I know some people don't like them, but the Weber One-Touch Platinum kettle that featured the two crescent-shaped side tables has always been a favorite of mine:
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I guess other people didn't see it the way I do, because this was a short-lived version. I believe it was replaced with the one with a fold-down metal table (that always rusts
). I finally snagged one of this type back four or five years ago when I was still in Florida. It wasn't in perfect shape, but I immediately put it into regular service. I especially liked how the two tables gave you a place to set down food on one side and a place for a Thermoworks Smoke on the other.
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You can see that the accumulated use by the prior owner and then me, plus the Florida sun was not a friend to this cool old grill. After a while, I decided this one needed a redo and disassembled it. Sometime later, I had the opportunity to travel to Germany for my organization, and I was able to include a visit to the Weber company store as fun stop while there. I picked up a stainless GBS grate (not available in the US) and managed somehow to get it back home on the airplane.
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I earmarked this grate for my redo of my platypus (a fun nickname for this model that I believe is creditable to
@Rich Dahl).
Well, things changed, and my platypus sat in the box and ultimately was retrieved and moved up to Indiana where it sat again in my overloaded workshop. When weather warmed up this year, I decided now was the time to finally do something. I really missed using this grill, and along the way came up with some ideas. They began when I found a guy on eBay who makes a lot of nice wood handles for custom kettles. Beyond the normal replicas for "regular" kettles, he has branched out to things like the Weber Q, Go Anywhere and, yes, even one for the unique front handle on the Platinum One-Touch. I bought his handle, a top vent extension handle, the rollers and even the handle that attaches to the slider on the lower vent. You can see that these features add something special:
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Well, all these wood additions looked really nice, but they did not at all go with the gray plastic side tables. I also didn't like the gray/silver legs and wire rack. I decided to make the wood pop, going with a mostly black color scheme would be in order. What to do about those side tables was another issue. I explored trying to have someone help me make wood replacements, a skill level well above mine and my paltry collection of wood tools. I ran into dead ends and along the way started thinking about how the original plastic tables had special pins and bolt holes that help hold this grill together, not to mention nice tool hooks on the side.
With fear and trepidation - and an hour or so of watching YouTube videos under my belt
- I decided to jump into the world of "faux finishing." I bought an inexpensive set of tools to help apply a wood grain look, a couple colors of brown paint, and went for it. I did practice on an old thermoset table piece, but I could have used a lot more practice time. My final product is definitely not a professional outcome, but I am way happier with this look than I would have been with gray, even if I had sanded and refinished the thermoset. In addition to the brown paints, I also coated these tables with lacquer. I know it won't hold up indefinitely, but I am still quite happy with the unique, custom look. I think it looks warmer and richer than the original color scheme:
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While I was planning these tables, I also wrestled with the wheel covers. I just couldn't bear them to be dull gray, so here is what I did:
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My wife said the wood-look wheel was "nice" but said, "Who would have wood wheels on a grill?!!!" Oh well.
This is not a new grill by any means. A good bit of Weber fade and some scratches on the porcelain (almost inevitable with any type of slide like this and some other kettles have)... I wanted it to look nice for this photo show, but I do plan to COOK on this grill again!
Well, do you all like it or think I am crazy?
. More like “When are you going to get that out of here?” And then to my personal use kettles tucked tightly in one side of our lawnmower barn, “That’s because your grills don’t belong here!”
I wonder, then, where in the world I am supposed to put them?
animals.sandiegozoo.org
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