1998 Weber summit 425 project - new member

[Sonia Piecki]

What kind/color of paint are you using?

Tremclad rust paint gloss black for the frame

 

[Sonia Piecki]

What kind/color of paint are you using?

Tremclad rust paint gloss black for the frame

Now that the pollen seems to have stopped trying to get my project finished.

Removed the old wheels
Quick sand all over the frame. Tapped off the parts I don't want to paint and first layer of spray paint app

I'll have to wait till later on tomorrow to post pictures but coming soon. Not done yet but might be doing the full assembly tomorrow.

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Here are a few pictures of the Frame work. There was a bit of rust on top and the black was looking dull so I decided to give it a fresh coat of paint.
I tapped up anything I didn't want to get paint onto including the factory stickers. I removed the old wheels, one was broken so I had gotten new 8 inch wheels. Gave the frame a light sand all over.
For the paint I used tremclad gloss black rust paint. I did three coats in total starting with a very light coat. The red spot on the last picture are two way outdoor tape to hold the cookbox secure. There was some foam-tapeish looking stuff on there before that had rusted the frame so I'm hoping that the sanding I did with the paint will extend its life.

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Here are some cookbox pictures and how I am hoping this will address the cookbox issues. This is meant as a temporary fix; even if this only works for a few months it'll give me a good template idea. I used stove liners and used the flavor bar rests as a holder for the aluminium sheets. All nuts and bolts were replaced with stainless steel hardware and I forgot to take a picture but when assembling the cookbox I did fill in the grooves with high temp silicone.
Small note, I had bought high heat black paint but the more I look at it the more it looks dark brown in the sunlight. I'll leave it for now and if in a few years I have to make further changes I'll see about addressing that.
You'll see I did put in new cross-over tubes that I got for about 6$ each. (Link below)

Weber OEM Stainless Steel Crossover Burner Tube SKU: 63664

Weber OEM Stainless Steel Crossover Burner Tube

Qty. 1 x Weber OEM Stainless Steel Crossover Burner Tube Dimensions: 6 3/4

www.grillspot.ca

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Here it is! almost completely done but I still have a few things to address.

1. paint the inside if the weber logo black
2. one flavoriser bar rest needs a quick fix, I'll post a follow-up on that as soon as I address it.
3. the small wheels I tried to use the two way tape to jam them in there as the clips inside are broken but I put too much tape so now they wont go in all the way. I'll likely kick myself for doing that later for I have to remove them and only apply a small section of tape, my mistake.
4. The large wheel plastic caps are presently tapped on with two way tape, I think I might of gotten the wrong size of theres something I did wrong when putting them on. I might leave it as it won't really be moving around much but not sure yet.
5. I'll do some additional cleaning on the rotissery rest and on the top rack.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Wow, Sonia! You are way ahead of me. It's great to see one of these very special grills get a life extension. That's a creative fix on the porcelain plated metal front and back. Mine isn't horrible, but the rust has started. If I don't come up with a fix for it, there is no point putting it all back together. I am still holding out for some kind of stainless-steel plates, but I will be very interested to hear how your easier - and way less costly - fix works out.

My Summit had those same "pads" where the firebox rested on the frame. I was trying to figure out what they originally were. They almost looked like folded sandpaper. I suppose they were trying to put some insulation so that metal wasn't scratching metal. I haven't decided what I am doing when I put mine on. I would like to know more about the foam tape you used. Do you think it will be ok with the high heat? I had thought of using high heat felt but worried it would drink up water and cause more rust. Maybe Nomex instead?

p.s. Your fuel gauge decal looks like it is fine, but if you need a new one, send me a PM. I have replica decals for this Summit as well as early Genesis 1-5 and x000 Genesis grills - even for the Jr.!

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Wow, Sonia! You are way ahead of me. It's great to see one of these very special grills get a life extension. That's a creative fix on the porcelain plated metal front and back. Mine isn't horrible, but the rust has started. If I don't come up with a fix for it, there is no point putting it all back together. I am still holding out for some kind of stainless-steel plates, but I will be very interested to hear how your easier - and way less costly - fix works out.

My Summit had those same "pads" where the firebox rested on the frame. I was trying to figure out what they originally were. They almost looked like folded sandpaper. I suppose they were trying to put some insulation so that metal wasn't scratching metal. I haven't decided what I am doing when I put mine on. I would like to know more about the foam tape you used. Do you think it will be ok with the high heat? I had thought of using high heat felt but worried it would drink up water and cause more rust. Maybe Nomex instead?

p.s. Your fuel gauge decal looks like it is fine, but if you need a new one, send me a PM. I have replica decals for this Summit as well as early Genesis 1-5 and x000 Genesis grills - even for the Jr.!

