I tried following the directions that said to oil the pan and the heat it up until it started to smoke and I did it just the way it said - but later a friend came by who cooks and told me it should only take about 5 minutes to complete the job - I used Canola Oil and left it on the stove for about 45 minutes before it started to smoke - When I took it off and let it cool down - I then reoiled it but it had brown lumps through out the pan. I then tried cooking and egg to see if it worked as on TV - No chance - I could not even say that it stuck to the pan - The egg was welded to the pan - It possibly was my fault but I didn't know it - I just followed the direction that came with it. I would not feel so bad if they sent me another one - Now that I know I didn't do it aright. Ray