New Addition to the Family, rehab advice appreciated - Weber Genesis E-310

[Bruce]

Some people fab in a wood bottom which can look really awesome if done right.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Do not use anything like a wire wheel on the porcelain hood, inside or outside. Really, I would not worry about the insides of the grill that much unless you are trying remove paint that the previous owner used on the inside. The peeling stuff under the hood is just carbonized grease and smoke.
But if you really want to clean up the inside of the cook box, then a 4" angle grinder and a wire cup brush will do a great job. Or you can use grill cleaner and a household SS brillo pad. But, after a few cooks, it is will be greasy and dirty again anyway, so why bother? There are better areas to concentrate your efforts.

Check this "HOW TO" for cleaning the inside of the lid: https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?78902-HOW-TO-Clean-The-Inside-Of-A-Weber-Genesis-Gas-Grill-Lid

Thank you sir, very nice video. My concern is the inside of the grill isn't flaking at all.... its just got some build-up and is black. I'm not sure if it's black from the normal grilling or if the previous owner painted it. I'll get after it with a razor blade and see what it does.

KT, For the aluminum firebox and hood side pieces you can definitely wire brush. I recommend you get a cheap grinder at Harbor Freight and use a cup brush. It will go a lot quicker than a drill/brush which you can save for the tight spots. Do NOT use that on your hood! If your hood has a plain porcelain interior I would use paint stripper and a razor scraper to get all that stuff off. With some hard work it will come out looking virtually new.

What you are encountering is pretty much what I was talking about earlier. But, hey, if you are up to the challenge and plan to keep - not flip - this grill, it can be done. Looks to me like you might get by with just a new bottom piece and some serious rust treatment on the rest. POR-15 is messy and a little difficult to work with, but for key components like the bottom of your frame legs it may be your best solution. Eastwood Rust Encapsulater is another great product. I am thinking POR because you can lay it on a little thicker to build some extra strength into the damaged metal. It dries very hard, but it won’t replace metal that is already gone.

Good luck! If you are committed to this one, then give it your best and figure on setbacks and that it will cost more than it is worth to someone else - but hopefully still worthwhile to you. In the end that is what will matter.

Thanks for the input. I've actually got a couple angle grinders, just wanted to be sure that wasn't overkill...didn't want to risk stripping a coating I wasn't supposed to be removing. Sounds like I can hit it with a wheel brush though and that's what I plan to do.
If I can get the firebox and hood looking like I want them too, then I might just breakdown and spend the money on the floor panel.
Thanks for the info on those rust products, I don't have experience with those so will check them out.

KT:
Bruce & Jon have a lot of experience with rust techniques, but I would get that bottom out of there to see exactly you have on the frames, especially that square tube on the left front where the caster goes. That is going to need some real pro-active treatment. With some of the rust-encapsulators and help from Jon & Bruce, you may be able to get some more life out of that bottom too. Won't look pretty, but it will be out of sight. Main thing is to stop the rust from getting worse. There is a lot on this subject on the forum with preferred brands of rust products.

That's the plan, going to try and tear the grill apart this weekend and see what's going on. I having a feeling the bottom side of the floor panel is a total rust zone. The bottom left leg is going to need some attention, I poked at it with my finger and a screwdriver and at this point still feels solid, so hopefully controlling the rust now will be enough.



Thanks again for everyone's input.

On a side note... I was browsing Facebook Marketplace last night and found a couple nice accessories:
Weber 7421 Gourmet BBQ System Griddle = Brand new in box and lady is selling for $15, picking up today. It's the round griddle, figured I could use it on my Performer, not sure how well it'd do on top of the Genesis grates.
Also am getting a Weber Gas Grill Rotisserie for $30, also brand new in the box... the box says it is for Genesis 300 Series, didn't see a part number, so hoping it fits this grill. If not then I could probably sell it on here and get my money back.

