Benjammin,

So in the past I've cooked, cleaned (scrape/wipe out or if bad steam a bit w/ water and then scrape/wipe - no metal other than aluminum foil), and then heated the pot and applied a layer of vegi oil inside & out and let it heat a bit before storage.

Are you saying that I should NOT apply the oil before storing?

I do find the oiled surfaces annoying (dirty) when handling it between trips/uses.