A Craigs List find for Me! Finally!


 
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WOW... Just WOW.

I read your previous post and I thought "it can't be that bad" - I was wrong
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IMG_08781.jpg is amazing
 
Thanks Chad !... I was beginning to feel like I was just being a "Whiny Boy" over this...
What you see in that photo is the hardest stuff I have ever seen inside a kettle. You would think since it is so hard, that it would be brittle, and easily chip off - Wrong, this stuff is very stubborn...
The seller knew it was a mess, and I think that is why she priced it at only $30.00, I thought I was getting one heck of a bargain, not so much now ! I dont regret the purchase though.
 
Corey - that's an awesome looking grill!

I just finished a similar restoration (see my thread for detaisl)- took everything apart and repainted. Added the TNG which I absolutely love. After finishing my project, I recently noticed that the bottom cross supports which run the length of the cart have their connectors ruted out so I will be running threaded rod through them to keep everything together.

I used Rustoleum High Heat Ultra from WalMart on the cart. It has a semigloss finish which I liked better than the regular high heat Rustoleum which is flat black. Some folks have painted the cart with Rustoleum Aplliance epoxy (or somthing like that) with seemingly good results.

I also added the lamp part probe grommet mod for under $5, so that my probes would not get crimped by the lid.

Good luck. You'll love her even more when you're done!
 
Thanks Ashish,
That is good to know, I wiil check out your thread. Looking at a cleaned up spot of the original frame paint, I would call it a satin finish, it certainly is not flat. So if I need to repaint I will know what to get !...
I have yet to dissasemble the frame, But I think I am going to be very lucky in respect to that !.. I believe the frame is going to clean up nicely enough for me to be very happy with it as original, without the need to repaint, I have not thouroughly cleaned it yet, but I have not spotted anything that offends me yet!... No major chips or scratches, If I can just get off all the buildup inside the bowl and lid I will be a very happy Weber Camper..
 
i recently cleaned the inside of a weber made in the 60s that had an incredible amount of buildup.

like you said, it reminded me of jb weld

i soaked paper towels in 'krud cutter' and covered the entire bowl with them. let them stay for a few days and kept them moist.

then i used a plastic putty knife. a LOT of the gunk scraped off. still took about 8 hours of cleaning though
 
Troy, thanks for that suggestion, I may just try something like that, perhaps Gunk Off engine degreaser, soak some paper towels, layer on the whole inside, then wrap it all in a large plastic trash bag to keep it all moist, and let her sit !... I expect even doing that will stiil result in a lengthy scraping chipping process to make it all go away !
 
Hey Corey, Just checking in, sounds like the project is going good. Just a thought, on my project I repainted the frame but that was the only time I've painted a Weber frame. I do suggest using 0000 steel wool on the frame to clean it up. It removes a layer of oxidation and really cleans the original paint, I've done it many times. Also on the outside of the lid and bowl the 0000 steel wool works great if all of the grease is gone and I've always used an sos pad to remove the grease, it doesn't leave any scratch marks.
 
Hey Mike, Thanks for the 0000 steel wool suggestion, I think I have some.., Work has kept me away from this project for a few days, so I have not made a lot of progress since my last post. But I did get to spend some time on it yesterday and today! I mounted a brass wire wheel on my drill motor, and that is taking off all the nasty inside buildup. It is slow going though, I have put about 3-4 hours into just on the inside of the bowl, and I would say that I only have about a third of the bowl clean. It is however cleaning up nicely, the porcelin under the gunk is in real good condition. It feels so extreme using a power tool to clean this thing, but it works.. I call it "Cleaning, with Extreme Prejudice".
 
Alberto, Welcome to the board !..
That gunk was very hard, and it was thick. The only effective way I found to remove that stuff, was to use a brass wire brush attached to my drill motor!.. I know it seems extreeme, but it worked. Between the bowl and the lid, I easily invested 10-12 hours,maybe more!, letting the wire brush ware away at that stuff. Now that that is done I can focus on clean up to the rest of this unit. Everything else is in pretty good shape, so I expect the rest of this project to be a real pleasure!..
 
Thanks for the tip, I do not have a power drill. I recently picked up an oldie but goodie red and it has some gunk on it, not sure if it will be as tough to remove as yours. Elbow grease will have to do.
 
Ok, I have finished the thorough cleaning of this performer, and reassembled it today !
I believe it came out pretty nice considering what I started with. It was a lot of work, specifically the cleaning of the buildup on the inside of the bowl, and lid, it was a bear on this one, but the finished results were worth the effort.
Finished Photos:
http://i993.photobucket.com/al...0041711/IMG_1125.jpg
http://i993.photobucket.com/al...041711/IMG_11232.jpg
http://i993.photobucket.com/al...0041711/IMG_1122.jpg
http://i993.photobucket.com/al...0041711/IMG_1128.jpg

Overall I am very pleased to have picked this up for $30.00, and to finally own the performer I really wanted but could not afford, or justify, when I purchased my first kettle back in 1990.
I have photographed it here with my stainless steel rotisserie from C&C Grilling Co. (The Cajun Bandit People) I think all that stainless looks very nice together!

Now, to complete the restoration on this one (next decent paycheck), I will order some new plastic parts, and a new ash sweeper from Weber, and I believe I will pop for one of those stainless steel hinged cooking grates for her (she deserves it!).
I am anxious to use it though, and she is now fully functional as is without any new parts, so this weekend I believe I will just borrow a cooking grate from one of my other kettles, and do me up a batch of Road Side chicken, gotta to take her out for a test drive !...

Here is the link to my photobucket album for this project, if you want to, you can see the early pics as well as the above:
http://s993.photobucket.com/al.../CL%20Find%20041711/

Corey
 
Looks Fantastic!
Definitley have to cook up something very soon!

What did you polish the stainless with?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AJ S.:

What did you polish the stainless with? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The stainless had been improperly cleaned previous in its life, It had scratches, and had been scrubbed in places without any regard for the direction of the grain.
So after I cleaned it off, I used a very fine wet sanding sponge to try and hide the evidence of the previous improper scrubbing, and surface scratches. I then applied a high quality car polish to put a protective coating on it, and to add a little shine to it!
You can still see the evidence of previous "Stainless Abuse", but it is greatly improved, and very presentable!
 
Corey,
Truly a wonderful job on that grill!
The rotis ring with the stainless all shined up really make it pop.
From where you started to the final result, truly a piece to be proud of.
Time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!
AJ
 
Thanks AJ !...

I really enjoyed cleaning her up. (even though it was a bigger job than I had expected)
I am headed to the kitchen right now to mix up some Roadside Chicken Marinade, gonna cook on my new/old performer for the first time this evening!

Corey
 
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