 

[Bruce]

That roto should fit your grill just fine. Keep us posted on the rehab progress.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Thanks for the input. I've actually got a couple angle grinders, just wanted to be sure that wasn't overkill...didn't want to risk stripping a coating I wasn't supposed to be removing. Sounds like I can hit it with a wheel brush though and that's what I plan to do.
If I can get the firebox and hood looking like I want them too, then I might just breakdown and spend the money on the floor panel.
Thanks for the info on those rust products, I don't have experience with those so will check them out.


On a side note... I was browsing Facebook Marketplace last night and found a couple nice accessories:
Weber 7421 Gourmet BBQ System Griddle = Brand new in box and lady is selling for $15, picking up today. It's the round griddle, figured I could use it on my Performer, not sure how well it'd do on top of the Genesis grates.

I have a used but still very usable set of grates for that grill that have the center cut-out for the GBS. Also have the Weber wok that is another GBS item. I have considered selling them off. If you want to discuss, PM me.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Jon, I might take you up on that after I've finished getting this grill back in shape.

I've got another curve ball for you guys.
Have you ever heard of anyone converting a 310 to a 330?
I found a guy on Letgo that has a brand new set of sides for an e330. He's had them listed for 3 weeks and current price is $40 so I could probably get them for $25-30. Guessing I would need a new regulator that would feed main burners and side burners?

Also, seller said the sides are from a 2014 e330, would those fit on my e310 from 2009?

 

[Bruce]

KTBass: If you are talking about converting from a 3 burner to a 3 burner with the extra side burner, then sure. It is common. I sold a side burner to Dave in KC and he converted one. The older Genesis grills are even easier to add the extra burner.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Here is the listing, seller said he bought his grill in 2014, but I'm not sure if it's a 2014 model

https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/weber-grill-sides-with-burner_de4f68c7-7a23-4946-a79e-7a2293397a52

 

[Bruce]

Your grill is a sidewinder with the knobs on the right table. The grill in the add are from a N/S grill and I don't think there is any way to make them work on your grill. If you put the side burner on the left side, it would be upside down.

 

[Dan Leighton]

KT:
That is exactly how I got from a 310 to a 320. I bought a used sideburner with the ss piece and the crossover metal line. Fits perfectly on the left side using the existing frame pieces. Rest was just adding a tee of brass fittings to hook it to the manifold between the feed line and manifold. I bought mine from a guy in MA who even converted the burner from LP to NG. Shipping was not cheap, but I'm very happy with the result. Here is the parts list with Weber numbers: Side Table Frame #67721 Lid assembly #70121 Burner unit #67776 Gas Line (corrugated) 67781

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Your grill is a sidewinder with the knobs on the right table. The grill in the add are from a N/S grill and I don't think there is any way to make them work on your grill. If you put the side burner on the left side, it would be upside down.

That's what I was thinking but wanted to confirm. Ill just let go the Letgo sides. Those seem like a great price for anyone with a N/S Genesis

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Ok, so I had a few minutes to work on the grill and take a deeper look.

I hit my hood lid sides with a wire cup brush attached to my 4" angle grinder. That think stripped it down to the bare metal, wasn't expecting that. I'll for sure have to re-paint the hood sides now. The previous owner did a horrible job spray painting the sides with black paint, so I'm not sure there would have been a way to remove the black paint without harming the OEM grey paint.

Some pictures of the hood:

Here is one side completely stripped:

Doing just the one side of the hood wore down that cup brush almost entirely.... guess I'll do the same to the other side, but there is no way I'll be using that on the interior... just doesn't feel right doing that.

I took also took some pictures of the inside of the firebox. I'm like 98% sure the guy spray painted in the inside, but want to get your guy's thoughts. Does it look like glossy black spray paint to you guys?

Sorry for the massive post.

So I guess my plan is
- Grind down the other side of the hood, similar to how I did the right side
- Paint the hood sides with a high heat paint, color undecided
- Clean the inside of firebox. Guess I'll start with Simple Green and some non-metal scrub brushes. Look for another method if that doesn't get the black paint cleared away
- Figure out a method for removing the black spray paint on the outside of firebox, that doesn't damage the original grey paint....is that possible?

Lots of work ahead of me.
Cheers,
Kyle

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

10 picture limit....

