I have a handful of Lodge cast-iron pieces that I've used for the last 9-10 years or so, and at least one piece gets used each week. Typically, it's one of the two 10" skillets, as the large double burner griddle and the grill pan don't get used too often.
This thread reminded me of an older piece of cast iron that I have- was my dad's, and his mom's, and her mom's, and I think maybe her mom's also. So, my great great grandmother? Anyway- he gave it to me after he moved out of his house way way back, and it's been sitting in my garage for about the last 15 years. I went out, unwrapped it (it was wrapped in a thick plastic trashbag and tucked away next to some really old camping gear). It was a mess- looks like the last person to use it didn't clean it when they were done. Looks like it had chili, or beans or both in it the last time it was used.
I took some elbow grease to it, and it's still a mess. Any thoughts on what to do? It's in my oven at the moment- I figure a good bake will kill off anything that is still lingering after the cleaning I gave it. I did NOT use soap. Just hot water. I then set it on the stove to heat up and steam off all of the remaining water. Pics below before and after I applied some spray on canola oil to it, then it went into the oven.
Any thoughts on what to do next to bring it back are greatly appreciated- I'm not sure what it is either, as the only markings I've found are "Made in the USA" and "14" because it's a 14" pan.