"New" Griswold Piece Leaves Dark Color :(

[Noel]

I just bought a Griswold #8 skillet.  It looks like someone already cleaned it and that it needs to be seasoned.  Well, I heated the skillet up and went to wipe the thin layer of oil on it but when I looked at my paper towel, it is very dark brown/blackish.   :o  It isn't paint but it isn't food either.  I thought I would boil water in it (like when cleaning after cooking) to remove whatever it is . . . don't want that dark stuff on my food!  Still dark stuff on my paper towel.  Then tried soap and hot water . . . I know that isn't good for seasoning but this has no seasoning yet (I hope that's correct??).  A little more oil and still dark color on my paper towel.  :( Any ideas or suggestions for what this is and what I can do about it?  Here is a picture of it before I started messing with it.  I haven't taken any photos since then.

Thanks so much!

Noel

[Scott Sanders]

From the looks of your picture, that skillet seems to have a real nice seasoning to it.  As to the color on the paper towel, I'm gussing that is just the color of the seasoning.  When you stop and think about just what the seasoning really is, I'm thinking that's just about the right color.  If you don't want someone elses seasoning, then you need to clean it down to neked iron and start over with the seasoning.  Then if you still get the same color on your paper towel, you know where it came from.

Scott

[Steve_Stephens]

When I thoroughly clean a piece I will usually still get dark stains coming from the pan onto my paper towel.  Sometimes it's quite pronounced and I chalk it up to being old seasoning, dirt, rust, and/or radioactive residue coming from the pores in the iron.  Actually, I have no idea what the dark stuff is but it's common and I don't worry about it.  I will use a skillet without any seasoning-just a thin coat of oil- and let the skillet season itself by using.  I short order the old dirt stops appearing.  With all the harmful things around us and in the air and all the junk food I wouldn't worry about a little dark unknown substance from your pan.

Steve

[Noel]

Hey Scott and Steve -  Thanks so much for your quick reply!  Yep, Scott, that's what I thought before I bought it - that it was already seasoned.  But this stuff just keeps coming off.  I'd love for it to be seasoned already.  I have another seasoned skillet and it is very dark (almost black) and it never has any dark color come off on the paper towel when I dry it after use.  

Noel

PS Steve - It smelled funny when I put it on the stove - sort of chemical??  Could someone have put something on it to make it look seasoned?  

[Scott Sanders]

Noel,

I'd say if it smelled funny, you don't know what in the world could have been in it.  Maybe it was used to catch an oil leak under the car or something.  If it were mine, I'd take it all the way down to bare iron with both the lye method and the electro method.  That way, hopefully you'll get everything off it.  then do your own seasoning.  Could it have been painted???  Anyway, strip it and season it.

Scott

[maloney108]

 It looks like someone already cleaned it and that it needs to be seasoned.  

This sounds like the pan was coated with mineral oil! The description of a 'chemical' smell also makes me think this.  People use mineral oil to seal pieces they keep for display only since it lasts a lot longer,  Someone on this forum can tell you how to tell if it's mineral oil and also how to get it off.  

[Steve_Stephens]

I agree with Scott.  Anything could have been put on the pan.  I've heard of WD-40  being used even.  Clean the pan to your liking and you can even use wet-or-dry sandpaper (I like 80 grit) used wet to scour the inside only.  That may remove a lot of dark stuff.  I then scrub hard with a stiff brush and comet cleanser which should sanitize the pan with the bleach as well as wash out more "dirt".  Rinse well, heat and oil then cook and ignore any more dirt.  It will get less with more use and disappear pretty soon.

Steve

[Noel]

Thanks y'all.  I have switched to cast iron partially for health reasons . . . I don't want to use non-stick/teflon skillets for my family.  So trying to figure out how what this stuff is and what I need to do to get rid of it would be greatly appreciated! :)

If I can find my cord to download my digital pictures from my camera, I will post some more photos of what is coming off if that will help??

Thank you!!

Noel

[Roger Barfield]

Noel, if it is mineral oil then just use Dawn and hot water.  I treat pans with mineral oil to store them after I clean them all the time.  Then I just use the Dawn and hot water to wash the mineral oil off if I want to season them later to cook with.  

[Noel]

Hey y'all - I finally was able to get the pictures off my camera and onto my computer.  Here is a picture of the stuff that was coming off the skillet when I was wiping it down with veggie oil.  Is this mineral oil?  I bought some Dawn and clean it real good.  I think I can start seasoning it now??  I am going to do it in the oven like the directions in the link above.  Is that the best thing to do?  

Thanks again for all y'all's help!!

Noel

PS It doesn't look this rust colored in person.

[Noel]

Here is a picture of the rags:

[C. Perry Rapier]

Yep Noel, thats just the way my rags look when I do that, and everybody else's too.  ;) Sounds like you're doing the right thing.

And I think you are asking if veggie oil is mineral oil, if so, no veggie oil is not mineral oil, two totally different animals. If you are not going to "use" a piece,its just fine to put mineral oil on it to keep it looking slick and and keep it from rusting. A piece you use pretty often, put some other kind of oil on, like olive oil or veggie oil. I don't like veggie oil myself, it gets stick after awhile and is a real bear to get off, but if you use it every day or so, no problem, olive oil won't do that. If you decide to put the piece into service that you put mineral oil on, wash it off good with dawn and hot water, it'll cut if off no problem, season it up and you are good to go. If I don't use a piece, I don't season it because I don't need it seasoned if I don't use it, and if I want to season I always can. Thats the way I do it anyway.