Good Eats has an episode about this. Alton Brown's steps are the same, but he warms the pan in the oven until heated but not too hot to handle, then applies the oil. In theory that will actually open up the iron grain and allow you to get better adherence of the oil to metal.
Well, my usual "dry pan" during normal cleaning is "stick it over a burner until the water evaporates", so following my usual regimen, they'd be pretty much the same.
For cleaning, a pile of kosher salt and scrubbing until clean works wonders as well.
Haven't worked with BBQ plates. I used to use the salt method for my skillet, but I went through a friggin' tone of salt, and... if you have water in the pan first, lots of the salt dissolves and it is just inefficient.
I just get a scouring pad I don't use for anything else. If this doesn't take stuff off, I go to boiling, and then everything comes off lickety-split. Amazon.com: Scotch-Brite General Purpose Scouring Pad 96-20, 6 in x 9 in, 20/Case: Industrial & Scientific