Rust on my Q 100 grates - cleaning advice needed

I thought I would have to reseason the Q100 grates because I initially thought that they were cast iron. I used a wire brush and a SOS pad on it. Based on the below emails with Weber, it looks like I should not have done that since there is a porcelain finish on it. Are my grates shot now? I still have rust on it and I assume that the porcelain is probably gone.

I have provided instructions for cleaning the porcelain cast iron cooking grates for a Q100 below. Porcelain Coated Cast Iron:
Turn on the grill to High and close the lid. Allow the grill to run for 10-15 minutes or until any smoking stops. Brush any residue off of the grates with a stainless steel grill brush. For more thorough cleaning, take the cool grates out of the unit and wash using a soft cloth and hot soapy water. To remove stubborn build up scrub gently with a cleaning pad safe for non-stick surfaces. Beware: steel wool may scratch the porcelain finish. Rinse thoroughly and towel dry. Do not let the cooking grates drip dry: this will cause them to rust prematurely. Do not use lemon-based cleaners. Do not clean the grates in a self-cleaning oven. Follow this cleaning procedure as a regular maintenance procedure immediately before or right after using the grill.

Some rusting on the grates is to be expected and will cause no adverse health effects. Don't worry about replacing them if you are only having some surface rust.

I then replied with:

I am confused by your statement - Beware:steel wool may scratch the
porcelain finish.

These are cast iron grates, they have no porcelain right?

If I read correctly, I should not worry about rust right?

I will try to use a wire brush and get off as much as I can and then recoat
with a solid shortening oil and cook at a low temp?

How come you did not say to recoat the cast iron grates?

The reply I received was:

The cast iron grates are not straight cast iron. They have a porcelain enameled finish on them. As such they do not require the "seasoning" of straight cast iron.

My Q grates don't have a porcelain coating on them either. After cleaning I spray the grate with Pam.

There seems to have been some confusion on the board about the coating on the Q cast iron grates. I have a Q 220 and a Char-Q. Both have cast iron grates, and while I might described them as having come "pre-seasoned" in the sense that new Lodge Cast Iron cookware is "pre-seasoned", the cast iron grates definitely are not coated with porcelain enamel in the sense that my Genesis Silver B grates are porcelain enameled cast iron. That is to say, they can rust.

I personally (and I take no responsibility for screwing up your grates if I am wrong) would take the grates off, brush them down with a wire brush, wash them in a very mild detergent in very hot soapy water, then towel dry. I then would coat them in a thin coat of vegetable shortening and put them on the grill and run the grill on high for half an hour.

After each cook, I would brush the grates off and spray them with a light coat of cooking spray. At least that's what I do with my Q grates and they have stayed rust free and non-stick, but then again, they do stay in the garage when they are not being used.

Good luck!

Pat

I stopped at HD this morning to pick up a charcoal grate for my Performer, and while I was there I decided to check out the grate in a display Q 200. I was surprised to see that it looked just like mine. Therefore, it appears that I do have the porcelain coating on my grate eventhough the grill is almost 5 years old.

well, i think weber has some seriouse explaining to do. my "coated" grates are shoddy at best. junk at worst. they rusted the first time they were used. at the time i didn't think much about it. but as this conversation comes up now and then i realize that even weber doesn't have a clue nor cares about the grates. i suspect that most are poorly coated and weber doesn't know nor want to take care of it. yes, i'm rough on weber cuz so far they act like there is nothing wrong. the answer is to either bug weber about it or just treat them like junk cast iron and keep them oiled up. weber works hard at customer service etc but toatally bombed on this. weber, send me one of yer customer survey cards !

Does anyone know where the Q is manufactured? I suspet somewhere else besides the U.S.

When I received the new regulator the other day I looked to see where it was manufactured. It said "Made in ECC", which I think is europe, but not that entirely sure.

Is the Q made in China?