Iron cast cookware: rust-ish or black coat even on new cookware, is it safe?

Lodge is an ideal choice because it comes pre-seasoned. While I expect to wash a bit of muck out of them after bringing one home, it should only be stuff the pan has accumulated after it was seasoned in the factory. And I don't mind that, because they're pans after all and designed to accumulate things. If you're still seeing that after uses and washes, I'd get in touch with them.

You might be in need of replacements, which the warranty (fortunately also great) would cover. I can't tell from the photos if it's iron oxide or not, and obviously you can't either - I'd call the warranty line and let them know what you're seeing.

It's certainly not what I've seen (I love them!) after an initial rinsing with hot water and drying prior to first use. Something seems off to me.

I've used cast iron cookware for years. From new, they should be washed and rinsed well to get rid of the manufacturing oils. Then they should be seasoned according to the manufacturers instructions. This typically involves wiping with a vegetable oil, burning it off, wiping, and repeating. Frying pans should only be wiped with oil and paper after use, saucepans can be washed with soapy water, rinsed well, and dried thoroughly before wiping with oil. And yes, the paper will have some rust appearing on it. This is quite normal, and is harmless. After they've been used a number of times, there will be a build up of black carbon. This is normal, and shouldn't be scraped off. I use my (45 year old) Dutch oven about once a year, and give it a quick wash and dry, then a wipe with oil before using it. Hope this helps!

"Pre-seasoning" is not seasoning. It is a spray-on of multitudes of pans at the Lodge factory, and it will not last long. I don't buy new cast iron, but I see the black stuff shown in your last photo after I have taken crusty old cast iron out of a lye bath and then cleaned it off as well as I can with a brush. The black continues to come off when I oil it and remove the oil right before first seasoning, when the iron is still raw. But cast iron that is fully seasoned does not do this.

Do you dry off all the oil when you put a pan away? I haven't watched Martha Stewart and don't intend to, but I will tell you that any oil put on the pan during seasoning and during storage should be wiped off thoroughly. The cast iron will absorb what it needs, and you don't want superfluous oil on it.

ALSO: You say you're seasoning and will see when that's done in a couple of hours?!

Sorry, but I think you should be thinking about a couple of days. You should not expect any kind of performance out of a cast iron pan, certainly not a modern Lodge, with one coat of seasoning. Put the pan in the oven. Heat the oven to its lowest temp, then take the pan out and smother it in Crisco. Then try your best to take all of the Crisco off, no matter how many paper or cotton towels it takes. (You will see black residue on the towel, and that's normal for this stage.) Put the pan (upside down; if you followed directions, there is no need for aluminum foil below) in the oven at low temp, and when it reaches that, raise the temp a hundred or two hundred degrees. When it reaches that, raise the temp more. Keep going till you get to 450 or 500, and when the oven reaches that, cut it off. Don't open the oven door until it and the pan are cold.

Then repeat the process three more times.

One coat of seasoning is nothing.