Tried cleaning my pan with a vinegar soak and now the seasoning is totally patchy

Brooke Henderson · 2026-03-16T21:25:03.879252+00:00

I left my 10-inch skillet in a 50/50 vinegar solution for about 20 minutes to deal with some rust, and it stripped the seasoning right down to bare metal in spots, so what's the best way to fix this without starting a full re-season from scratch?

the_phoenix6mo ago

My buddy Greg did the same thing to his lodge last year. He just kept cooking with it, focusing on oily foods like sausage and onions for a few weeks. The patches slowly evened out and filled in without any special treatment, just regular stove top use after each meal. It looked way better after about a month of that.

4

michael_fisher557mo ago

Oof, just cook some bacon in it!

1

beth8467mo ago

I read that you can fix patchy spots by rubbing a thin layer of oil on just those areas and heating it up.

1