Just received my pans. Looking rather beat up.
What is the most effective way to remove the wax? It’s on everything including the handles.
Yeah, mine were beat up as hell. Even showing a little rust which I think happened because the wax was probably rubbed off. I got 4 pans, 2 n25 and 2 of the n27. They were stacked n25 inside of n27 inside a paper bag and then inside a box that busted open.
I’d love to know the most effective form of wax removal as well.
I’m not going to judge the product until I get it sorted out, but it looks like they were in over their heads with shipping to the US.
throw it in a hot oven and let it melt off, then scrub it off with steel wool or something.
hope mine arrives tmrw
Since you have rust you might as well do a vinegar/water solution and just scrub it to death. That’ll get rid of your rust and your wax.
I thought they were seconds to begin with? So wouldn’t be awesome looking.
Here are the DARTO instructions for seasoning
I tried washing with water and detergent. My pans were still really sticky. I’m thinking about running them through a cleaning cycle in the over to burn it all off.
I used steel scratch pads and soapy hot water and it worked great. Their video has too much oil IMO. Do that-then rub it again with a dry towel so it looks dry. If you can see oil–it will be sticky and not smooth when you are done. It’s steel so you aren’t going to hurt it. You can take an angle grinder to it if you want (just not a drill press).
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you can also try using barkeepers friend or a metal cleaner- just wash and dry really well before starting the seasoning.
My pans ordered 8/1 were just shipped today.
Like Charlie said, vinegar + water does the trick (should’ve just channeled my grandma).
Why wouldn’t you just cure it in the oven like a normal cast iron?
Mine is currently on cycle 3 in the oven for seasoning. Not sure how you get the handles black by using the stove top.
I just used steel wool + dish soap + heavy scrubbing after letting them sit in a warm oven for 30 minutes to soften the gunk.
I didn’t bother with getting rid of the brown marks that you couldn’t feel texture wise. Guess I could have used Barkeepers friend, but I figured the pan would get so dark you wouldn’t even see it
Vinegar and a lot of elbow grease (again, the solution to almost everything according to my grandma) took care of the brown marks… I’ve only been through one cycle in the oven. Interestingly, I found gashes and imperfections that didn’t appear on visual inspection with the gunk or even cleaned and oiled prior to going in the oven. I may take one out for a spin this evening on a Flannery steak.
Here are my 2 pans done on the stove top. 10 coatings each. I did pan cook burgers in the top pan last night.
and the other one. both done exactly the same number of coatings
If the iron is sourced from old 19th century dreadnaughts, I’m in. I’ve heard those provide the best sear. Gotta run now, I hear Riedel has a new plavac noir glass I need to order asap!
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Has anyone tried seasoning on the (covered) grill outdoors to avoid any off-odors in the house?
As long as you can control your heat that’s fine. Otherwise you’ll burn off the seasoning
Mine are in the oven on their 5th round of seasoning. I got all the gunk off of them with bar keepers friend and some elbow grease. Looking forward to using them! My stargazer pans are finally in route after a hiccup on their end. Going to have a serious quiver to choose from.
Well, they have a lottery now, 1st Sunday of each month. I entered for the first time Sunday and just got an e-mail that I was selected! I can buy up to three pans, but I have no idea what to get. Maybe a 13” and an 8” French skillet. I have two days to decide, and they will be delivered in six weeks. They are actually carbon steel, and are not inexpensive.
People get all worked up over “seasoning”. They should stop thinking about it. Just use the pan. You won’t get off-odors. If you have a wax coating, heat up the pan and wipe the wax off. Then you can use Comet, Brillo, or sandpaper to clean the pan down to the metal.
Then just heat it up with a little bit of oil or butter or whatever - you can just wipe it on and act like you’re going to use the pan. If your pan is rusty, sand it down until the iron is nice and silvery. If you get a Lodge or any of the modern pans where they don’t sand them, you can do the same thing - use a grinder or disc sander or lots of elbow grease to give yourself a nice smooth surface. It probably doesn’t matter, but I like it more. Any food you cook will carbonize, polymerize, and stick to the pan.
You really don’t need to go through any other steps like putting the pans in the oven or anything else. People have used cast iron for generations. They didn’t worry about “seasoning”. They just used the pans.
And don’t be afraid to wash them with soap and water. That’s another of those myths that has no basis in reality. You can use a scouring pad and dish detergent whenever you need to. Over the past forty years I’ve seasoned and re-seasoned the same pans whenever I needed to. Usually just by using them. You can put them outside on your campfire or on or in your grill. You’re not going to hurt them. They’re the toughest cooking items you have - they’re not delicate and neither is the seasoning.
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Just noticing this thread and saw some comments about Darto. I live in Argentina where the vast majority of cookware is really lousy. Darto is good, although it’s basically just a nice carbon steel pan. Cooks well but has the limitations of weight and restricted to what can be put in it. I paid almost $30 full price* a couple years ago for this (2nd biggest) when the exchange rate was better than what it is today. I think today it would be closer to $50 which isn’t a very good value IMO when compared to a Lodge, especially if you have to pay freight to the US.
*As someone mentioned, they have 50% off sales a couple times a year.
** Also saw some notes about being out of stock, delayed shipments, no notices/updates, etc. Bienvenido a Argentina.
If I was in the US I would just get a Lodge.
