Drewski's Redhead Resto

[Jon Tofte]

I suppose staining wood slats for these grills has lots of options. Weber definitely went for a very uniform sort of "mellow" look, I think, with little wood grain actually showing. I have read where some here when buying replacement wood search carefully for pieces with minimal wood grain and no knots. I totally get that and agree that this is historically correct. At the same time, I personally also like seeing stained wood with nice grain brought out. I even can go for a few knot holes! So looking at Andrew's pictures, on the slats that weren't affected by grease there is still a defined darker wood grain (that will look richer after covered with spar urethane). Whether this is good or not depends, I guess, on your perspective and personal taste.

Here are a variety of looks from pictures I have accumulated. The Skyline at the end is the only one that is my own grill.

 

[Bruce]

Yah, I think weber used real redwood on those old grills and then used a "redwood" Deck type opaque stain on them. I also prefer the natural wood grain and Urethane.

How is that Spar holding up for you Jon? Are you able to set a somewhat hot plat on it and is that board next to the firebox holding up?

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Jon, your wood slats look awesome and definitely show the wood grain beautifully. What stain did you end up using and is that the Spar Urethane? I'll see how it looks assembled and decide if I need to make changes. The good thing about the wood is that it's the easiest to disassemble. Thank you all for the help.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I used dark walnut stain, based on a recommendation & pictures I picked up here. The spar urethane is McCloskey's Man O War. Kind of pricey, but highly rated. Goes on well. So far, so good on holding up. No coating will last forever. Using red oak like I did (not generally recommended), it is extra important to protect it from water.

 

[Bruce]

The preferred wood for the slats on outdoor grills would be Cedar or Redwood due to natural tendencies to resist rot. But others will work just fine, especially with a good weather proof finish like Spar Urethane and protection from the elements like overhead cover or a grill cover.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Thank you guys for all the tips! Really appreciate it. This will be garaged after every use as South Louisiana is brutal on anything left outside, even under a patio cover.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

I'm finished with the outside of the end caps and ready to prime/paint. After attempting to do the box, I may find someone locally to just sand blast the outside. It's quite a bit of surface area to tackle and really want to make sure it gets taken down all the way for a good coat of paint. Plus I'm sure there is someone right now that could use the extra cash to knock it out for me. Have some feelers out and waiting to hear back. Was shooting for the first cook this weekend, but it's not a race.

 

[Stefan H]

I went the same way as Bruce with dark walnut stain. They still need to cure a little longer before I can seal them with spar urethane. However I decided to take a little different approach and not use the z-brackets after all. Since using the frame end caps from a Silver C I placed the wood slats on top of the frame and made them a bit longer. And I don’t have to worry about rusting z brackets. For the bottom I will probably use the wire rack.
Still a long way to go. I also decided not to use a side burner for now.
the right side will become a shelf as well.

 

[Bruce]

Stefan, that was Jon's grill with the dark Oak slats.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I went the same way as Bruce with dark walnut stain. They still need to cure a little longer before I can seal them with spar urethane. However I decided to take a little different approach and not use the z-brackets after all. Since using the frame end caps from a Silver C I placed the wood slats on top of the frame and made them a bit longer. And I don’t have to worry about rusting z brackets. For the bottom I will probably use the wire rack.
Still a long way to go. I also decided not to use a side burner for now.
the right side will become a shelf as well.

Stefan,

That's a really cool adaptation! Takes away the issues with rust, not only on the z-bars (unless you buy stainless) but the frame pieces. They tend to pick it up from the metal of the z brackets. I would think the wood touching metal would be a lot more forgiving.

 

[Stefan H]

Stefan, that was Jon's grill with the dark Oak slats.

Sorry my bad. Yes the credit goes to Jon.

 

[J Grotz]

Wow Andrew, you are really cranking through this restoration! I had my firebox blasted after using the angle grinder and cup brush for 5 minutes. I wasn't up to getting it clean myself and my DW wanted the previous owner's "sesaoning" removed. I didn't argue because the FB was pretty gross.

I love that you were able to use the original wood. Spar varnish is the generally accepted best practice around here. I went with a non-film forming oil instead. It can be touched up without removing the old finish first. Spar varnish has to be removed when it starts to crack and peel before reapplication. Spar lasts longer but is more work to redo. The oil doesn't last as long, but it's easier to redo.

I recommend hand painting the kettle in the logo with some high-heat red. And a coat of high-heat clear paint will keep that logo looking like new.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Wow Andrew, you are really cranking through this restoration! I had my firebox blasted after using the angle grinder and cup brush for 5 minutes. I wasn't up to getting it clean myself and my DW wanted the previous owner's "sesaoning" removed. I didn't argue because the FB was pretty gross.

I love that you were able to use the original wood. Spar varnish is the generally accepted best practice around here. I went with a non-film forming oil instead. It can be touched up without removing the old finish first. Spar varnish has to be removed when it starts to crack and peel before reapplication. Spar lasts longer but is more work to redo. The oil doesn't last as long, but it's easier to redo.

I recommend hand painting the kettle in the logo with some high-heat red. And a coat of high-heat clear paint will keep that logo looking like new.

Thank you for the tips! I'll look into the forming oil and logo. Looking for someone local to sand blast and then should be able to move forward with getting it assembled. Cheers

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Dropped off the firebox this morning to get media blasted. Hopefully doesn't take long and I can continue moving forward. Can't wait to use it.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Firebox is back and ready to go.

 

[KTyler]

Firebox is back and ready to go.

That's the way to go! I spent a few minutes trying to clean that and the end caps by hand, then decided it was well worth the $50 to get it blasted.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

That's the way to go! I spent a few minutes trying to clean that and the end caps by hand, then decided it was well worth the $50 to get it blasted.

I'm so glad I did it. It costed 80, but worth it and happy to support the local spot.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah media blasting is the way to do it. If you do a lot of them I think it would be profitable to have your own blasting setup

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Just cleaned up and sprayed the end cap and box screws.

 

[Andrew-Drewski]

Prepped the end caps for paint today and will get the firebox ready tomorrow. If the weather is decent, hopefully I'll get to lay the paint down. Tank cover came in today as well.