Please share your pre paint end cap, cook box, and frame prep tips and tricks


 
J

JimV

TVWBB All-Star
Ok everyone......I think we all know the key to a fantastic job is good prep work. Every grill is different and has different challenges. When I first started I could get paint to stick to a frame to safe my life........I also had blotchy cook boxes.........thanks to everyone here I learned my way around those mistakes. I have a pretty good system going now but I am all ears to hear what everyone is using to prep before painting.

For me.......currently I wipe the frames w Simple Green and a rag......and I use 0000 steel wool on the greasy spots. I tried denatured alcohol....and some other product s but wasnt having much luck getting paint to stick to the frames......eventually I just gave up on the High Heat for the frame. I also learned patience a the rattle can.......I do a tack coat and walk away......ten return for several more light coats. The tack coat seem to get me started and stops the orange peel issues.

For a greasy cook box I start w Simple Green and a rag.....then SG and steel wool....sometimes I use a green scrubby pad. I dont have water at my shop so no pressure washing options for me. After a good wife down I spray from top to bottom w brake cleaner that has acetone in it and wipe quickly! At that point I let it dry in the sun for a bit then its ready to paint. I use the Roll on High Heat and vary the nap of the roller to the bumps...chips....and scars in the box. I have mentioned this before but be sure to shed your rollers prior to painting...very important. On the can I think it says 2 coats not recommended ......Im not sure exactly why......but I have noticed several of my boxes needing a second coat to look perfect. I do rec a good long burn off because the fumes that come off of a painted box are pretty toxic and I dont think a buyer would know to stay clear of those fumes.

So thats how I do it.......what products do u guys use to prep before u paint?
 
1. Wire wheel to remove oxidation
2. Use a drill bit to clean out the holes from the bolts and the lid hinge to remove oxidation in the holes.
3. Water rinse
4. Simplegreen or the LA's Awesome cleaner diluted, scrub with a scrub pad
5. Water rinse, look for spots of oil/grease.
6. If the wire wheel doesn't clean up the oil/grease, degrease with simplegreen (more concentrated).
7. Water rise
8. Dry in the sun
9. Paint exterior only with high temp spray paint, using cardboard cutouts to block paint overspray.

On the cookbox interior I use a handheld paint scraper to scrape it as clean as I can, then follow up with a handheld wire brush to clean up the tougher spots. Its not spotless like a sandblasted clean but its smooth as I rub my hands on the surface.

On the frame, I touch up the rusty spots with a disc grinder attachment on an angle grinder to get to the bare metal underneath, then clean like I would a cookbox and spray it with black epoxy spray paint on a large sheet of cardboard on the driveway.

Protip: Use a large fan to blow all of the dusty crap that comes off AWAY from you.
 
So I'm about to refurb an old Genesis 1000. I've worked on two others previously but this time I plan to repaint the firebox. I see from the two posts above, Jim rolled on the high heat paint and Andy sprayed it on. Anyone else have recommendations on Roll vs Spray? Longevity or just overall appearance?
 
Mal Taam said:
So I'm about to refurb an old Genesis 1000. I've worked on two others previously but this time I plan to repaint the firebox. I see from the two posts above, Jim rolled on the high heat paint and Andy sprayed it on. Anyone else have recommendations on Roll vs Spray? Longevity or just overall appearance?
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If u spray the box and end caps have to be in perfect condition......all chips and bare spots will turn out as a shiny blotch. The benefit of roll on is that i can create texture via my roller nap selection to mask imperfections. If i do 2 coats it really covers my butt.........the spray comes out more dark rich black.....the roll on does have a hint of brown in it.
 
JimV said:
If u spray the box and end caps have to be in perfect condition......all chips and bare spots will turn out as a shiny blotch. The benefit of roll on is that i can create texture via my roller nap selection to mask imperfections. If i do 2 coats it really covers my butt.........the spray comes out more dark rich black.....the roll on does have a hint of brown in it.
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Yeah I am hoping to have the box sand blasted before painting so maybe spray paint will be the way to go.
 
I use a foam applicator brush on the firebox with the high heat quart. I sometimes do a light coat of high heat semi gloss over to blacken it up
 
Ya its odd that it comes out a lil brown. I have experimented with 1 coat.....2 coats.....thin coats...heavy coats etc. One time I was messin around after I finished a coat and prob 20 min had gone by.....I took the roller and rolled back over one side of the cook box to see if the texture would stay vs laying down because it had been drying for 20 minutes. I swear as I re rolled it I saw a rich black color. Note one the can the directions say re coat in an hour or within 24 or 48 hours I cant remember......it also says second coat not recommended. Most of my project need the 2 coats.....so I hope the paint doesnt fail down the road. My next experiment will be to tease the wet paint about an hour after I applied the paint and see if I can get that black look again. I assume since u use a foam applicator are u doing one coat or two? I wouldnt think the foam applicator would create any texture to hide paint chips.
 
