I have too, to clean up a new-to-me pan prior to reseasoning. It does no harm.
I did use a rotary wire brush in my cordless drill. I knew I was going to have to re-season it, anyway. I went to the Lodge web-site, and it says that pans are usually seasoned many times in their lifetime. After viewing their video, a bunch of videos popped up from Youtube. One of those showed a chef cleaning a badly neglected pan with a cup brush. After the cleaning, I covered in lard and baked at 350 for 1 hour. Got a nice finish and deep, dark color. They don't even look like the same pieces I started with.
