Heat gun vs torch for stripping my skillet, I chose wrong

I saw a guy in a Facebook group say a torch is the only way to strip old seasoning, so I bought one for my 10-inch Lodge. After scorching the handle and almost warping the pan, I'm wondering if a heat gun would have been gentler and just as effective. Has anyone else had a torch job go sideways on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_webb4519d ago

Jumped in headfirst with a torch on my first stripping job too. Totally get it. I think it's a classic "bigger is better" trap people fall into with a lot of stuff, not just cast iron. Like when people use a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame or a chainsaw to trim a bush. The heat gun is way more chill and controlled, it's like the difference between using a hairdryer and a flamethrower to dry your socks. Live and learn though, the handle scortch marks give it character lol.

thomas_roberts19d ago

Yeah the hairdryer vs flamethrower thing is spot on. I did the same thing with a cheap propane torch on an old skillet I found at a flea market. Thought I was being smart and fast ended up softening the handle rivets so bad one of them popped loose while I was scrubbing it. Had to drill it out and replace it with a bolt, looks janky as hell now but it works. The heat gun was night and day when I finally got one, way more chill like you said. That scortch mark thing is real though, every piece I mess up ends up being my favorite one to cook with.