And some pictures of the outside of the firebox. Any suggestions on how to remove the black spray paint without harming the original grey Weber paint?

Oh and I also took a closer look at that front left leg and snapped a picture of the under belly of the floor pan. Pretty dang rusty.

 

[Jon Tofte]

KT,

No, there is no way to save the original OEM finish which was probably shot when the guy painted it anyway. You are doing fine. Maybe bearing down too hard on the cup brush? It ought to last longer than that. I would remove the paint from all the aluminum parts, inside and out. That most like means continuing with the angle grinder/cup brush.

It's hard to say for absolute certain, but I am almost positive he painted the inside of the firebox. There appears to be overspray on the burners. So, yes, you should thoroughly wirebrush that, for sure. I don't know how compatible paint stripper is with aluminum. If it is OK I would try that after you get the majority of it off with the brush.

You definitely got yourself a very challenging one, but as long as you don't tabulate the time (and $) you put into it and look at it instead as a labor of great love, you will be able to be proud of what you turn it into.

 

[Bruce]

I agree with Jon on everything. The wire cup brush should last a lot longer than on end cap. You should pretty much be able to do the entire grill with one.

Most of us here use the inexpensive Harbor Freight ones. https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-crimped-wire-cup-brush-60321.html
And don't forget the coupons: https://www.harborfreight.com/

Maybe you used a smaller brush. You could have probably gotten that spray paint off with out harming the original Weber finish by using some paint thinner. I think Weber uses some sort of High Temp powder coating to do their grill boxes and end caps and it probably is not affected as much by paint solvents. Inside the grill should have no paint, so it definitely won't hurt there. I have used the Orange Citri-Strip on the outside and inside of cook boxes. It eats the grease and baked on gunk quite well, but is too expensive to use for flipping.

 

[LMichaels]

Looks like in for a penny in for a pound. Best bet is to wire brush and strip everything you can to bare metal. One thought kinda novel on the end caps is get them all shiny aluminum and hit them with high temp clear. Who knows you may start a new trend.

 

[Dave in KC]

I would highly recommend fully disassembling the lid
before doing anymore grinding or repainting.

 

[Bruce]

Dave. That is sound advice

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Thanks for all the input.

Sounds like I should wait to clean / grind the inside of the firebox until I am finished with the rest of the grill rehab to ensure I am cooking on it soon enough to get it "seasoned" before any rust can form inside.

I left the hood on while grinding the one end cap, and I'll probably leave it on for the other side too. Helped keep the hood in a place easy to grind... I have a big bench vise that I might use while grinding the fire box.
I was using the exact wire cup brush from HF, I must have just been applying too much pressure.

Plan is to totally disassemble the grill. I'll grind down the rusty leg areas and hit them with a gray paint. Do you guys think I should just go ahead and grind down all of the frame / legs and repaint while I'm at it? Leaning towards this way now...

As for the floor pan, I think I will work with my wood-working buddy to come up with a stained/sealed wood floor pan rather than dropping the $100 on a new pan that will just rust again at some point. I'm not counting all the $$$ for this project, but also don't want to blow a lot of money on this one. I think the wood will look good and if I space them a little will allow any moisture to escape (gravity) rather than being trapped in the metal on metal corners. Does anyone happen to have any photos of an E3xx with wood floors? I have an idea but could use some inspiration.

 

[Jon Tofte]

KT,
Don’t worry about rust in the firebox; it is cast aluminum and will never rust. It is one of the strong points of the Weber design.

On the painted steel I would strongly recommend you use something like POR-15 or Eastwood Rust Encapsulater to treat all the rust damaged areas before repainting. As to the floorpan, I think you have a valid plan if executed neatly. The first time I saw someone do this I was very skeptical, but I can now see it as a viable option. I agree with a little bit of spacing so that the cabinetry can breathe.

It will be a long road, but hang in there!

 

[Jason in CA]

I just got an idea from this thread. Don't know if it's a good or bad one but when I get time I kinda want to try.

No I'm not gonna say what the idea is