Here's Part 1:
Here's Part 1.5 (2 year update)
And now we're here at Part 2, the finale;
Started when I cleaned it, then I noticed there were things I could do to improve it and went for it.
First order of business was choosing the paint to go for. I wanted the lid painted, and the plastic of the side tables painted (in the same color).
I spent a good amount of time with sherwin-williams trying to figure out what paint will work. I measured with an infrared thermometer what the metal pieces of the lid experience under normal operation; I got ~300°F. Not too bad, but above the 200°F that most paints can tolerate.
I very nearly went with the wrong paint after literal hours trying to figure it out, but eventually settled on Dupli-Color Engine Enamel with Ceramic; rated for period 500°F. Available at O'Reilly's but I had to order. I went through 2.5 cans, so always order more than you expect:
For the side tables I used Rust-Oleum automobile primer I had laying around:
But for the lid and other parts I needed something with higher heat resistance, so I got rust-oleum high heat primer rated for 2000°F:
And for parts prone to rusting I got the rust-oleum 2000°F Engine Paint:
Anyway, here was my starting point; Like I said I did an initial restoration and cleaning, and then triggered me "while the grill is clean I could do this" kind of thing:
I started by taping and painting the fiberglass side tables:
I then wanted to fix the inner liner of the lid; There was rust on it, and the rear seam rusted through and came off. Weber sent me a replacement lid, but I didn't like it. I fashioned a new piece with some sheet metal I cut with an angle grinder and bent with some 2x4's. I used the rust-oleum high heat primer and paint on this part. Initially I tried high heat JB weld, but that failed so this morning I ordered steel rivets (for some reason I only had aluminum) from the orange store and took advantage of their $3 delivery.
Next on the agenda was replacing the steel handle with a wooden one. The steel gets too hot to touch in the sun, and the grill gets direct sunlight during the day if it's not covered. I knew I wanted wood, and I knew it needed to fit the weber grill light. The lid has a 1 3/8" opening, but the OEM steel handle is 1 1/4". I wasn't sure a 1 3/8" dowel would have fit with the grill light, and additionally it would have needed special ordering. I instead found a solid red oak 1 1/4" dowel from Lowe's and gave it several coats of marine varnish over several days. For the ends I used threaded rivet nuts that I simply superglued into holes I drilled, and found some appropriate screws to go in. Ideally I could have used special threaded screw-in inserts, but I didn't have the right size. Also, try as I might, I coudln't get a centered hole in the dowel, but it's not a problem:
Next came the side panels of the grill. At first I was going to leave the grill intact and paint it, but when I took the handle off, I realized how simple it would be to split so I just took the pieces apart and did them properly. For this I used rust-oleum's super high heat primer (2000°F), but the instructions required it to be cured at 600°F before use. If you're reading this far, good for you, b/c I don't recommend using this unless you're able to cure it properly. The oven in the kitchen was out, and the grill was... getting restored, so I still used the it to preheat the parts, but then I went in with the blowtorch and gave it some extra. I still didn't meet the temperature requirements, but I used such a light coat, I don't think it matters.
I got them painted and put together again with some high temperature RTV:
I don't have pictures of the side pieces of the grill getting painted, but I applied the primer and went to town with the blowtorch as best I could to get it to cure. I then more sloppily painted the sides, b/c I was getting exhausted of this whole project that ballooned completely out of control. The weber logo got a repaint with the forum staple: rust-oleum grill paint. It also requires a 400°F cure BTW, and I don't see anyone do that.
There was a lot of "while you're in there work", lots of cleaning. I highly recommend Amsoil's "Metal Protector" for all the stainless steel on the grill. There were a few holes that were rusted through, and the patches in the back where the metal was starting to rust through. Those I used the 2000°F primer and paint.
Anyway, so now finally the results. Here is the before (after cleaning):
And finally here is the after (Post #2)
Here's Part 1.5 (2 year update)
And now we're here at Part 2, the finale;
Started when I cleaned it, then I noticed there were things I could do to improve it and went for it.
First order of business was choosing the paint to go for. I wanted the lid painted, and the plastic of the side tables painted (in the same color).
I spent a good amount of time with sherwin-williams trying to figure out what paint will work. I measured with an infrared thermometer what the metal pieces of the lid experience under normal operation; I got ~300°F. Not too bad, but above the 200°F that most paints can tolerate.
I very nearly went with the wrong paint after literal hours trying to figure it out, but eventually settled on Dupli-Color Engine Enamel with Ceramic; rated for period 500°F. Available at O'Reilly's but I had to order. I went through 2.5 cans, so always order more than you expect:
For the side tables I used Rust-Oleum automobile primer I had laying around:
But for the lid and other parts I needed something with higher heat resistance, so I got rust-oleum high heat primer rated for 2000°F:
And for parts prone to rusting I got the rust-oleum 2000°F Engine Paint:
Anyway, here was my starting point; Like I said I did an initial restoration and cleaning, and then triggered me "while the grill is clean I could do this" kind of thing:
I started by taping and painting the fiberglass side tables:
I then wanted to fix the inner liner of the lid; There was rust on it, and the rear seam rusted through and came off. Weber sent me a replacement lid, but I didn't like it. I fashioned a new piece with some sheet metal I cut with an angle grinder and bent with some 2x4's. I used the rust-oleum high heat primer and paint on this part. Initially I tried high heat JB weld, but that failed so this morning I ordered steel rivets (for some reason I only had aluminum) from the orange store and took advantage of their $3 delivery.
Next on the agenda was replacing the steel handle with a wooden one. The steel gets too hot to touch in the sun, and the grill gets direct sunlight during the day if it's not covered. I knew I wanted wood, and I knew it needed to fit the weber grill light. The lid has a 1 3/8" opening, but the OEM steel handle is 1 1/4". I wasn't sure a 1 3/8" dowel would have fit with the grill light, and additionally it would have needed special ordering. I instead found a solid red oak 1 1/4" dowel from Lowe's and gave it several coats of marine varnish over several days. For the ends I used threaded rivet nuts that I simply superglued into holes I drilled, and found some appropriate screws to go in. Ideally I could have used special threaded screw-in inserts, but I didn't have the right size. Also, try as I might, I coudln't get a centered hole in the dowel, but it's not a problem:
Next came the side panels of the grill. At first I was going to leave the grill intact and paint it, but when I took the handle off, I realized how simple it would be to split so I just took the pieces apart and did them properly. For this I used rust-oleum's super high heat primer (2000°F), but the instructions required it to be cured at 600°F before use. If you're reading this far, good for you, b/c I don't recommend using this unless you're able to cure it properly. The oven in the kitchen was out, and the grill was... getting restored, so I still used the it to preheat the parts, but then I went in with the blowtorch and gave it some extra. I still didn't meet the temperature requirements, but I used such a light coat, I don't think it matters.
I got them painted and put together again with some high temperature RTV:
I don't have pictures of the side pieces of the grill getting painted, but I applied the primer and went to town with the blowtorch as best I could to get it to cure. I then more sloppily painted the sides, b/c I was getting exhausted of this whole project that ballooned completely out of control. The weber logo got a repaint with the forum staple: rust-oleum grill paint. It also requires a 400°F cure BTW, and I don't see anyone do that.
There was a lot of "while you're in there work", lots of cleaning. I highly recommend Amsoil's "Metal Protector" for all the stainless steel on the grill. There were a few holes that were rusted through, and the patches in the back where the metal was starting to rust through. Those I used the 2000°F primer and paint.
Anyway, so now finally the results. Here is the before (after cleaning):
And finally here is the after (Post #2)
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