Try this and let us know what they say:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/contact.asp

I'm a cast iron person too - although not a hot water and soap heretic. LOL. Do use hot water, no soap, plastic scrubby if needed for stuck on charred rice etc.

Have seen new cast iron with what seems to be a yucky goopy finish. Would like to have a couple of saucepans but not that kind.

Rosie

Here is a link that might be useful: Customer Service, Lodge Cast Iron

I LOVE my Lodge Logic cast iron...But none of mine seemed particularly greasy or anything close to vile. I wonder if yours is just a bad one? Seems like something should certainly cut it, though. Hope you find the answer from Lodge.

I got a fry pan that was seasoned (I have about 8 or 9 other pieces that I seasoned on my own).

I washed mine with very hot/soapy water and then did a quick seasoning of it.
It is as beautiful as some of the other pieces.

I think the gunk you are feeling is just their oil (food grade) so a hot soap wash and then seasoning should take care of it when the cast iron pores open with heat.

If you must get down to cast iron and remove all the Lodge seasoning, you might use Easy-Off oven cleaner on it. That is, the old formula. It is made of lye (Sodium Hydroxide. I'm pretty sure it will cut off the coating, it does remove the black tar that forms on ovens. Time is needed for complete removal. Overnight if possible. Be careful not to inhale it or get it on your skin or especially in your eyes. It will make you blind. It will also remove the paint from anything it gets on. Try to have some vinegar on hand to put in your rinse to neutralize the lye.

I could get mine off easily when I tried scrubbing it with hot water/palmolive dish soap. This was done when the pan was still hot -- that may be the magic trick. Note that I was not really aiming for it -- but I had to scrub it to get omlette sticking on the pan off.

I began to coat the pan with oil when storing it, to avoid rusting. IMO, pre-seasoning is a good thing. Not sure why you want to take it off!!

Just my 2c....

I'm still with Homey_bird on the value of the Lodge preseasoning, but I was thinking about this, and have you tried something like Comet? Might be less dangerous than the lye, and Comet seems to cut everything. Also maybe Dawn Power Dissolver which was recommended to me on the appliance forum for getting cooked on grease off gas range burner pans.

Thanks for all the replies! I will try Lodge customer service on Tues.

I have already tried Dawn Power Dissolver, which is ordinarily my go-to de-gunker. That didn't even put a dent in it. I've scrubbed with BKF, baking soda and every type of scrubby from nylon to stainless steel. I'm not sure if I've scrubbed it hot, however, though I'm sure I've done it in 145F water as that is what my kitchen HW faucet delivers.

As I was cleaning it this evening (and grumping in my mind) I noticed for the first time that the surface texture of this modern piece is no where near as smooth as my old stuff. Perhaps modern CI isn't made the same way. I'm not talking about stuck-on food, or even the oily/greasy pre-seasoning - it's that the iron itself is has more of an orange peel texture.

If all else fails I guess I'll just have to zap it in an electrical bath. I have a couple of CI auction-finds that are in the queue for that this summer. The bath reliably removes everything (including all crummy old seasoning) and gives you a clean start on things.

I'll let you know what I hear from Lodge.

I tell you honey I rely on yardsales and flea markets for my cast iron. It's just not the same as it use to be. For xmas I gave my older brother a skillet that I seasoned myself -- with bacon fat. I dare him to wash it in detergent.

An update:

I went to link posted above (thanks!) to submit my question. I read on the site that the greasy stuff is their proprietary "soy-based" (but what else, they don't specify) formula that they spray on and then bake at very high temps so it "goes deep into the pores" of the metal. Ugh!

They do suggest that it may come off (if you're naughty and use soap/detergent, but that certainly hasn't been my experience, so far) and then the pan might need to be reseasoned using Crisco, or fat of your choice. So there may be hope!

I'll see what they reply, but I think it's off to the electrical bath for this pot to try and remove whatever goop they've baked on to my skillet.

On the good side, I see one can buy lids, both cast-iron and glass, for round skillets on the site so I can replace one I broke. Thanks very much for that link.

L

When I'm lucky enough to come upon old cast iron at yard sales throwing them in my oven and using the self-cleaning mode works beautifully! Of course, a new seasoning is necessary afterward.

I've also noticed the Lodge cast iron has a very uneven cooking surface. Certainly not as nice as old pieces like Wagnerware and Griswold.

I've read that you can clean a cast iron piece by putting it in the oven when you are running the self-cleaning cycle. I have never tried it, and I can't envision exactly how it would be done. I've always read that you should take your racks out when running the self-cleaning cycle. If you take the racks out, where do you put the cast iron pot/skillet?

The pores will seal with continued use and it will become as smooth as the older pieces.

I've cleaned cast iron by leaving it in the oven during a cleaning cycle.

You will be down to bare iron and can start with the seasoning of your choice.

Liriodendron, what is an electrical bath? I'm planning on getting several Lodge CI pieces once we do our remodel (probably next year) and I get an induction cooktop, so I'd like to understand in case I have this same problem. TIA!

When I've cleaned mine in the self-cleaning oven I just leave one rack in and placed the pan in upside down. Never had a problem with the rack afterward.

Chuckling... when we were packing up the old kitchen, my dadlinlaw almost threw out my cast iron corn-stick pan. I almost had a stroke!

A new Lodge pre-seasoned 10'' x 10'' grill/griddle cracked the first time I used it. Hope they take it back.

I need to know too--what is an electrical bath? It just sounds so bad.