I had the opportunity to restore a curb side Silver B which I believe is from the early 2000s? (thermometer on the side of the lid). I just completed putting everything back together with some modifications I thought I'd get some feedback on.
How do you protect the frame at the 4 corners where the cooking box rests? When I removed the cooking box to restore it, the frame was in generally pretty decent shape, except those 4 corners of the box where it contacts the frame at a "point" and has chipped through the paint into the metal and caused some rust. I cleaned up the rust with a wire wheel and repainted over with a few coats of high temp black and overcoated with an black enamel. Because it is a spot that contacts the cook box, I imagine it would get pretty warm so something soft like felt/rubber would just burn. How do you protect those points?
I managed to screw up a hubcap trying to remove a wheel so I can repaint the frame, so I just drilled a through hole through one end of the axle and secured the wheel in place with a cotter pin. This makes removing the wheel/axle in the future much easier IMO.
When I removed the lid sides, one side was studded on the interior, secured with those thin thread cutting speed nuts, the other side was secured with bolts which were far easier to remove. Getting those speed nuts back on was a PITA, in the future if I have to remove and reinstall that thing, its likely not going to hold anymore since the stud would've been messed up too much. What do you do then? Cut off the stud and drill a through hole for a bolt?
My grease tray was in "ok" shape (90% complete, no through holes), after I cleaned it up it looks like there were some deep scratches through the enamel and the metal had started rusting. I see those replacements are pretty pricey so I'm likely not going to replace it until it falls apart on me completely. Before I managed to read more on this forum, I did take a wire wheel to get rid of the rust and overpainted it with high temperature paint. Now I realize that was probably not the best idea since it probably won't stick to the enamel well, and it would technically be "interior" of the cooking box where it gets pretty warm. Since I've already painted it, I plan to wrap the thing in foil next time to keep any fumes trapped if it does off-gas for some reason. Is that a good idea or should I see about completely stripping the high temp paint?
How do you protect the frame at the 4 corners where the cooking box rests? When I removed the cooking box to restore it, the frame was in generally pretty decent shape, except those 4 corners of the box where it contacts the frame at a "point" and has chipped through the paint into the metal and caused some rust. I cleaned up the rust with a wire wheel and repainted over with a few coats of high temp black and overcoated with an black enamel. Because it is a spot that contacts the cook box, I imagine it would get pretty warm so something soft like felt/rubber would just burn. How do you protect those points?
I managed to screw up a hubcap trying to remove a wheel so I can repaint the frame, so I just drilled a through hole through one end of the axle and secured the wheel in place with a cotter pin. This makes removing the wheel/axle in the future much easier IMO.
When I removed the lid sides, one side was studded on the interior, secured with those thin thread cutting speed nuts, the other side was secured with bolts which were far easier to remove. Getting those speed nuts back on was a PITA, in the future if I have to remove and reinstall that thing, its likely not going to hold anymore since the stud would've been messed up too much. What do you do then? Cut off the stud and drill a through hole for a bolt?
My grease tray was in "ok" shape (90% complete, no through holes), after I cleaned it up it looks like there were some deep scratches through the enamel and the metal had started rusting. I see those replacements are pretty pricey so I'm likely not going to replace it until it falls apart on me completely. Before I managed to read more on this forum, I did take a wire wheel to get rid of the rust and overpainted it with high temperature paint. Now I realize that was probably not the best idea since it probably won't stick to the enamel well, and it would technically be "interior" of the cooking box where it gets pretty warm. Since I've already painted it, I plan to wrap the thing in foil next time to keep any fumes trapped if it does off-gas for some reason. Is that a good idea or should I see about completely stripping the high temp paint?