Thank you Jon!
I only plan on using this bbq during the camping season so I'm hoping I can get away with replacing the aluminum liners once a year (at 1$ each its more then affordable lol) but we will see. If not I did spot in the automotive section a roll of sheet aluminum. This might be my next upgrade if the liners don't work out.

Here's a picture of the tape I used, I'm not sure how hot this part would actually get so I think it'll be fine but I can post an update later on. I think they're only purpose was as you said to it's not metal on metal and I'm thinking in case the frame tell then it keeps the cookbox attached as nothing really holds it on.
I'll leave the decal as is for now but I'll keep you in mind if ever it starts to peel away.

 

[Bruce]

Those oven liners are interesting, but if they are exposed to high heat, they may not be thick enough to withstand melting such as right around the burners.
Another aluminum option that would be a bit thicker would be some aluminum flashing. It usually comes in rolls.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah, they'll burn right through as soon as flames hit.

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Those oven liners are interesting, but if they are exposed to high heat, they may not be thick enough to withstand melting such as right around the burners.
Another aluminum option that would be a bit thicker would be some aluminum flashing. It usually comes in rolls.

I'll test it out tonight and take some pictures after using it for a bit.

 

[Bruce]

Please do Sonia.

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Post burn pics! I'm happy with the outcome so far, cooked my first meal on it last night after greasing the grills. You can see that the new igniter's metal guards have burn marks on it but the foil so far looks intact aside from some of the cooking oil over spray. The high temp silicone looks like it bubbled out a bit so I'll trim the excess before the next use.
Other item I addressed last night was the small wheels; I pulled them out and reinstalled them with only a small strip of two sided tape so they shouldn't fall out anymore and they are properly sitting now.

Still a few things to address but so far so good in my opinion.

 

[LMichaels]

Continue to test. At the very least it will give some hope to using a stainless steel sandwich as Jon has described using on the one he got from me. But, honestly glorified aluminum foil is not what I would put my faith in. Hope it goes well for you though

 

[Sonia Piecki]

Continue to test. At the very least it will give some hope to using a stainless steel sandwich as Jon has described using on the one he got from me. But, honestly glorified aluminum foil is not what I would put my faith in. Hope it goes well for you though

Absolutely and if the concept itself turns out successful I do want to make actual inserts eventually. The reason I think these should last at least a while for me is that they are actually fairly thick and these are made to stay in a home stove for months enduring potentially constant cooking and baking while catching any grease that gets thrown at them. They are also not in actual contact with the flames themselves, sure if there is extra grease that falls on them they would have some fire contact but it should be somewhat limited

 

[LMichaels]

Absolutely and if the concept itself turns out successful I do want to make actual inserts eventually. The reason I think these should last at least a while for me is that they are actually fairly thick and these are made to stay in a home stove for months enduring potentially constant cooking and baking while catching any grease that gets thrown at them. They are also not in actual contact with the flames themselves, sure if there is extra grease that falls on them they would have some fire contact but it should be somewhat limited

Yeah it's not really actual "exposure" to flames that will do them in. But exposure to high heat in the presence of corrosive drippings as well. That will make short work of them But, what I like is they're "proving concept". If they hold up (even for as few as 5 cooks) to me it's proved the validity of my original thought and that Jon also is following. Then if some enterprising individual with ability to work stainless steel sheet metal uses this as a template. Winner Winner Ribeye Dinner!

 

[Jon Tofte]

If I pull this off, Larry, I will be looking for an invite for the Ribeye Dinner !

 

[Richard in NS]

I don’t own a Summit but following this, I have my fingers crossed that one of you will come up with a permanent fix. It is just sad to see such nice grills die because of this issue. Resurrection would be Sweet!

 

[LMichaels]

If I pull this off, Larry, I will be looking for an invite for the Ribeye Dinner !

Trust me my friend you WILL see one! And the steaks will be PRIME!

 

[Jon Tofte]

Please see my 1st Generation Summit thread for an update on getting stainless shields made.

 

[Jon Tofte]

NEWS FLASH! Looks like I found a place to make the reinforcement shields at a reasonable price. See update in my Summit thread:

2nd Chance for a True Weber Classic: A 1998 1st Generation Summit 450

Thanks, Larry. I actually left my piece with him to do his measurements rather than relying on my crude cardboard pattern. I mentioned that idea as a “dream” solution. He said his shop could not do the curved part that rests on the frame and that the soft bend where the front panel transitions...

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