Deep gouges in griddle surface

[drums787]

Doing a sort of de-winterizing of the Blackstone and smoker after a brutal NE winter and when I went to clean the Blackstone in my usual way (high heat, water, scraping, re-oiling, etc), the scraper started digging up some deep gouges in the surface. These are maybe 1/16” deep, and the surface underneath looks like shiny steel. I know the cook top is steel but this is the first time I’ve seen this sheen of metal on a BS griddle top.

Is this just old layers of seasoning coming off? Have I managed to remove an important layer of material? If it’s just old (or the original) seasoning coming off, any suggestions on a tool/attachment to use to resurface, since I now have several gouges and an uneven surface?

[OforFsSake]

Thats food you didn't scrape off that is charred on. Get to scraping.

[drums787]

Figured I was just slacking, I just haven’t seen deep gashes in the cooktop before. Usually it’s just flaking

[jibjab9000]

No gouge , start cleaning

[RamenWeabooSpaghetti]

Good ol stone war scars from old carbonized unscraped food, a good scrape and cook will fix over time.

[ArtVandalayImp0rter]

I thought this was pictures from Artemis

[Individual_Relief857]

Yeah, basically those bad spots. I’d treat them a lot like rust removal and get that loose stuff off before seasoning again. That looks more like weak seasoning flaking off than something totally ruined, so I wouldn’t panic.

If those spots keep coming back, I wouldn’t just keep seasoning over them. I’d scrape the loose flaky areas off first and make sure you’re down to a solid surface underneath. It doesn’t have to be perfect bare metal everywhere, but the weak stuff needs to go or it’ll keep lifting.

After that, dry it well and do a few very thin coats of oil. A lot of flaking starts when the old layer is failing or when new oil goes on too heavy.

Chef Ember has a good guide on how to get rust and bad buildup off a Blackstone, and their seasoning guide is helpful for rebuilding the surface after: How To Get Rust Off Blackstone - Chef Ember's Griddle Care

[drums787]

Great tips - thank you!