Grate Scott!

[Steven Martin]

Picked up a donor grill that came with nice heavy cast iron grates in it. My current daily use grill is a Gen 1000. I had bought the Qualimetal stainless grates and have been far less than impressed with them. They slide around (box is not bowed out) and just seem cheap, but I digress.
The cast iron grates fit perfect and seem very nice. The only thing is they had some rust on them. I let them sit on the Gen 1000 yesterday for about 45 minutes on high. Then scraped with a stiff wire brush. Still have some rust on them. I took them off and sprayed with 50/50 vinegar and water for about 20 minutes and then hit them with a grill brush and sprayed them off with water.
Better, but still has some junk on them. I’m going to let them sit on high on the 1000 again for an hour today to see if that takes care of the rest of it. If it doesn’t, does anyone have any other suggestions for restoring rusty cast iron grates?

 

[LMichaels]

If you heat them up and season them well they should work quite well

 

[Ed P]

Yeah, they need to be seasoned like all cast iron cookware. Get some oil on them or they will rust up. That looks like surface rust to me.

EDIT: Hard to tell, but are those porcelainized cast iron? If so, the porcelain is flaking off and you might be better off replacing them.

 

[Steven Martin]

Yeah, they need to be seasoned like all cast iron cookware. Get some oil on them or they will rust up. That looks like surface rust to me.

EDIT: Hard to tell, but are those porcelainized cast iron? If so, the porcelain is flaking off and you might be better off replacing them.

No it’s just left over junk that’s been on there for god knows how long. I took a small scraper after heating them up again and it all came off. I was just worried about the rusting. I put oil on them and have them sitting at 350 now. I’ll see what they look like after an hour or so.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Steven,
You got the grates that I personally love. The original Weber cast iron with no coating, at least in my observation. With mine, I had to use a cup brush on an angle grinder and work them over really well. Yours are probably over 20 years old, so to look as good as they do is a testament to their quality. I DON'T like the newer Weber cast iron with the shiny porcelain coating. Very nice for a little while, but sooner or later the porcelain starts peeling off - and if you don't watch out into your food!

I hope you can put an angle grinder/cup brush to them and work them over long enough to get all back to bare metal.

Here is a set like yours that I restored that way. One done and the other awaiting wirebrushing:



Then, like other cast iron, it is all about seasoning. I am no expert but try to initially do that in an oven on an old baking sheet using solid Crisco shortening. A couple rounds of that and they should be ready for cooking. Here is that set ready for action:



Then it does take a steady dose of oiling to keep the rust from returning. Everyone has a different opinion, but I scrape the obvious stuff off after cooking and then spray on some more grill Crisco to put my grill away well coated. I do my burn-off before the next cook but even then don't let it get totally dried out. More Crisco and brushing. Then USE them! I still think cast iron cooks best - but that is just my taste and opinion.



p.s. I am sorry that you didn't like the Qlimetal stainless rod grates. I feel they are one of the best of the "middle of the road" options out there. It is true, though, that they should have made them a 1/4" longer so that they fit more securely. You might have liked the similar Hongso ones better for that reason, but if you want REALLY GOOD stainless rod grates go with BBQParts.com or the ultimate, "rcplanebuyer"/Dave Santana.

 

[Steven Martin]

Steven,
You got the grates that I personally love. The original Weber cast iron with no coating, at least in my observation. With mine, I had to use a cup brush on an angle grinder and work them over really well. Yours are probably over 20 years old, so to look as good as they do is a testament to their quality. I DON'T like the newer Weber cast iron with the shiny porcelain coating. Very nice for a little while, but sooner or later the porcelain starts peeling off - and if you don't watch out into your food!

I hope you can put an angle grinder/cup brush to them and work them over long enough to get all back to bare metal.

Here is a set like yours that I restored that way. One done and the other awaiting wirebrushing:

View attachment 15066

Then, like other cast iron, it is all about seasoning. I am no expert but try to initially do that in an oven on an old baking sheet using Crisco. A couple rounds of that and they should be ready for cooking. Here is that set ready for action:

View attachment 15067

Then it does take a steady dose of oiling to keep the rust from returning. Everyone has a different opinion, but I scrape the obvious stuff off after cooking and then spray on some more grill Crisco to put my grill away well coated. I do my burn-off before the next cook but even then don't let it get totally dried out. More Crisco and brushing. Then USE them! I still think cast iron cooks best - but that is just my taste and opinion.

View attachment 15068

p.s. I am sorry that you didn't like the Qlimetal stainless rod grates. I feel they are one of the best of the "middle of the road" options out there. It is true, though, that they should have made them a 1/4" longer so that they fit more securely. You might have liked the similar Hongso ones better for that reason, but if you want REALLY GOOD stainless rod grates go with BBQParts.com or the ultimate, "rcplanebuyer"/Dave Santana.

Thanks for all the tips, Jon! I was looking and I found a patent number on the back of the grates and when I put it in google for a search, one of the results was one of your older posts citing the same number so I do believe they are the same. I love how they fit and how solid they are.
I was going to ask about how you clean and season them but you answered that for me already.
As for the Qualimetal grates, I bought them for my 1000 to use while I build my 2000. I already have the rcplanebuyer grates and flavorizer bars waiting in boxes for the 2000.

On another note, someone mentioned you used the McCloskey marine spar for one of your grills wood slats... is that correct? If so, did you find you needed to do quite a bit of sanding between coats?

Im doing a red 2000 for my father in law and am using that spar varnish and have done 2 coats so far, but am finding it feels super rough after each coat dries.

 

[Jon Tofte]

The McCloskey Man O War has a great reputation for durability. It does need sanding, although I found it was OK to not do as much between coats until it was built up more and then do a more thorough job after the final coat. How many coats depends on your patience. Most say at least 3 coats.

 

[Steven Martin]

The McCloskey Man O War has a great reputation for durability. It does need sanding, although I found it was OK to not do as much between coats until it was built up more and then do a more thorough job after the final coat. How many coats depends on your patience. Most say at least 3 coats.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind and maybe hold off on sanding for another coat or two. I’m not giving the grill to him until Christmas so I have enough time to put on a few more coats.