Another 420 Restoration

[Fred Smith]

Just get her nice and hot to burn off any residue and start cooking.

Thanks!

 

[Fred Smith]

If you are using CI grates, then it would be a good idea to season them with oil (pam or otherwise) and then heat them up good. Maybe do that a couple times to season them. You could do that to stainless grates, but I wouldn't bother. Doing the seasoning will duplicate the burn in as well. Then start cooking.

Thanks! Using original Weber grates.

 

[Fred Smith]

 

[Bruce]

I would think you still have room for a couple burgers.

 

[NigelG]

Great job Fred!

 

[Fred Smith]

Thanks everyone! This forum has provided the most valuable information on Weber Grills that I could have ever asked for. When I first took on this project it was soley to clean it up and use it for the summer. After questioning why my grill had two pieces of metal stuck between the firebox and the cookbox I knew I had to dig deeper. Well the journey has been well worth the end results and for that I am truly thankful to all and the forum host. I think it maybe time to build up the 450 afterall and as a form of thanks gift it forward.

 

[Fred Smith]

So I noticed that while moving the grill around the the doors shifted as the grill was being lifted and it caused some very minor rubbing of the paint on the new lower panel. I had some vinyl wrap around and added it to the area where the magnet hits and a little extra for those times it needs to be moved. Not the biggest invention but it's free and easy to do.
View attachment 77266

Wanted to add a pre resto image to show how it looks without it if left unprotected.

 

[Fred Smith]

So I took the old grates from the 420 and passed them down to BIL to use on his genesis 435. The 9mm thick grates are his favorite and with a very small cut he'll have 3 of the small ones in there.

 

[Eric-NH]

I'm going to touch it up with some paint but it sucks because it's such an easy fix in the production process.

Did you see that I used a flap disk on the tubes to take just the tiniest bit of material off the tubes at the "corners"? Saved the enamel and if it takes some life off the tubes they are a lot easier to replace in time

 

[Eric-NH]

And overall what a fantastic job! I've become completely addicted to cleaning up and giving new life to these old webers. The summit in doing like yours is the first one of the newer style, and what a hell of a grill. Enjoy it!

 

[Fred Smith]

That right there is an excellent tip for anyone doing a restoration.

 

[Eric-NH]

I think you might want to try the high heat por15 to touch up those chips. Probably the most durable solution. I'll be checking mine over seasonally and touching up anything that needs it. Like to think I'll get a LONG time out of my grill

 

[Fred Smith]

I think you might want to try the high heat por15 to touch up those chips. Probably the most durable solution. I'll be checking mine over seasonally and touching up anything that needs it. Like to think I'll get a LONG time out of my grill

I found this during the breakdown and parting of the 450. The amount of rust on the other 3 burners is almost non existent compared area as there is from where the manifold was pressing against the cookbox. I noticed water was getting through there and the metal manifold and water didn't mix well. I know it's late remedy lost Summits at this stage but take a look any grill you have and ensure you don't have metal rubbing where it shouldn't be. I noticed during a visit to the orange box store that some of the newer grill have a space between the cookbox and zip ties or something holding the manifold back. Maybe I just noticed what Weber knew. I'll have to look at the manifold on the 420 and verify that's not currently happening.

 

[Eric-NH]

I found this during the breakdown and parting of the 450. The amount of rust on the other 3 burners is almost non existent compared area as there is from where the manifold was pressing against the cookbox. I noticed water was getting through there and the metal manifold and water didn't mix well. I know it's late remedy lost Summits at this stage but take a look any grill you have and ensure you don't have metal rubbing where it shouldn't be. I noticed during a visit to the orange box store that some of the newer grill have a space between the cookbox and zip ties or something holding the manifold back. Maybe I just noticed what Weber knew. I'll have to look at the manifold on the 420 and verify that's not currently happening.

I noticed the same on mine and made sure that nothing is touching the cookbox. Igniters etc. I kept realigning until I was satisfied that nothing touched

 

[LMichaels]

While I am sure it will contribute, from my experience it always seems to start where the burner holes are. And will very seldom begin on the back where there are no holes

 

[John-NY]

I found this during the breakdown and parting of the 450. The amount of rust on the other 3 burners is almost non existent compared area as there is from where the manifold was pressing against the cookbox. I noticed water was getting through there and the metal manifold and water didn't mix well. I know it's late remedy lost Summits at this stage but take a look any grill you have and ensure you don't have metal rubbing where it shouldn't be. I noticed during a visit to the orange box store that some of the newer grill have a space between the cookbox and zip ties or something holding the manifold back. Maybe I just noticed what Weber knew. I'll have to look at the manifold on the 420 and verify that's not currently happening.

Curious, which models in Home Depot did you notice the space and zip ties?
Were they Summits, or the new Genesis, or something else?

 

[Fred Smith]

Genesis and spirit

 

[Eric-NH]

While I am sure it will contribute, from my experience it always seems to start where the burner holes are. And will very seldom begin on the back where there are no holes

This is the back of my original 420 box. I hadn't seen this before

 

[Fred Smith]

This is the back of my original 420 box. I hadn't seen this before

Looks like there was alot of heat back there as you can see the marks from the flavorizer bars. Did they maybe have the wrong tubes in there?

BTW this is great conversation and hopefully we can apply this old Weber Grill Investigation (WGI) findings to prevent newer models from similar fates. However for those that can freely spend it up and pass it down to me for almost free, please ignore.

 

[Fred Smith]

Question to those with experience.. I just went out and ran the gas firepit and while testing I noticed the tank is running low by the indicator on the guage and the feel test. I also noticed the tank was sweating on the bottom which also indicates the same. The question is has anyone considered mounting there tank outside on the Summit? I believe I can swap it to the outside by simply moving the tank scale, tank bumpers and relocating the hose through the rotisserie slot. Might have to disconnect the hose but that's the hardest part. Doing so will not look as nice as hidden storage but might prolong the bottom tray. Short of doing this I guess I can place something below the tank to catch the moisture. Any thoughts?