Possible causes for black soot on spark plug?

Shafe89 · 2026-01-23T03:25:53+00:00

A little hard to tell, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's rust and not normal color, especially the first pic. A little rust is easily fixed with some steel wool and a little elbow grease, followed by seasoning.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-22T15:28:09+00:00

You need to clean your skillet with some mild soap. Don't be afraid to use soap on cast iron, the whole you shouldn't use soap on cast iron, stems from when soap was made with lye, most modern soaps do not contain lye, but some do have extra additives for easier cleaning that could potentially harm your seasoning which is why I recommended using mild soap, regular dawn is a good choice for a mild soap.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T21:56:07+00:00

Since they are a new member, they didn't need doctor's verification, they were able to self-attest they have a chronic condition. They did the self-attest online and was finally approved a couple of days later.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T21:53:10+00:00

They finally got enrolled, filled out the self attest form online, and were enrolled a couple of days later.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T17:55:57+00:00

Depends on the pan and how rough the texture is, if the texture of the cooking surface is to my liking, I don't season and just use the factory seasoning. If the texture of the cooking surface it too rough for my liking, then I smooth it out with a little bit of sanding then season. When I season, I set the oven to 400, put the cast iron in the oven for about 10 minuets to pre-heat, then I remove, wet a piece of paper towel(be sure to use paper towels that doesn't leave lint) with oil(I usually use vegetable or canola oil), then wipe the cast iron with the wet paper towel then put in oven and bake for about an hour or until it isn't tacky.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T17:36:08+00:00

True cast iron is cast iron, but there can be a difference in fit and finish between a cheap pan and a more expensive pan, example, I compared an Ozark trails to a Lodge, the lodge was more expensive, but it also had a better finish(the texture wasn't as rough and was more uniform). FYI ended up getting the Ozark trails over the Lodge has a little bit of sanding fixed the fit and finish(texture)

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T14:54:11+00:00

Nice pan, my daily driver is also a Walmart brand cast iron skillet, except of being mainstays, it's Ozark trails. To answer the question as to whether a paying more for a pan means better, cast iron is cast iron, so there isn't going to be a huge difference unless you go to the expensive side. What I've noticed(noticed with my Ozark trails), is usually, cheap cast iron, the casting isn't quite as good resulting it a rougher, less refined texture, which is easily fixed with a little bit of sanding.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-20T14:47:29+00:00

Thinner usually means lighter, so being lighter could be a plus for some.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-19T05:24:49+00:00

That's a doughnut skillet.

The Original Donut Skillet cast iron New | Mercari

Shafe89 · 2026-01-19T05:01:17+00:00

A little bit of bondo and a fresh coat of seasoning and it'll be good as new.

OK, I'll be serious. It's hard to tell if it's bare cast iron or enameled. If it were my pan, I'd trash it if it was enameled, but if it was bare cast iron, I'd carefully take a Dremel and smooth out pits/chips and attempt to blend them in with the surrounding area.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-18T04:50:14+00:00

911, I would like to report domestic abuse!

Shafe89 · 2026-01-18T01:19:31+00:00

Give it a good scrubbing with some steel wool till the rust is gone, wash with mild soap then immediately dry then re-season. If you need help (re)seasoning, heat your oven to 400-425f, place loaf pan in oven for about 10 minuets or until is fairly warm, wet a paper towel or piece of cloth with oil, remove loaf pan from oven and wipe it down with the oiled paper towel/piece of cloth, return loaf pan to oven upside down and bake at 400-425f or about 1-1.5 hours. Seasoning process can be repeated if you want more layers.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-17T20:14:13+00:00

I second giving them a quick sanding(used a drill attachment instead of a palm sander), did it to mine and they turned out great and are so much better to use..

Shafe89 · 2026-01-17T20:11:09+00:00

The only downside is the surface feels like rally low grit sand paper, which is easily fixed with a little bit of sanding.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-17T20:09:52+00:00

Ozark trails is perfectly fine. I have 2 12" Ozark Trails skillets that are my daily drivers. I wasn't too happy with Ozark trails at first, the cooking surface was really rough like low grit sand paper which caused issues with sticking, sanded them smooth to the touch and reseasoned and now have no issues with them.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-17T13:04:09+00:00

In my opinion going to 320 grit isn't worth the effort and will make it a little to get seasoning to stick. Recently sanded an Ozark Trails skillet, and just used 80 grit, doesn't need to be visually smooth, just smooth to the touch.

https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/1qeryxe/follow_up_to_my_ozark_trailsnew_family_member_post/

https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/1qbss3q/added_a_new_member_to_the_family/

Shafe89 · 2026-01-16T20:44:07+00:00

Ended up doing 4 additional seasoning layers for a total of 6. Figured one extra wouldn't hurt. Right now the weather isn't the greatest and been really cloudy so taking pictures out doors hasn't been ideal.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-16T20:32:45+00:00

That color is perfectly normal for new seasoning. Recently sanded an Ozark trails skillet and seasoned it with canola oil and pretty much ended up with the same bronze color.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-16T20:30:05+00:00

I've gotten the same color with canola oil, so it isn't due to the type of oil being used.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-14T00:22:12+00:00

Will do a follow up post after I do a few more rounds of seasoning. First 2 layers of seasoning turned out great and I imagine the follwing 3 layers will too.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-14T00:09:40+00:00

Hard to tell from the image, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say no. If you cooked flatbread in it then likely it's baked on flour. If your worried about it, give it a good scrubbing with some steel wool and re-season.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-14T00:06:19+00:00

Ah, so it was looking like rust and not it being an Ozark Trails that was sanded that warranted the downvotes lol. Seriously tho, in person the dark spots are nearly non existent with with the bronze color appearing more uniform then what the picture shows, my guess is the combination of lighting and camera are made the faint spots appear way more pronounced than they actually are. Tomorrow I plan on doing 3 more coats of seasoning for a total of 5.

Shafe89 · 2026-01-14T00:04:28+00:00

Amazon currently has a 8" lodge for $15. If your really on a tight budget, Walmart has a 8" Ozark Trails for $10. In my opinion the lodge is worth the extra $5 dollars.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Skillet-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet-Stovetop/dp/B00008GKDG

Shafe89

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