painting a Genesis 3xx frame without dis-assembly... bad idea / or maybe it will be OK ???


 
DanHoo

DanHoo

TVWBB Olympian
I'm looking at the hours of labor vs the return and I'm thinking about an "Earl Scheib" or MAACO style paint job for a lower end flip.

By the time I tear it down, replace rusted hardware that snaps off, sand, prime, paint and re-assemble I'll be upside down in time and money given the rest of the parts I have to work with on this one.

Sometimes shortcuts go badly and end up taking longer, in the long run.

Has anyone one done this before?
 
This frame isn't that far gone and only has surface rust. I was planning to sand away the surface away, prime bare metal and paint without tearing it down. This is not going to be a first-class rehab and will get used burners, heat deflectors and grates, maybe used flav bars too.

I already have a parts grill and was hoping to scrape enough together for a low-end flip if for nothing else to get it out of my garage. The grill really doesn't owe me much, I'm not expecting it will sell for much so I'm trying to be lazy minimize my labor costs.


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I've never painted one of those or had to disassemble one so it's hard for me to give a definite answer on it. I would like to at least paint the cabinet panels and frame members separately but maybe that's just too much extra work on that grill.
 
I know some good rehabbers that will paint in place on some projects. That one looks better suited to disassembly however. You will never get all the rust between the seams unless you take it apart.
 
I am kind of torn. What Bruce says is true and yet the market is big for grills that just look reasonably decent and work. As someone who has gone over budget on most of my limited rehabs, I can relate to the desire to make one just for a quick turnaround at a reasonable price. One compromise I might still do is to remove the caster inserts and hit the insides with rust encapsulator.
 
I agree with minimal effort for a quip flip.....
Up here - people are still asking $350-400+ for 3x0 grills in PERFECT condition --- anything that is in questionable shape or has been rehabbed struggles to get $250. Its a shame how badly the 'cabinet grills' rust out.
Genny A/B/Cs take a while to go even at $150 in great shape.... but then again - timing is everything - I moved two grills just before the 4th for good prices.
 
yeah, I'm torn also. This will never be an A grade Rehab. The front control panel, knobs, side tables, doors are just too rough.

I'm tempted to wipe it down with evaporust, get it running and see if I can get $75 or even $50 for it with minimal time involved.
 
Bruce said:
If you are only looking for that much. Then spray away.
Click to expand...

To get more, I'd need to invest about $150, and I'm not sure I can make this one look good enough to justify my time

I'm combining the best of these two, and both were very rough. First one is an LP E330 with all the internal parts trashed, doors scratched and faded, inside of lid rusted but otherwise good as new.

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The second donor is an LPG S330 converted to NG with just orifices by the owner that had it catch fire. He said it still worked fine after the fire but they bought a new grill, and from the amount of fat that was present in the cookbox and bottom pan it was very true they still cooked on it after the fire.


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First off, the obvious. This is your hobby - do what makes you happy.

Second, I think MAACO is really the perfect analogy. The goal is to balance your level of work to what you have. Good restoration=good parts=good paint. Lower level restoration=used parts=less effort on paint.
 
I would add that if you are comfortable building to a reduced standard, you suddenly have a way to use substandard parts. The best analogy I can think of for this one is a home builder that saves jenky lumber and uses it to build a shed.
 
It is very interesting how much variance there is from market to market based on anecdotal evidence here. We have at least one restorer who commands high prices and has customers waiting. Others live in places where very nice used grills languish unsold. I had watched locally a very nice early Genesis 3 redhead that was listed for what I considered to be a bargain $195 that set unsold for some time. The seller axed the price to below $40 when I wasn’t paying attention, and it finally sold. Very sad and discouraging to me.
 
Cut your losses and just do a deep clean and sell 'as is' in the $150-200 range --- its not worth putting time/$/effort into it --- someone will snag it cheaper and use for 2 years and the dump it again..... it only needs to be 'functional'.
 
Yah, I agree Jon. Different markets make a big difference. Around me, there are plenty of "used" Webers in the $150 to $300 range. That is why I concentrate on fully rehabbing my grills. If I did quicky flips, I would be competing with too many other grills for sale out there. I like to think my customers feel like they are getting a nearly new grill without anyone else's funk in them. Otherwise, it has to compete with the guy who hits his grill with a power washer and lists it for $200. That is where I feel my niche is and where I can keep doing my hobby and be rewarded with a customer smile and a few bucks in my pocket.

I guess I really haven't tried picking up cheap grills and just basically giving them a good cleaning and a little fixing and then reselling them. It might net me the same overall net income for my time, but I just don't think I would be nearly as satisfied doing that.
 
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