Found some weird cast iron at the thrift store

[MaybeMeh50]

Hit up a thrift shop this weekend and found a few cast iron pieces that looked familiar but weren't Lodge or anything I recognized. They were rougher than standard pans and had a slick shine like they'd been dipped in wax. Instructions said to season them with oil and a short 350° bake. Also said it was fine to use soap when cleaning, which threw up a few red flags. Has anyone else seen these floating around or knows who might've made them?

 

[SmoresPlease]

Hit up a thrift shop this weekend and found a few cast iron pieces that looked familiar but weren't Lodge or anything I recognized. They were rougher than standard pans and had a slick shine like they'd been dipped in wax. Instructions said to season them with oil and a short 350° bake. Also said it was fine to use soap when cleaning, which threw up a few red flags. Has anyone else seen these floating around or knows who might've made them?

Did they have any discernible markings, even faint ones, on the bottom or handle? Even a single letter or number can be a clue.
The 'soap is fine' part is the biggest head scratcher, it strongly suggests a coating beyond simple oil seasoning
I'd still treat them gently until you've done that first bake and seen how they react.

 

[gazpacho]

Hit up a thrift shop this weekend and found a few cast iron pieces that looked familiar but weren't Lodge or anything I recognized. They were rougher than standard pans and had a slick shine like they'd been dipped in wax. Instructions said to season them with oil and a short 350° bake. Also said it was fine to use soap when cleaning, which threw up a few red flags. Has anyone else seen these floating around or knows who might've made them?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using soap for cleaning CI. Just don't get crazy. But if you do, seasoning is so easy, even without an oven, that you'd only be set back a few minutes next time you had to use it.
Used it on Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, Alabama, Chinese stuff.
Never had an issue because I used soap.
I'm well into my sisties and have cared for my (50 pieces) of CI for many decades.
I'm not a collector, I'm just a proficient and constant user.

 

[MaybeMeh50]

Time to follow through on this mystery and say thanks for the help.
Following @SmoresPlease's advice, I went over the pans with a magnifying glass and found a faint 'Made in Taiwan' stamp on the bottom. A little research revealed they have a thin enamel coating, which explains the slick feel and why the instructions, as @gazpacho's experience supports, said using soap was no big deal.

 

[grokman]

The waxy coating is just shipping protectant, not seasoning, strip and re season, but they're not from any of the classic makers

 

[Bumpy.Lemon99]

The waxy coating is just shipping protectant, not seasoning, strip and re season, but they're not from any of the classic makers

@grokman good reminder to check for shipping coatings on unknown pans. Just a word of caution on your advice, though. @MaybeMeh50 confirmed back in July that this pan has an enamel coating. Attempting to strip and re-season an enameled pan would ruin it.

 

[KenH]

Yep, enameled pans don't need seasoning - the enamel takes care of that.