Cup brush or Polycarb rust remover for firebox cleaning?


 
C

Chris S (Tucson)

TVWBB Member
So in reading all the refurb posts I can, I've noticed several people advocate buying a cheap Harbor freight angle grinder and a cup brush for prepping the firebox and lid end caps for repainting. Also some people have given the interior of the firebox a "minty fresh" appearance by getting it back to the raw aluminum look. In another thread though I saw this recommended instead: http://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-nylon-abrasive-wheel-94016.html - it's a rust, loose material and paint remover. I guess I am curious which might work better. Obviously both are cheap enough to buy and try, and I could see cup brushes working better for nooks and crannies.

Anyway, I'm just curious. I have a 15 month old and a wife whom isn't all that enthralled by my grills to begin with, so anything I can do to save time when doing my refurb is going to be for the best.

Thanks!
 
Chris, I never tried that particular one, I just used the one that came with the HF angle grinder, and went softly with it, on the Silver B. But for $4.99, I would get it and try it out! Next time I go to HF, I'm going to pick one up as well, Thanks for the heads up!
 
Chris, I happen to have just spent an hour last night using a wire cup brush and an hour the previous night with a carbide abrasive. So I have opinions!

Wire brush -- seems to be the best tool for general cooking buildup inside the firebox. It can get into nooks and crannies a wheel can't touch, although I have a 2-inch brush and even it's a bit too big for some of the tight spots. It doesn't do much however on the dark layer of carbon or seasoning on the top half of the interior or for removing or sanding paint on the exterior.

Abrasive wheel -- Great at scraping off the dark layer of seasoning. Also useful for the softer stuff inside the box, but it's a rigid wheel, so it's only good for wide flat spaces. It will also take most paint off the outside, but it takes a while to master knowing how to hold and angle the drill to make good progress.

A third option ...

Round sanding pads -- these go on a disc sander, but you can buy an adapter to chuck into your drill and use them. I used a 120-grit pad and it cleaned paint right down to bare metal with no problem. I didn't try it on the inside, but i would think it would handle seasoning about as well. Same issues as the abrasive wheel though as far as tight spaces, plus you can't use its edge like you can with the abrasive.

Regarding sanding off paint however, you should see DaveW's comment on my thread about the merits of taking the paint off the outside. I think it makes sense to leave the paint on and if I was doing it again, I think I would just go over the exterior with a finer grit sander just to take off the roughest spots and leave a consistent surface for my paint.
 
KellyMc said:
Regarding sanding off paint however, you should see DaveW's comment on my thread about the merits of taking the paint off the outside. I think it makes sense to leave the paint on and if I was doing it again, I think I would just go over the exterior with a finer grit sander just to take off the roughest spots and leave a consistent surface for my paint.
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This. After rehabbing my Green Silver B, I think I will do the less extensive sanding on the outside of the boxes going forward. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to taking it down to bare aluminum.
 
SSweetin, but did you find any trouble with either the paint sticking to the bare aluminum, or having an odd texture or lack of texture?

At this point, mine looks like a spotted cow, but I think I'm just going to paint it with 2 or 3 thin coats and see how it looks. I see Rustoleum makes a high-heat primer, but I don't know if that's worth the effort.
 
I called Rrustoleum about the primer and the bbq paint. They told me I didn't need to use the primer. The paint sticks to my Genesis just fine. Good luck.
 
KellyMc said:
SSweetin, but did you find any trouble with either the paint sticking to the bare aluminum, or having an odd texture or lack of texture?

At this point, mine looks like a spotted cow, but I think I'm just going to paint it with 2 or 3 thin coats and see how it looks. I see Rustoleum makes a high-heat primer, but I don't know if that's worth the effort.
Click to expand...

KellyMc, it's the spotty texture as well as the comparison in results between the Silver C and B that I did. With the C, I didn't take it down as aggressively but just wire brushed it to knock the loose crud off and scuff the factory surface, then painted over with two coats. The B went down to Aluminum but with the limitations mentioned in other threads. After five light to medium coats of paint it's blotchy looking. Hey, it ain't a show car and if less work yields a better finish then I'm easy to convince. The difference in wire wheel time and paint labor was easily a couple of hours.
 
Seriously guys and gals. As long as stuff isn't flaking off, just give the outside a good cleaning/degreasing and spray it with a couple of coats of high heat Rustoleum. There's no need to "rough it up" to get the paint to adhere.
 
I painted the box this weekend. I was planning to use a coat of the regular high heat as something of a primer, then go over it with the ultra. The first pass went on great. The ultra, on the other hand, with the semi-gloss finish showed off every bit of old chipped paint and texture difference underneath.

So I ended up spraying regular high heat back over the two sides I had finished and giving the rest an additional coat. "Hey, it ain't a show car" is right. It's matte finish and a little rough, but it looks great. I'll save the rest of the ultra for the frame.

Lesson: use the matte paint to hide your lazy sanding.
 
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