Stop overthinking it: use vegetable oil and an oven
Do it in the oven with cheap vegetable oil.
That’s it. You don’t need flaxseed oil, special seasoning blends, or a 47-step ritual. The internet made this way harder than it is.
Here’s the actual method:
Wash the stripped pan with soap and water (yes, soap is fine now that it’s bare metal). Dry it thoroughly over heat.
Rub a thin layer of vegetable oil or canola oil all over — inside and out, including the handle. Then try to wipe it off with a clean cloth. No, seriously. You want the thinnest film possible. If it looks greasy, you used too much.
Put it upside down in a cold oven on the middle rack (place a sheet of foil on the rack below to catch drips). Set the oven to 450°F / 230°C. Once it hits temp, let it bake for one hour. Then just turn the oven off and let it cool inside.
Repeat that process 3–4 times. After that, cook some bacon or fry onions in it. The seasoning will build naturally from there.
Flaxseed oil gives a beautiful hard coat that flakes off in a month. I’ve seen it happen. Stick with vegetable oil or crisco — not glamorous, but it holds.
And don’t stress about perfection. Stripped cast iron is resilient. Even a bad first seasoning can be fixed by just cooking with it.