Need advice on kettle restoration....


 
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Elliott

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First I wanna thank Mac for pointing me to this site, the information here is great. 2 weeks ago I came up with an idea to give the groomsmen of my wedding next year, older weber kettles. My fiance is going to make personalized covers with their names embroidered on it. In the past week I have picked up these 3 from CL. The orange/brown one is in the worst condition and I plan on using it to practice on first. From what I have read it is not as old as the other two. I am looking for some advice as to how I should go about restoring them. What I do not want is the guys to think of these as antiques and not use them at all. So I am trying to think of ways to get these on par with more up to date kettles, so they will actually use them. I am looking for 4 total, the yellow and blue I will be using. What are some other retro colors? I saw 1 picture of a green and I passed up on 3 reds so far, which I regret now. So any advice is great.
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Hey Elliot
Well its pretty easy to make these grills look nice again...except for the most important part - fixing the rusted or chipped paint. Even if you touch them up with high temp paint, the chances of you getting an exact match is near impossible. And if you get them to look decent, but intend to use them, I dont think the color will hold up...I think it will discolor in short time. I think you should keep the retro look as much as possible with them as opposed to bringing them up to date with newer parts if thats what you meant! Good luck...collecting different colored ones is fun isnt it??
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i'm with jeff. matching paint is crazy difficult.
also, keep those original parts!
Find a similar paint and jazz up the hubs of the wheels if you want (thinking of doing that to my baby blue one that is just like yours)

looks like the yellow one already has new legs and and ash catcher...

GO GET THOSE REDHEADS
 
Elliot,
Wow, those are definitely some cool grills.
You need a red one for sure and while green isn't as rare, that would be another color.
I agree, don't try to do too much with the "Battle scars". Once they chip, its near impossible to repair.

Just clean them real good, repalce what is worn.
If you can afford it, put in some new grills to make them look new inside.
Try to find some nice handles or restore the ones you have.
There is a guy who sells fancy handles, (pricey)
But that would make them pop for sure.
If you decide to go all out and change the ash pans to new ones, just keep the old ones and give them too them after.
I hope your fiance doesn't back out! It would be a shame if you had to keep those grills all to yourself!
Be sure to share the pictures when you're done with them...err, I mean the wedding pictures, yeah thats it...wink wink..
Oh yeah, I saw someone use Smoikey Joes as center pieces, or you could also give one to the ring bearer and buy one of those bright green ones for the flower girl..
 
He's getting married, it's divine intervention..
The bonus is his fiance supports him!
How seeet is that!
 
I have found the easiest way to clean the insides (and out) to remove built up gunk from years old cooks is to soak them in a good oven cleaner and let sit for at least an hour. Then clean with a little water and brillo pad and then rinse with HOT water. It might take a couple cans on each to get the inside perfect but I have cleaned some 20 year old Webers and the insides looked like new, especially if you replace the charcoal and cooking grate. Hope to see some pic's of your progress.
 
Seriously - a few weeks??? What have I been doing wrong?? Problem is I live in Southern California - trendy ville. They knock down strip malls 3 years after they build them - no appreciation for things that last. Congratulations on the nuptials - best thing I ever did and best of luck to your family.....
 
Elliott,
If any of your groomsmen can't make it; I'll fill in. After all, I'm your long lost cousin, uncle, nephew, brother, neighbor, best friend, college roommate, etc. Cool idea!
 
Elliot,
Did you ever find a red one? I might be able to help you out. Shoot me an email.
AJ

heyjude141atcomcastdotnet
 
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