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I received my Lodge 10.5 inch pre-seasoned cast iron griddle today (and I'm very new to the world of Cast Iron). I washed it with water and soap and used the soft side of the sponge and on second wash I used the rough side. While waiting for the pan to dry (before I was going to start seasoning), I tried dabbing the sides with a paper towel to remove some of the moisture and I noticed a yellow stain of sorts coming off of the pan. I washed the pan again a couple of times but there still seems to be a yellow stain. Is this normal? I haven't seasoned the pan with oil or anything.

Also, I know cast iron pans aren't perfectly smooth like a nonstick Teflon pan but there's a very small grey bump on my pan. Is this acceptable?

Edit: The pan upon drying looks rusty and it appears yellow-orange like on kitchen towels if I try it rub it.

Edit 2: Thank you everyone for your comments, feedback and advice. I'm a complete newbie and I've been reading and watching as much info about cast iron usage and I, really, appreciate them. I don't own a oven so I've been using a stovetop to season the pan. After about 3 rounds of seasoning, I attempted a fried egg test with cooking canola oil(I think my pan was too hot/medium flame) but failed twice. Today (24 hours later), I attempted the fried egg test using a teaspoon of butter (preheated the pan and used a low flame) and it came off quite cleanly except for when I tried to flip it over and a bit of it got stuck. (check images 4 and 5). However, I've noticed a dark brown color tone around the pan (image 6) except at the periphery. I don't know if this is because I've seasoned it incorrectly.

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    lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/…
    – Tetsujin
    May 28, 2021 at 10:12
  • There really should not be rust like that on a new, pre-seasoned Lodge pan. Honestly, between that and the bump, depending on where you got it i might suspect it of being a counterfeit.
    – Sneftel
    May 28, 2021 at 15:08
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    @Sneftel - sounds much more like it was given a serious thrashing in soapy water & then not stove-dried & re-oiled immediately. Those pre-seasoned pans are only given enough of a coating to get you started, not enough to prevent you scrubbing it off if you scour it. And as no-one bothers smoothing out pans like they used to, any dings in the sand mould become lumps in the pan.
    – Tetsujin
    May 29, 2021 at 7:20
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    @Sneftel Agreed with Tetsu - it's iron and the first thing OP did was to scratch it up with soap and get it wet, ruining the seasoning that it shipped with. Of course it's going to rust - real iron rusts, no fakery needed. In fact, if you thought the pan wasn't real iron, this is about as good a test as you could come up with to prove otherwise. Unseasoned iron needs to be dried and oiled immediately. The bump is just a bump. You can grind it off and season. The rust isn't harmful - we need iron to make blood, so our body is happy to have a bit of rust with breakfast.
    – J...
    May 29, 2021 at 8:59
  • related : cooking.stackexchange.com/a/102790/67 ; cooking.stackexchange.com/q/91173/67 ; seasoning pans in general : cooking.stackexchange.com/q/641/67 ; and if you decide you need to strip it completely : cooking.stackexchange.com/q/11592/67
    – Joe
    Jun 2, 2021 at 15:32

2 Answers 2

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If it’s kinda powdery, it’s likely rust.

Not quite fully polymerized oil tends to be orangeish, but you usually can’t see it unless it’s your first layer over shiny bare metal, and I wouldn’t expect it to rub off on a paper towel like that

I suspect that you’re going to need to strip and re-season your pan. You only do that first deep scrub with pans that are waxed for shipment, not for pre-seasoned pans

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  • A little red/brown rust looks yellow on white.
    – blacksmith37
    May 28, 2021 at 14:05
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    I agree that it is rust. The OP likely removed some seasoning with the rough side of the sponge (assuming that's some sort of Scotch-Brite material). That caused the iron to rust. I don't see a need to strip the pan, though. Just get some good layers of seasoning on there.
    – aswine
    May 28, 2021 at 20:04
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    @Dezvyn, yes, I'd guess that the color difference is because of uneven heating. But if you're getting the results you want, I wouldn't worry about it.
    – aswine
    Jun 1, 2021 at 18:22
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    @Dezvyn : I don't know. I'm not sure what rust under the seasoning would look like, which is what I'd be concerned about. It might also be over-cooking the seasoning (which I'd expect right under where the flames are), which is when the seasoning starts to break down -- you actually want to avoid really high heat when using cast iron (seasoned or enameled)
    – Joe
    Jun 2, 2021 at 14:36
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    @Joe: I think you're absolutely right about me overcooking the seasoning. I've figured out that a low flame/ medium flame is pretty much all I need to get my cooking done. The seasoning seems to be working (nothing sticks). I did scrub the pan gently (after I posted the "rust" pics above and then dried it quickly and heated and started the seasoning route (but used too high a flame which is why I've got the weird color). The outer circle though has a nice black patina. Very lightly oiling the pan after each use to ensure moisture doesn't play spoil sport. Thank you for the feedback :)
    – Dezvyn
    Jun 2, 2021 at 15:41
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We never season our pan in the oven; always in the stove. Ours has so much “seasoning, the “dimples” are pretty much gone. We don’t necessarily season our after every use anymore, just when it looks dull. We heat it up very hot over a high heat, remove it from the heat and rub, liberally, with a high smoke point vegetable oil. Let it cool and put it away. No one’s told us it’s wrong, but no one else I’ve heard of does it this way and it works.

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