Chipped porcelain repair method


 
J

J Sheriff

TVWBB Member
I've been doing a mini overhaul on my silver summit A and I've got some corrosion on the lower main firebox along the the top front edge so it shows and its getting worse. The porcelain job on my grill wasn't great apparently.

I'm wondering if there is a good way to address this. My plan was to clean up the corrosion with sandpaper and steel wool and paint the spot with high heat paint so the spread of corrosion will stop. I know that paint wont stick to the porcelain so I thought after painting and letting it cure I would use rubbing compound to buff out the over spray.

Is there a better way to do this? Its not perfect because it leaves the edges of the repair prone to corroding again but its the only thing I can think of. The summit silver A is capable of 700 F temps so those epoxy high temp porcelain repairs aren't likely to work.
 
I think if you use a high quality high heat paint and are good at it, you can do a very decent repair. Like you said, buffing and feathering out the edges would be important. I guess a Dremel tool or equivalent would be a precise way to do that. I would suggest that you anticipate having to coat the high heat color paint with high heat clear gloss coating to get as close to a porcelain finish as possible.

I believe as long as your are talking about just some edges or a small spot, this method will work fine and give very acceptable results. Obviously, if you try to paint large areas of a hood, you are looking for potential trouble.

It is interesting that most of our friends at the Weber Kettle Club frown on doing these kinds of repairs to old kettles (which of course have the same porcelain construction), but I have a couple that I plan to give it a try on anyway. I guess I am not a purist but more of a restorer;)!
 
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Jon Tofte said:
I think if you use a high quality high heat paint and are good at it, you can do a very decent repair. Like you said, buffing and feathering out the edges would be important. I guess a Dremel tool or equivalent would be a precise way to do that. I would suggest that you anticipate having to coat the high heat color paint with high heat clear gloss coating to get as close to a porcelain finish as possible.

I believe as long as your are talking about just some edges or a small spot, this method will work fine and give very acceptable results. Obviously, if you try to paint large areas of a hood, you are looking for potential trouble.

It is interesting that most of our friends at the Weber Kettle Club frown on doing these kinds of repairs to old kettles (which of course have the same porcelain construction), but I have a couple that I plan to give it a try on anyway. I guess I am not a purist but more of a restorer;)!
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My summit silver is about 15 years old. The first fire box lasted about 10 years before corrosion showed up. They sent me a brand new one under warrantee and it only lasted about three. There are areas of porcelain that were bubbled when I received it and that is where the corrosion showed up. Hard to complain since I got a $500 part for free. Anyhow, the new part hasn't fared nearly as well as the original which is stashed under my deck.

I've also considered having a stainless sheet metal wrap made to just cover the front edge. It probably wouldn't cost much more than the paint and would be much easier for me. You could get the stainless lip made to cover the front edge and hold it in place with high temp RTV sealant.
 
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J Sheriff said:
I've been doing a mini overhaul on my silver summit A and I've got some corrosion on the lower main firebox along the the top front edge so it shows and its getting worse. The porcelain job on my grill wasn't great apparently.

I'm wondering if there is a good way to address this. My plan was to clean up the corrosion with sandpaper and steel wool and paint the spot with high heat paint so the spread of corrosion will stop. I know that paint wont stick to the porcelain so I thought after painting and letting it cure I would use rubbing compound to buff out the over spray.

Is there a better way to do this? Its not perfect because it leaves the edges of the repair prone to corroding again but its the only thing I can think of. The summit silver A is capable of 700 F temps so those epoxy high temp porcelain repairs aren't likely to work.
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My old free genesis silver A had a substantial chip in the middle of the black porcelain hood. I repaired it pretty as you describe above. I carefully sanded the corrosion. Then I carefully painted the spot with the regular high heat spray paint. I didn't spray it on directly. I sprayed some paint on a piece of cardboard. Then I dabbed a q tip in the paint and carefully painted just the chipped spot.

It's not perfect. You can see it up close. But it looks pretty good. Most importantly to me is that there years later it looks the same with no new corrosion.
 
I would opt for Greg's method if it was me. Being a Summit, your chances of finding a cheap donor grill are slim. If it was a Silver A or B, I would just wait for a low priced donor grill to hit CL or FB and canibalize the hood from it.
 
J I hate to be the barer of bad news but it will not work. The presence of extreme heat plus the oxidation that will always be there no matter how much you sand or coat will eat it away faster than you can say oh spit. I did come across a way that FWIW actually IS somewhat holding up. I know it will sound like a broken record but here goes. Eastwood sells a high heat rust encapsulator. Primarily used on exhaust manifolds. It will chemically treat the rust on your grill and bond it to a hard coating. I have tried this also with the regular type product and it too seems to work. In either case be sure to "burn it in" before you actually cook on the grill.
 
I agree with Larry that the chip will always be there. But I don't agree that the corrosion will continue and worsen. It just hasn't worsened on mine after 3 years. It looks exactly the same. And this is a grill that is frequently used.

I would give the simple repair a try. You don't have anything to lose.
 
Greg we're addressing two different things. You're addressing a chip on the hood I am addressing a rusty fire box. Very different animals. I tried the simple way on my fire box. Rust just laughed. I did at one time have a chipped red lid and I did exactly what is being indicated. I sanded and feathered the bare metal area, used some high temp zinc phosphate primer and hit it with high temp International Red paint. It held up VERY well and matched perfectly from a color perspective
 
Ah yes I see now. I completely missed the statement about the firebox. I agree. I once tried to repair a sheet metal firebox on a Kenmore grill. It just wouldn't hold up to the heat.
 
Greg M said:
Ah yes I see now. I completely missed the statement about the firebox. I agree. I once tried to repair a sheet metal firebox on a Kenmore grill. It just wouldn't hold up to the heat.
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Yep, me too! I thought we were talking about a hood as well:eek:. I guess I need to pay attention:rolleyes:!
 
Well on Summit grills the lower fire box is porcelain steel not cast aluminum like a Genesis and rust out is a very real issue on the Summits
 
Ok. Didn't know that. I figured it was just painted steel like most non aluminum fireboxes. Thanks.
 
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