Cracked or warped? Toss it. Otherwise, restore it.

Very rarely.

Cast iron is absurdly forgiving. Rust? Strip and reseason. Uneven seasoning? Scrub and reseason. Decades of gunk? Burn it off in a self-cleaning oven cycle. The only real reasons to replace a cast iron pan are structural failures you cannot fix.

A crack is a death sentence. If it’s cracked—especially through the cooking surface—it’s done. Cracks will only grow, and they can trap bacteria or cause uneven heating. Toss it.

Warping is also game over. If the pan rocks on a flat burner, it won’t heat evenly, and you can’t fix it without a machine press. Some modern cheap pans warp easily. If it wobbles, replace it.

Everything else is cosmetic. Pitting, surface rust, old seasoning, even someone running it through the dishwasher—all fixable with elbow grease and time. I’ve restored pans that looked like they’d been dredged from a swamp. They cook fine.

If the iron itself is sound, restore it. If it’s cracked or warped, let it go.

Your great-grandkids could still be cooking on that pan. Don’t throw that away because of some surface rust.