this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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Cast Iron
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I dunno for sure, but that looks like something in the 400 grit range followed by steel wool.
It's a lot of work tbh. Enough so that I don't do it any more.
But, it does improve the cooking surface. You sand down and season with flax oil, and you've got a great surface that even eggs won't give you too much trouble cleaning up.
It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, mirror finish. And some small pits are okay. No need to really grind the hell out of a pan, you just want to kinda even it out so there's less texture, with the end point being where you decide is good enough.
Back the last time I did one, I used an orbital sander with 200/400/600 progression, then hand sanded to 800, and it was more than smooth enough. Going past that is diminishing returns. I've seen people do a mirror finish and it wasn't worth the time imo. Even 800 is kinda extra tbh. You just don't want highly visible scratches.