Is there such a thing as gloss high heat grill paint?


 
Bruce said:
On my rehabs I do the cook box bottom in the flat and use the Utra Semi Gloss on the lid end caps and the frame around where it is in close proximity to the cook box. I use Rustoelum 2x gloss black on the rest of the frame

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I am pretty sure that is the way Weber originally did their grills. Later models maybe had shinier paint and then went to shades of gray.
 
Unfortunately my prep work that I thought was way beyond what I needed to do was a mess. I used a wire wheel on a grinder and went to town on the sides and the cook box. Well in some areas of the cook box the wire wheel took the paint off and showed the aluminum....and in others it was still baked on black paint but all cleaned up. Oh well I screwed up.....there was no way I was gunna take the entire cook box down to bare aluminum nor did I think anyone did that. You will see in the pics the outcome. It looks like my paint is running but the shiny areas are just where the wire wheel stripped off the paint. I will hit it with a few more coats and call it done. I have no desire to go back in and strip the box back down. I was really shooting for an awesome resto like u guys have posted....but this isnt going to be the one. Just a very nice very clean ole classic. The bumps on the cook box were there already...not sure what they were but again it is not my paint work. See pics
 

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Yah, you can't use an angle grinder and wire wheel to "clean up" a cook box. You can use it to completely strip the box however.
 
Lesson learned.......but there were some chips of paint removed even before I went to town so those would have shown up as well....
Im a Weber Boob :( Screwed up a really nice resto.....wait til mu see the rest of the ole gal....she is clean as a whistle!
 
Yes the paint was not the problem.......the prep was the issue. That is the exact paint that I used. My wire wheel cut down to bare aluminum in those shiny areas that look like runny paint.....and in others the original paint stayed in tact but of course I wheeled it as well. I think I have 2 options........
1. Strip it all the way down. I dont think any of u guys do that right? Except for inside the cook box
2. Leave it alone and call it done.
 
Jim, I either scrub them up real well and repaint, or if there is any flaking or peeling paint, I strip it completely. If you try to do a partial job, you get what you have.
 
So if I do get the inspiration what method do you use to strip it all the way down? I was using my grinder with a 4 or 5" wire wheel. I also have those flap sanding discs I could use. I guess it wouldnt take that long and it would save the resto.
 
Either pay to take it to a media (sand) blasting outfit or just the angle grinder and 4" wire cup brush is your next option.
 
Does the bare aluminum accept paint well? Is there a way to over do it when stripping the old paint off.....or can the aluminum cook box handle the punishment? I guess plan C could be to scoop up another freebie and just use the cook box??? This time dont do the Weber Boob clean up.....hmmmmmmmm
 
NOpe, no problems with hurting the cook box as long as you are not using the twisted steel brushes. That isn't really paint on the fire box. It is powder coating.
This is what you want to use:
www.harborfreight.com

4 in. Crimped Wire Cup Brush

Amazing deals on this 4In Crimped Wire Cup Brush at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com

If you plan to look for another donor grill, and silver/Gold B or C grill will have the same fire box.
 
JimV said:
So if I do get the inspiration what method do you use to strip it all the way down? I was using my grinder with a 4 or 5" wire wheel. I also have those flap sanding discs I could use. I guess it wouldnt take that long and it would save the resto.
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This what mine looked like before I painted it. I just hand sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper
DA9D0E7E-05E6-4A98-BEAD-9C153FFD401B.jpeg
 
JimV,
One strategy you could try is one I have used but not without some concerns. Buy some “textured” paint. There are a bunch but you want one that just puts a mild speckling on it. Use that to even out your spots where you wire-brushed off the original powder coat textured finish. Then, after proper drying repaint the whole grill with high heat. That way you are attempting to sandwich in between high heat paint the texture paint which is NOT high heat.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000QD7J7I/tvwb-20

I can’t guarantee this will work indefinitely or if you do super high temperature long cooks. But it is easier than starting over and will give your grill a closer to stock look vs. stripping off all the powder coat.

Here is a Silver A that I used this method on the side caps. Not 100% perfect but pretty close to the original look. Since I sold it, I can't attest to how well it has held up. However, I did something similar for my sister and brother-in-law, and so far their's is doing fine.
IMG_1814.jpeg
 
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Thanks for all the replies guys. If I strip all of the powder coating off then my repaint will be a smooth finish vs the textured OEM finish. Applying some textured paint for a lil Weber sandwich might do the trick. My side pieces came out just fine so its just the cook box that I totally screwed up. I was out of town today so I missed every curbed Weber donor in town......but will def consider plan C donor grill as well.
Thanks again for all of the suggestions. Great bunch of people on this forum. 👍👍👍👍
 
ps......my face shield arrived today and I will be cutting and grinding on my boat resto tomorrow so I will report back on how well the face shield works out.
 
Jim, it may just be your personal preference, but I wind up grinding down almost all my cook boxes and none of my buyers seem to have an issue with it. The grease dripping down he outsides will give it some real texture soon enough. LOL
 
Bruce said:
Jim, it may just be your personal preference, but I wind up grinding down almost all my cook boxes and none of my buyers seem to have an issue with it. The grease dripping down he outsides will give it some real texture soon enough. LOL
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It is definitely a style only consideration since they can look super good - or bad - either way. I have seen a number of your stunning restores to know that the cleaned up, bare metal method works great. I suggested that idea to him since he was already in pretty deep, and I thought it might be an easier way out. I do, however, like how my Silver A came out. I had lost patience trying to chase off the last powder coat texturing. That fix made it look pretty close to original. I plan to try it on my next personal restore (Skyline 2.0?) so I can see for myself how it holds up over the long term.
 
Yah, it would be a great experiment to monitor over time Jon.
When people ask for opinions, I tend to simply give my opinion from my point of view which is more on the Flipper side of things instead of the rehab and keep side. My solutions to problems tend to be more straight line from point A to point B and tend to skip over the more personal view point of grill rehabbing.
 
I appreciate all of the suggestions. You guys do this all of the time and have experienced every scenario. I was bummed after so much cleaning and wire wheeling that the paint job turned out terrible, but looking back the outcome should have been obvious. I get it now and my OCD nature aint gunna let this crappy job fly. This was to be my show off piece......my hey look at me piece.....my proof to my wife that I control the Webers they dont control me piece......
Today I switched out the hood cheapo nuts with stainless steel nuts and they look great. It was nice to see the hood back together. I worked on my boat all day today and my super slow craigslist relay had me miss two awesome freebies!!!! Man I hate missing a kick a** freebie. Oh ya...I control the Webers they dont control me. I will grind the cook box down with the Harbor Freight cup brush.
 
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