I have a carbon steel wok but it became rusty recently when I forgot something in it for a day.
I decided to scrub everything off and re-season it. The problem is I can't get the center of the wok to be seasoned. No matter how much oil I add, it burns and disappears leaving the center as bare metal…
My method is applying a very thin layer of oil and making it burn on the gas, then when it's dry (and not seasoned…) I rub more oil. It worked for everywhere except the middle.
Should I scrub off everything again and start over? If not, what should I do?
Best Answer
It sounds to me like you are using too much heat to allow the seasoning process to work, instead the oil is burning off before it can polymerize and form the seasoning layer.
The bits that are already seasoned probably don't need to be re-seasoned; you can add seasoning to the areas where it is not seasoned. You may want to do multiple layers to ensure that the coatings are even across the whole pan.
I suspect that what you need to do, as you have been rubbing thin layers of oil over the surface, but then use a lower heat setting and ensure that the pan is fully heated through over as much of the pan as you can get hot and at constant temperature. One way to do this is to heat it in an oven, rather than over a flame.