New to me Redhead MBH

[TomKim]

So I negotiated the deal to pick a redhead mbh. Haven’t seen it in person since pick up is Thursday. Def looking forward to it.

I’ll provide more pics when I pick it up. Here are the sneak peeks.

 

[Bob H.]

That will be fun when you get it cleaned up and start to use it!

 

[DanHoo]

Nice. Much nicer than my weathered warrior MBH.

 

[TomKim]

Just picked up the redhead mbh and now I gotta clean it up. For its age, it definitely has some wear but I think it’s in pretty solid shape.

I would love some recommendations on how to clean up the red porcelain, especially near the handle area.

Also if anyone can help nail down the year, that would be fantastic.

Dude also threw in unopened knob and some unused utensil.

 

[Darren Lebner]

Yet another golf ball victim. There ought to be a law!

 

[Jon Tofte]

That’s a real Weber kettle! You can’t get that look and feel from a new one, even though I do like the taller Master Touch model.

There are two “belief systems” about damage like yours and most older kettles accumulate. Some say clean it up as best you can, making sure to remove rust in the bare spots and then just season with oil. The pock marks become part of the grill’s story.

Myself I don’t see a problem with mildly touching up areas with missing porcelain. You can use very high heat caliper paint and try to find the closest red you can. If the damage is deep, some people have used JB Weld ultra high heat as a kind of bondo first. Then carefully sand smooth and paint over it.

There is also a porcelain paint product on Amazon that you are supposed to be able to heat cure. I bought some in two red colors for my kettles but haven’t had time to try. I figured I might have to mix the two reds to get as close as possible. Not having used yet, I can’t say how it works.

I have used caliper red on a flip kettle. As I said in SMALL repairs I think it helps and looks better. You can’t get carried away with painting large areas in my opinion. However, I think JB Weld and one of these paint ideas could help even the larger pock mark as long as you stay within the damaged area.

Any repairs other than a complete re-porcelain coating are going to still be visible. They won’t jump out at you like black bare spots, but some feel it is like cheap makeup and would rather go with just seasoning.

 

[DuaneMac]

By the looks of your lid vent, I think the information below would apply to your kettle.

In 1968, Weber designed a new friction leg socket and filed a patent for it. Beginning with the 1969 model year, these new sockets were put into production. While Weber awaited their patent for these new sockets, they started stamping the top vent with “PAT PENDING”. These new leg sockets eliminated the need for metal thumbscrews. The patent was filed for on November 22, 1968, and it was granted (Patent # 3538906) on November 10th 1970. However, in spite of this the Weber catalogs and literature at the time continued to list the kettles as “PATENT PENDING” through the 1972 model year. The patent number is first listed in the 1973 catalog. There are quite a few examples of these “PAT PENDING” kettles out there. It’s safe to assume any grill with Patent Pending on the vent is a 1969 or 1970 grill however depending on wheel style they could be from as late as 1971-72.

 

[TomKim]

That’s a real Weber kettle! You can’t get that look and feel from a new one, even though I do like the taller Master Touch model.

There are two “belief systems” about damage like yours and most older kettles accumulate. Some say clean it up as best you can, making sure to remove rust in the bare spots and then just season with oil. The pock marks become part of the grill’s story.

Myself I don’t see a problem with mildly touching up areas with missing porcelain. You can use very high heat caliper paint and try to find the closest red you can. If the damage is deep, some people have used JB Weld ultra high heat as a kind of bondo first. Then carefully sand smooth and paint over it.

There is also a porcelain paint product on Amazon that you are supposed to be able to heat cure. I bought some in two red colors for my kettles but haven’t had time to try. I figured I might have to mix the two reds to get as close as possible. Not having used yet, I can’t say how it works.

I have used caliper red on a flip kettle. As I said in SMALL repairs I think it helps and looks better. You can’t get carried away with painting large areas in my opinion. However, I think JB Weld and one of these paint ideas could help even the larger pock mark as long as you stay within the damaged area.

Any repairs other than a complete re-porcelain coating are going to still be visible. They won’t jump out at you like black bare spots, but some feel it is like cheap makeup and would rather go with just seasoning.

By the looks of your lid vent, I think the information below would apply to your kettle.

In 1968, Weber designed a new friction leg socket and filed a patent for it. Beginning with the 1969 model year, these new sockets were put into production. While Weber awaited their patent for these new sockets, they started stamping the top vent with “PAT PENDING”. These new leg sockets eliminated the need for metal thumbscrews. The patent was filed for on November 22, 1968, and it was granted (Patent # 3538906) on November 10th 1970. However, in spite of this the Weber catalogs and literature at the time continued to list the kettles as “PATENT PENDING” through the 1972 model year. The patent number is first listed in the 1973 catalog. There are quite a few examples of these “PAT PENDING” kettles out there. It’s safe to assume any grill with Patent Pending on the vent is a 1969 or 1970 grill however depending on wheel style they could be from as late as 1971-72.

Appreciate the help here! After checking out the wheels, it looks like it’s made of plastic. At first I thought it was metal but the back of the wheel is definitely made of plastic. I assume this would put it around 1971-1973. It’s nuts that this is a 50 year old kettle.

Can’t wait to clean it up and grill it.

Random question: dunno how old the grate is but is there a way to confirm if it’s stainless steel vs plated steel?

 

[Steve in CO]

"Random question: dunno how old the grate is but is there a way to confirm if it’s stainless steel vs plated steel?"


Just use a magnet. Stainless won't stick to it.

 

[Jon Tofte]

It is almost certainly not stainless. Even back in the day Weber used nickel chrome plated regular steal. I do think the very old grates were thicker gauge and better coated.

There are a number of options for getting a real stainless replacement grate. Tops on the list in my book would be Killa Grilla owned by Mark Baron. One of his grates - not cheap but will last almost forever - will change your whole grilling experience and are also much easier to clean. 304 stainless and won’t rust!