've prepared bacon or a steak I don't even clean it, just wipe it clean with a paper towel before I use the skillet again. Together with good knives, the cast iron skillets are the foundation in my kitchen.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Excellant advise. Got the pot back to (kinda) where I want it yesterday..but reflecting on it, I think more prep work before I re-season it.
Dont want to do a half-azzed-rush job, and call it good.
Just limited by Not having an oven.
Have the gas burner, just dont want to rush it by cranking up the flame.
Will try low heat..then increase slowly.
See what that does.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

DO NOT MEDIA BLAST IT!!! You can clean it well with oven cleaner...spray liberally, then place in a black garbage bag, sealed, for a week or so in a warm area. If it needs a second treatment, then do it. After rinsing, place in a white vinegar/water bath to stop the flash rusting. Then, go about reseasoning it however you find best...I use bacon fat, and season it numerous times.

I have a side business where the wife and I pick up old CI items, clean and season them, then sell as users to those interested, or if they are old and interesting items, they are sold to collectors.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Supposedly walnut shell blasting works well on cast iron without damaging surface textures.

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Oven cleaner. My nephew suggested a chemical he sells to resteraunts/hotels. I wasnt 100% sure about it, but since you have used this with success, I'll have him bring me over gallon of the stuff to keep on hand.
While the elbow grease method does work..it is Very time consuming.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

That's the fun part of it, it becomes your kitchen "baby".

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

After it is back to being useable, wiping a thin coating of bacon fat keeps it from oxidizing.

I scrub ours out with a scotch bright pad to where the inner sides and bottom are smooth, rinse and dry on stove top burner. Once the last water drops boil off I wipe a layer of bacon fat from the can kept in the fridge on and buff it around.
The outside of the pan gets pretty much ignored unless there is a cooking disaster.
If bacon fat is not an option, olive oil would be the next go to.

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95 E300D working out the kinks
77 300D, 227k, station car
83 300CD 370k, gone away
89 190E 2.6- 335k, no more
79 VW FI Bus- 145k miles, summer driver
59 VW Beetle ragtop- 175k miles
12 VW Jetta- 160k miles

I am not sure that oven cleaners are eat safe.

I thought chilcutt was a follower of Islam?

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Obviously is not safe if you don't was the oven cleaner off.

Since you are going to have to season it again once the oven cleaner is used you can use dish soap to wash it off to get rid of any oven cleaner.

Citric Engine degreaser?

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

A follower for sure, of what I have no idea. You will probably get a warning from the mods about that post!

A few Ice Cold Heinekins, help with the Labor of Love given to this Baby.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Use the super toxic oven cleaners ... they kill the corona flu as well