# Theoretically could you season a cast iron stove like a frying pan?



## Bstroot (Dec 16, 2021)

I’m sure this is a bad idea but I need to be told why lol —

If I was to restore a rusty old Morso cast iron stove, would it be theoretically possible to just use cooking oil to seal and blacken the cast iron, just like an old frying pan?


----------



## kennyp2339 (Dec 16, 2021)

Bstroot said:


> I’m sure this is a bad idea but I need to be told why lol —
> 
> If I was to restore a rusty old Morso cast iron stove, would it be theoretically possible to just use cooking oil to seal and blacken the cast iron, just like an old frying pan?


And every time you fire up the stove, every dog and cat in the neighborhood will be over waiting for some scraps


----------



## EbS-P (Dec 16, 2021)

It gets too hot.  To burn off the seasoning on your pan just put it in the oven at like 450 for a couple hours.   Just use stove paint.


----------



## bholler (Dec 16, 2021)

EbS-P said:


> It gets too hot.  To burn off the seasoning on your pan just put it in the oven at like 450 for a couple hours.   Just use stove paint.


450 won't burn off the seasoning.  I reseason at 450.  But over 600 will.


----------



## stoveliker (Dec 16, 2021)

if you like breathing VOCs and microscopic (smoke) particles in your home - then yes, it's a good idea.

The oil will burn off when it gets hot, releasing the above. I think most people avoid creating unnecessary quantities of those in their homes.

It may not hurt the stove, it only hurts you. Your choice


----------



## begreen (Dec 16, 2021)

If you want to make the old Morso look sharp, wire brush it down thoroughly. Clean well, then wipe down with alcohol. Paint with Stove Brite metallic black. It will look like new. Do the painting in a very well-ventilated area.


----------



## coaly (Dec 16, 2021)

Bstroot said:


> I’m sure this is a bad idea but I need to be told why lol —
> 
> If I was to restore a rusty old Morso cast iron stove, would it be theoretically possible to just use cooking oil to seal and blacken the cast iron, just like an old frying pan?


That is what is done on cookstove tops. Years ago lard was used, but pigs diet no longer give the same results. Different oils work better than others since the smoke point is important. Oil polymerizes at high temperature. It cross links to become a coating with higher than the original smoke point. The hard coating you get in a conventional oven that requires oven cleaner or a higher temperature such as the cleaning cycle built in some ovens to remove is the same material. That is polymerized grease that has formed a hard coating like the seasoning of pans and stove tops. It wears off, and smokes off needing to be recoated at higher temperatures you try to avoid with a cook stove. Stove polish was used on the rest of the stove. Paint is far superior in your case, but cookstoves still oil tops only.

Another issue with oiling tops was oil going rancid when stove was not in use.  A hard drying oil such as linseed is best in the case of sitting over the summer or collecting antique  stoves keeping them original.


----------



## Piney (Dec 16, 2021)

We oil the steel top of our 100 year old cooking range.  We have no choice.  If we don’t oil it, the meat we toss on it will do it for us.  
We don’t always use pans.  Yes, if we use a veg oil it will smoke.  
Fwiw


----------



## bholler (Dec 16, 2021)

I always use grape seed oil on my cast iron pans.


----------



## fbelec (Dec 18, 2021)

bholler said:


> I always use grape seed oil on my cast iron pans.


what is the advantage


----------



## coaly (Dec 18, 2021)

fbelec said:


> what is the advantage


It is considered the best all around oil for seasoning.
It is a drying oil. It gets thick on the cap, sticky on the bottle. That prevents going rancid from non-use.
It is a high smoke point temperature oil. Basically, the higher temp to polymerize, the tougher the coating.
It is low in saturated fats. Does not change flavor of food.
It is relatively cheap.

Linseed is considered #2. Tricky to use, more expensive. I use non food grade on my damper collection, nothing wrong with using hardware stove variety on stove tops.

Frying bacon at least once a week during stove use in winter and wiping the spatter around is enough unless really cold and running hot, or cooking more. Then we wipe once a week with grape seed. Plain vegetable oil smokes off a stove top fast leaving next to no coating. We only need to wipe the side over firebox. The side over oven stays coated since it doesn't get hot enough or used enough to wear off.


----------



## D. Hermit (Dec 18, 2021)

I vote to paint with Stove Bright- Satin Black for a more authentic look. Honestly stove bright metallic black just looks like someone threw silver glitter in a batch of flat black.


----------



## mikey (Apr 17, 2022)

embrace your rust


----------



## begreen (Apr 17, 2022)

Metallic black looks good on castiron stoves. The metallic flakes are almost invisible. It is more of a dark silver-gray that matches the original finish pretty closely. Satin black is darker. While it looks great on steel stoves, it can make a castiron stove look repainted. FWIW, I was told by PE that their cast iron jacketed stoves get SB metallic black paint from the factory. It's a nice finish. This is how it looks after 14 yrs. of service.


----------



## D. Hermit (Apr 17, 2022)

I deal with 75 percent Jotuls, and there matte black standard has no metallic in it from what Ive seen. Its basically satin black. 
Here is a brand new log retainer right from Jotul, I painted the right side satin black , left the other side for comparison. 
Yea its slightly darker,  but its not crazy different.  The fresh paint shine will go away when its cured as well.


----------



## begreen (Apr 17, 2022)

Yes, I am not sure what Jotul uses for paint. Maybe Thurmolox or Senotherm? I just know that SB metallic black looks nice on cast iron stoves. We had a Jotul F602 a few years back that the fellow repainted with this paint and it looked great.


----------



## D. Hermit (Apr 17, 2022)

begreen said:


> Yes, I am not sure what Jotul uses for paint. Maybe Thurmolox? I just know that SB metallic black looks nice on cast iron stoves. We had a Jotul F602 a few years back that the fellow repainted with this paint and it looked great.


Im almost positive they use Thurmalux. And thats who I order my paint from.


----------



## begreen (Apr 17, 2022)

It's hard to tell because they put their own label on it.


Anyhow, I've seen your stoves and they look great too, so no harm if the preference is satin black.


----------



## Isaac Carlson (Apr 18, 2022)

We season our cookstove whenever we cook in a skillet.  The grease gets all over the top.  It just burns off.  Seasoning is only good to about 500*, depending on the oil used.  Flax is higher temp than lard or soy oil and will last longer, but still not long on a wood burning stove.


----------

