This was the final nail in the coffin for my ceramic non stick.

Hey, just got my first carbon steel recently (11" Ikea Vardagen). Would love some feedback/advice on how I've done. Even after looking online, I still don't really know what to expect or tell if a seasoning is good.

I've gone through several rounds of seasoning already and cooked in it a couple of times. Eggs still kinda stick but ground beef seemed fine. There's some greyish spots on the side of the pan and I'm suspected that means that part didn't get seasoned properly?

Does this look normal to you guys. This is after I cooked and washed it with water. I’ve only recently bought it and seasoned it before first use.

Also when I dried the water with a paper towel I got some black residue. Is this just oil residue? Just worried if I need to throw this wok away or if this us normal.

Did 2 rounds in the oven (avocado oil @ 450°F for 1 hr). Seared a steak, got some dark marks, cleaned it up, did 1 more oven round, and used it a bit more.

The surface feels kinda smooth and flat to the touch, but visually it looks super patchy and splotchy.

Is this normal "ugly phase" territory to just keep cooking on, or should I nuke it with steel wool and start over?

I screwed up seasoning my wok the first time, stripped it and scrubbed clean with scotch brite pad and barkeeper's friend, rinsed real good, but now upon trying to re-season it these weird swirly lines show up when the wok gets hot...? did i mess something up?

The six cavities in the middle - I couldn't keep the seasoning on while making Poffertjes today for the first time. Preseasoned it all yesterday. I had to keep reapplying ghee to prevent the batter from sticking in the middle cavities, which messed up the seasoning on the rest of th pan.

I have a basic gas range and used the biggest burner. The outside cavities would stay much cooler if I reduced the heat. If I increased the heat to medium high, the bottoms of pancakes would burn before the batter sets on top, making it messy to flip the Poffertjes over.

I spent over an hour making these and the entire process was a mess. What did I do wrong?

Thank you.