When it comes to your cast iron cooking surface, the hotly debated subject of rough or smooth will always be on the top of the discussion list. But I think anyone experienced with maintaining the seasoning on cast iron skillets will agree, rough is better for holding the seasoning.

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Another point to consider when sanding or grinding down the surface of your cast iron pan is, you are removing material, thus reducing it's heat retention power. Not by much, I know, but isn't heat retention the main reason for cast iron?

A smooth cast iron skillet certainly is more pleasing to the eye. But unless you are just going to be hanging it on the wall for all to see, you'd be better off leaving it asis.

What I like to do is sand down the flat cooking surface by hand, but just enough to knock down the peaks that can snag your spatula. When the cast iron is well seasoned, the surface will be slick enough to allow your utensils to easily glide across it's gritty surface.

For the best performance of your Lodge Cast Iron, leave it asis. It will hold the seasoning for a long time, and you will see that it performs the same if not better than the smoothed down cast iron surface.