Curious about cast iron

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So I have a little project that is basically to create a large cast iron cooking surface. Couldn't find anything off the shelf so I had a piece cast.I am wondering what steps I might need to take to get the piece of raw cast iron suitable for cooking food on. Of course it will need to be seasoned, but at this point it has a rough sandpaper like texture and feels grainy. I've hit some spots with a wire wheel and it cleans up nice, that is enough to remove the powdery grit.Is that enough? Wire wheel, clean off dust, and then season? I'm a little clueless about cast, other than its basic properties so if anybody has any insight I'd really appreciate it!
Reply:You could take a orbital sander to it with # 220 paper to start and work your way up to 600.
Reply:Well, I'd try to avoid any abrasives, because that can get embedded in the surface, and end up in your food.If you know someone who does steel shot blasting, that would be ideal.  Otherwise, your wire wheel sounds pretty good (but slow going).
Reply:Thanks for the opinions guys.So I laid on it for a while with a 6" knotted wire brush. Tedious, but it got the job done. The surface still has a lot of texture to it, which is fine, but it seemed to knock the grit off. Running a hand over it, it feels bumpy but smooth if that makes sense.I guess what I'm really wondering is if there is some byproduct of the actual casting process that would be harmful or undesirable on a piece used to prepare food. I feel good about what I have now, so at this point I'm just trying to satisfy my own curiosity.
Reply:i don't know a better way but to burn it off maybe?safety last
Reply:Since you had the cast cook top made the foundry should be able to tell you what’s in it. I still think a sanding and a good cleaning will do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_ironhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast-iron_cookware
Reply:it should have been food grade stainless. but if you sand it down fine enough it will be quite smooth. remember cast is porous and that is why you have to season it.Life is tuff,so be sharp  lincoln sp 100  cutmaster101  miller bobcat  miller 250 mig  $thousands in snapon
Reply:From the land of dutch oven cooking! It should be seasoned, means burning grease into it to seal the pores.      Smooth or rough, doesn't matter. Rough almost works better. Look at a "lodge" dutch oven or fry pan.      Heat it to about 200 degrees, start rubbing hog or beef fat into it, let it heat on up to a good hot sizzle, keep the fat on it. Then let it get fairly hot. Then cool it off, and do it again. After that don't wash it too much. The idea is to really get the oil and fat down into the pores, and then keep a layer of "seasoned" oil on it, keeps the iron from contacting the food. It you don't do this the food can come out rusty tasting. after the first time the oil will oxidize and form almost a kind of varnish on the iron. it can be just wiped down, no soap after that. You can rub it with rock salt to scour it.     Always cook with oil or grease on cast iron. It can be added or come from the food.    Smooth works better for pancakes and spatulas, potatoes and onions work ok rough, but the iron should be well seasoned before trying cobblers etc. .Last edited by wesdavidson; 11-17-2009 at 08:23 PM.past work toys; lathes,mills, drills, saws,  robots, lasers ironworker, shears, brake, press, grinders, tensile tester,  torches, tigs, migs, sticks, platten table, positioner,  plasmas , gleeble and spot. Retired June 30, 2009.
Reply:...Well....most all flat commercial cooking surfaces I've ever seen, are cast-iron....blanchard (surface)ground to get them smooth and flat, a good machine shop or maybe even the foundry can do that for you.....and then wash with ordinary dish detergent, rinse....wipe with paper towel, repeat until the paper towel is clean...then the 'seasoning' deal.   I like the blue 'Dawn' detergent...it's the recommended cleaner for getting birds/animals clean after ocean oil spills....I use it for cleaning my filthy mechanics tools...even my plastic oil drain pans come out looking new...and my Harley Davidson cast-iron cylinders get cleaned this way after honing...it's the recommended procedure in the Service Manual...  Since we need some iron in our diet, I don't see where you'd have any problem with that...just clean the surface so you don't get any annoying crunching stuff in your teeth...Dougspair
Reply:....andDougspair
Reply:Originally Posted by transitSince you had the cast cook top made the foundry should be able to tell you what's in it. . . .
Reply:Excellent. Thanks for all the info! I feel like I'm on the right track here, now just need to clean the grit off and get to seasoning.
Reply:Originally Posted by BlackDogExcellent. Thanks for all the info! I feel like I'm on the right track here, now just need to clean the grit off and get to seasoning.
Reply:Hi, Ive been cooking with cast iron for years. to season I have been using olive oil.  Animal fat gets rancid on the cast iron if stored over time.  Heat the cast iron in an oven to 400 degrees on a day you can open the windows as it will smoke and burn off impurities. takes about an hour.  when cool coat it well with the olive oil.  Put it in a 300 degree oven for another hour it will seal the pores and will have a dark semigloss finish.  When you use it to cook never use metal utensils on it wood or Teflon only to prevent scratching . to clean remove what you can with paper towel then boil water in the pot or on the pan as this opens the pores and removes the food that is stuck on.  Do not ever use dish soap on cast iron unless you like the taste of the soap as it will flavor your food.  I hope this helps.
Reply:"You better be very careful using Cast Iron utensils for food; that 's all they used to use in the olden days, you know ---- and how many of them are still around?"Seriously though, I can't add much to the above posts, except to say that if you do decide to sand it to remove the bumps (to make cooking things like eggs easier), just be sure to clean it well to remove any grit which does get caught in the larger pores. A pressure washer would really do the job, but lesser efforts should suffice. I have been using a cast iron skillet for making breakfast for half a century and never worried about metal spatulas scratching the surface; a new one might be more temperamental. I also use bacon fat, but it does get used regularly and I keep the amount of fat down usually.The deep Dutch Oven variety is great for stew or Spaghetti, and even better to make Pineapple  Upside Down Cake in. When I go backpacking, I do prefer a large aluminum teflon-coated skillet, though; large enough to fit the 15" trout on!   Last edited by Oldiron2; 02-06-2010 at 01:17 AM.
Reply:i have broke in a few cast iron black pans..the rough spots will wear off with the spatula action.. after they get seasoned never never never put soap on em..clean em with a little bit of  real hot water when they are real hot.. the steam will boil all the crap off..