Genesis 1 Restoration


 
Bruce said:
Yep, it seems the pitting happens in certain areas mostly.
Click to expand...
It is kind of a letdown when you spend all that time and energy to make the inside of the lid sparkle again only to find whatever you want to call that mess at the bottom.
 
Still working on this resto. I want to strip the fire box all the way down inside and out before recoating the exterior. Looking to clean up the lid end caps as well. But I can't find any bead blasters in my area. Are these things safe to sandblast? My auto body guy says sandblasting is more likely to destroy it than clean it up for me. What do you guys think?

The outside is easy and could be recoated after just a good cleaning and some wet sanding. But I really want to make it sparkling new for my wife, since it was her father's for decades. Especially since she laid down the challenge and says she doesn't think it can be done 😮
 
Last edited:
My guy uses sand or something very similar. The one I am using now uses a very fine sand and it comes out very nice and much smoother than my last guy. But even the heavier sand did fine. I rehabbed over 100 cook boxes that he blasted for me. Speaking of which, I need to head out and drop off my latest cook box and end caps for blasting.

Look for Powder coating outfits in your area. Most of the time the do blasting as well, but don't advertise that part of the business. That could lead to them charging less and let them know you will be paying in cash....that can help too.
 
Picked up the blasted firebox parts today. Came out a little rougher than I'd hoped. Nice and clean though, inside and out. I plan at least two coats of primer, wet sanding between coats, so hopefully it'll be pretty smoothed out before the finish coats are added. I look forward to the nice carbon patina the interior will have after a few runs. Pics soon.
 
I haven't primed yet. I just double checked and realized I have two versions of high heat paint, thought one was a primer. So I'm open to suggestions. A high heat sandable primer/filler would seem ideal, to help achieve the smoothest base coat. For the top coast I've got rustoleum high heat semi-gloss black, but I'm not committed. Semi-gloss might be a bit much, and might amplify surface imperfections.
Recommendations welcome. Thanks Bruce.

Edit: attached is the "speckly" result of the blasting. Should take paint quite well, minor concern about smoothness, thus the sanding between coats approach. Also, what to use as a quick residue removal rinse before coating?
 

Attachments

  • blasted 1.jpg
    blasted 1.jpg
    227.8 KB · Views: 8
Last edited:
That surface looks perfect for painting. I wouldn't want it to be too smooth. The original finish did have some texture to it. I also don't think you need to sand in-between coats. Just follow the directions for recoating on the can. The last ones I did I used the the regular Rust-Oleum hi heat paint and not the shinier and more expensive Ultra. I waited two days in between coats and got pretty good results doing it that way.IMG_20240611_200117901.jpg
 
I agree with Steve. A little texture on the side panels is good. Rustoleum makes a HH primer and I use Rustoleum HH ULtra Semi gloss on all my rehabs. However, I do not use primer. The HHU does not require it.

Brake Cleaner is a good cleaning prep...but unless the blasted end caps got dirty after blasting, it is not really necessary IMO.
 
Bruce said:
I agree with Steve. A little texture on the side panels is good. Rustoleum makes a HH primer and I use Rustoleum HH ULtra Semi gloss on all my rehabs. However, I do not use primer. The HHU does not require it.

Brake Cleaner is a good cleaning prep...but unless the blasted end caps got dirty after blasting, it is not really necessary IMO.
Click to expand...
Thanks Bruce.

I was thinking of an acetone or mild solvent to wipe down the surfaces and remove any residual dust. Maybe brake cleaner on a cloth will work, just for a final wipe before coating it. I'll skip the primer and give it a go with the paint since it's been effective for you.

I'm surely way over-thinking all this. Time to just git 'er done and start enjoying the grill again.
 
Acetone should work as well. I am pretty sure the can of Rusto HHU says no primer needed....
 
One nice thing about the brakekleen is you can spray it on and wash down any debris rather than wiping and risking lint or fibers left behind. And it dries clean no residue
 
LMichaels said:
One nice thing about the brakekleen is you can spray it on and wash down any debris rather than wiping and risking lint or fibers left behind. And it dries clean
Click to expand...
Yeah, actually it seems pretty clean, no oil residue, so I'll probably just use my compressor and blow off any remaining sand or dust.
Still just overthinking it I reckon.
 
Finally, the painting process has begun!

Last prep stage was removal of the broken-off wing screws from the firebox. It was not as painful as I feared. I used a dremel cutting tool to get the threads flush to the box, then the dremel drill bit at low speed, which allowed for easy & precise drilling of large pilot holes and kept the final 3/16" bit from walking all over the place. The hardest part was applying patience while letting the tools do their job. All in all, about as well as I could have hoped for.
 
I painted the firebox and end caps with this product. Also did the top frame bracket, and used what was left on some of the small parts. The can says heat curing is required "for surfaces that exceed 500°F."

I figure the firebox will self cure with a good preliminary burn, as I think I've seen in these pages. What about the frame and small parts, will this paint hold up if they're not heat cured? Wifey's not too keen on me baking parts in her oven :oops:

1720236203783.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top