Restoring my grandmother’s Wagner Ware skillet

[checkm8]

I am working on an old Wagner Ware pan that likely belonged to my grandmother. It had years of heavy carbon buildup on the bottom and I had to use five coats of oven cleaner just to get the metal clean. I used a dental tool to scrape away the gunk without scratching the surface.

The inside is machined smooth but the seasoning looks very splotchy and mottled right now. Even though it looks uneven I cooked some eggs in butter and nothing stuck to the surface. I want this skillet to look nice so I can pass it down to my kids one day. I am trying to decide if I should keep cooking with it to darken the finish or if I need to start over. Also I see people online claiming certain letter suffixes make these pans rare and I want to know when mine was made.

 

[iconic matz]

I am working on an old Wagner Ware pan that likely belonged to my grandmother. It had years of heavy carbon buildup on the bottom and I had to use five coats of oven cleaner just to get the metal clean. I used a dental tool to scrape away the gunk without scratching the surface.

The inside is machined smooth but the seasoning looks very splotchy and mottled right now. Even though it looks uneven I cooked some eggs in butter and nothing stuck to the surface. I want this skillet to look nice so I can pass it down to my kids one day. I am trying to decide if I should keep cooking with it to darken the finish or if I need to start over. Also I see people online claiming certain letter suffixes make these pans rare and I want to know when mine was made.

Have you tried doing a few more very thin layers of oil in the oven to even out the color?

 

[yvoxxxx]

The splotchy look often goes away once you cook high fat foods like bacon or cornbread a few times.

 

[bad J0k3R]

@checkm8 Do not worry about the looks too much because a smooth factory finish usually seasons differently than modern rough pans.

 

[Alan]

I am working on an old Wagner Ware pan that likely belonged to my grandmother. It had years of heavy carbon buildup on the bottom and I had to use five coats of oven cleaner just to get the metal clean. I used a dental tool to scrape away the gunk without scratching the surface.

The inside is machined smooth but the seasoning looks very splotchy and mottled right now. Even though it looks uneven I cooked some eggs in butter and nothing stuck to the surface. I want this skillet to look nice so I can pass it down to my kids one day. I am trying to decide if I should keep cooking with it to darken the finish or if I need to start over. Also I see people online claiming certain letter suffixes make these pans rare and I want to know when mine was made.

Bad Joker is right. It seasons differently so unless you have the same exact pans, you shouldn't listen.

 

[mix and max]

Can you post a photo of the logo and the small letter at the bottom to help with dating the pan?

 

[checkm8]

I tried doing a few more very thin layers of oil in the oven to even out the color but it did not work. @yvoxxxx is right! the splotchy look disappeared after I cooked bacon on it.