JimV said:
Ya its odd that it comes out a lil brown. I have experimented with 1 coat.....2 coats.....thin coats...heavy coats etc. One time I was messin around after I finished a coat and prob 20 min had gone by.....I took the roller and rolled back over one side of the cook box to see if the texture would stay vs laying down because it had been drying for 20 minutes. I swear as I re rolled it I saw a rich black color. Note one the can the directions say re coat in an hour or within 24 or 48 hours I cant remember......it also says second coat not recommended. Most of my project need the 2 coats.....so I hope the paint doesnt fail down the road. My next experiment will be to tease the wet paint about an hour after I applied the paint and see if I can get that black look again. I assume since u use a foam applicator are u doing one coat or two? I wouldnt think the foam applicator would create any texture to hide paint chips.
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I do one generous coat with the foam applicator. It seems to hide the chips and cover the bare spots. I end up with one uniform coat.
 
Ya I think that since the roll on is a satin vs a gloss the chip dont end up being shiny blobs like they did with the spray paint. I tell ya.....that roll on stuff is sooooo strong it makes my eyes water. Anyone considering using it.....wear a respirator and use a fan in a well ventilated area.
 
JimV said:
Ya I think that since the roll on is a satin vs a gloss the chip dont end up being shiny blobs like they did with the spray paint. I tell ya.....that roll on stuff is sooooo strong it makes my eyes water. Anyone considering using it.....wear a respirator and use a fan in a well ventilated area.
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Grill painting is an outdoor activity for me
 
Mal Taam said:
So I'm about to refurb an old Genesis 1000. I've worked on two others previously but this time I plan to repaint the firebox. I see from the two posts above, Jim rolled on the high heat paint and Andy sprayed it on. Anyone else have recommendations on Roll vs Spray? Longevity or just overall appearance?
Click to expand...
My local store had buy 1 get 1 free spray paint, so I grabbed a bunch of Rustolem high temp and plain black enamel. The rolled/brushed on wasn't on sale for me..... that's what made my choice lol
 
Hey Bpratt........I have done probably 20 plus grill with my roll on method and I have been pleased with the outcome. I have always noticed the slight brown color to the roll on stuff but I usually would add a second coat and it would darken up. Tonight I was reassembling a Silver B that I recently rolled on just a single coat and man I was bummed.........Its a black hood grill and the roll on paint really looks brown....like really brown :( I dont know what cause this but I may have lost my roll on swagger. I was speaking w the folks at Rustoleum about why they changed their label to second coat not recommended.....they responded the build up of coats had been to blame for some complaints about peeling. She said I could cook the first coat for an hour at 450 then scuff it up and apply a second :( ...... I cant see myself ever curing paint for an hour at 450 degrees......Not sure what I am gunna do on this particular grill but I think I might risk a top coat of High Heat Ultra spray paint.......and just cross my fingers that it holds. When u top coat w the semi gloss spray.....how long do u normally wait until u top coat over the roll on?
 
JimV said:
Hey Bpratt........I have done probably 20 plus grill with my roll on method and I have been pleased with the outcome. I have always noticed the slight brown color to the roll on stuff but I usually would add a second coat and it would darken up. Tonight I was reassembling a Silver B that I recently rolled on just a single coat and man I was bummed.........Its a black hood grill and the roll on paint really looks brown....like really brown :( I dont know what cause this but I may have lost my roll on swagger. I was speaking w the folks at Rustoleum about why they changed their label to second coat not recommended.....they responded the build up of coats had been to blame for some complaints about peeling. She said I could cook the first coat for an hour at 450 then scuff it up and apply a second :( ...... I cant see myself ever curing paint for an hour at 450 degrees......Not sure what I am gunna do on this particular grill but I think I might risk a top coat of High Heat Ultra spray paint.......and just cross my fingers that it holds. When u top coat w the semi gloss spray.....how long do u normally wait until u top coat over the roll on?
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Hi Jim, I wait days or months sometimes before a light coat of spray to blacken the brown. Sometimes I spray the firebox right on the frame so I get the visible parts.
I have a mismatch of parts. I try to keep a few fireboxes scraped out and painted in inventory. I am always short on frames and grade A lids.
 
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