Thanks for your help with my Genesis 3 redhead restoration


 
Andy Rue

Andy Rue

New member
I picked up a Genesis 3 a few months back, and the information I gathered from this forum was a huge help in restoring it. I wanted to start my first post with a big thank you to the TVWBB community.
So, thank you all, very, VERY much. I learned a lot, and here are my results.

Here's the grill after I brought it home for $40. Based on the information I learned from the post on decoding serial numbers, it's a Genesis 3. Plus, I also learned that no casters = earlier, pre-1992 grill.

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The flavorizer bars were completely rusted out, so I went with bars from rcplanebuyer, and grates from Qulimetal. I cleaned and I painted and did everything I could do before trying to tackle the main issue- the wood. It was toast. I spent a good amount of time reading threads on this forum, seeing what others had done, and seeing what my options were. I finally decided to make new slats myself. I had absolutely no experience doing anything like this, and I was understandably a little intimidated.

The first thing I did was buy some wood. I went with redwood fence posts from HD. I learned that both cedar and redwood are good choices for outdoor applications because of their natural rot resistance. I decided on redwood because I liked the color more. Plus, it just made sense- redhead, redwood.

I knew a hand saw wasn't going to cut it (groan), so to maximize my potential for success, I bought a used table saw. I wanted to make these slats as square and consistent as possible. I also bought a decent miter gauge. Here's the result.

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I used one of the old slats to line up my cuts, both for ripping the posts and then cutting them to length. After that came the sanding. Lots and lots of sanding. More sanding than anything else, for sure. I started with a palm sander, and then final sanding was by hand, mainly so I could have a close look for imperfections.

After the sanding was complete, I started researching finishes. I decided on PPG Proluxe Cetol Log & Siding Wood Finish in transparent satin. I came to this decision after some research on redwood care and finish from foreverredwood.com.
Here's the link: https://www.foreverredwood.com/redwood-furniture/care-finish/

I took a scrap piece of redwood to test the finish. Here's a shot of an original slat, a new unfinished redwood slat, and a new finished redwood slat.

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I liked the result, so I started using the finish on all the slats. I wasn't about to try to make a new handle, and thankfully the original handle was in decent shape, so I sanded it and gave it the same finish.

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After two coats and some drying time, I started to assemble the grill. I think it turned out great.

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I'm planning on refreshing the logo on the lid, but for now I'm happy with it. I bought a cover to help protect it. And to emphasize how much this site has influenced me, I brought home another grill. No side burner on this one, but from the same era, and with the rotisserie. Paid $20 for it. Looking forward to making this one look just as good.

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So, thanks again. Couldn't be happier with how my old Weber turned out, and I couldn't have done it without the information I found on this forum.
 
That red head is gorgeous! Very nice work Andy. Looks like you're getting the symptoms of weberitis with that other grill. You know there is no cure for it, one grill after another. The never ending hunt for your next project. I know as I have it too and many others on here will agree..
 
That looks great! Impressive work on the wood, I think its stunning. As you, I've learned so much from these forums; the one thing you can't learn from reading is how time-consuming a refurbish such as this is.
But it's definitely worth it, props on the great job.
 
Stunning grill! Great job, especially the beautiful wood. It is what makes these early Genesis grills so classy looking in my opinion. Charming like a brass-era car.

The logo will be a final touch. Some of the rest of us would love to welcome you to the "Red Kettle Club". After you paint the logo black and sand down the top to raw aluminum again, just use an artist size brush and some red high heat paint sprayed into a cup to paint the kettle on the logo red. It will look especially good on a redhead grill;)!
 
Yah, so for a first try. Not too bad. No seriously, that is a bang up job. Hard to believe you have no experience with wood working and finishing.
I love the Redwood choice as well. I am sure it cost a little more than cedar, but it is a beautiful choice.

What kind of protective finish did you use???
 
Bruce said:
Yah, so for a first try. Not too bad. No seriously, that is a bang up job. Hard to believe you have no experience with wood working and finishing.
I love the Redwood choice as well. I am sure it cost a little more than cedar, but it is a beautiful choice.

What kind of protective finish did you use???
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Redwood is essentially unavailable in Florida. Even our locally owned lumber yard couldn't source it for me.:(

You are blessed to be in the West!
 
Thanks for the comments! And thanks for the invite to the 'Red Kettle Club.' I did see some examples of restored logos with the kettle painted red, and they look damn good that way. I'll definitely share when I get mine done.

The redwood fence posts were right on $15, and that's with an extra two posts I bought in case I screwed up anything. The wood was probably the cheapest part of the resto.

And I listed the finish already, but here it is again. I used PPG Proluxe Cetol Log & Siding Wood Finish in transparent satin. I figured a finish that was made to protect log cabins would do a pretty good job of protecting wood slats on a grill, especially considering it will be covered.
 
That grill looks great and love the look of the wood. Almost went with a similar redwood look instead of durawood on my Genesis rehab.
 
Andy, is that a custom job on the sing table pivot bar? I know on the Genesis 1000-5000 they used a plug on the end of the frame that had a drop down piece that the swing table rod went into. I am just wondering if that how the older ones were as well and maybe that bracket was a custom job.
 
Wow, that is an absolutely beautiful job!

If you are interested in a side burner for that 2000, send me a PM. I turned my 3000 into a 2000 so I have a side burner in the basement. It's for natural gas though, so if you didn't replace the valve it would be a VERY hot side burner with propane!
 
Very nice job though I would have splurged on better grates and gone with the other flavo bars as the grates is what you actually cook on and directly influences how well you perceive the performance of the grill. The flavo bars not so much
 
Bruce said:
Andy, is that a custom job on the sing table pivot bar? I know on the Genesis 1000-5000 they used a plug on the end of the frame that had a drop down piece that the swing table rod went into. I am just wondering if that how the older ones were as well and maybe that bracket was a custom job.
Click to expand...

Your question sent me on a quick little research trip. I assumed my side table mechanism was original. After poking around a bit, and looking at the second grill I just picked up, I think that's still the case. It looks like the 1000-5000 generation grills used a slide bar, specifically called the left hand slide bar assembly in the manual. The earlier generation grills, the 1-3, just used a silver metal tab with a hole in it on the back leg to secure the table in the down position, and a hole in the front leg to secure the table in the up position. You had to manually remove the arm from one hole and move it to the other to change the table position. This thread has a couple photos that give you an idea. Same generation as my grill, '85-'91.

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?76229-1986-Weber-Genesis-2-Brown-Restoration
 
LMichaels said:
Very nice job though I would have splurged on better grates and gone with the other flavo bars as the grates is what you actually cook on and directly influences how well you perceive the performance of the grill. The flavo bars not so much
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The Quiimetal grates seem to be pretty well liked by the people here that have bought and used them. I agree with your sentiment though, and would have gone with some grates from rcplanebuyer if he had some available at the time. He didn't, and I wanted to get to grilling. They've been great so far.

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THyde said:
Wow, that is an absolutely beautiful job!

If you are interested in a side burner for that 2000, send me a PM. I turned my 3000 into a 2000 so I have a side burner in the basement. It's for natural gas though, so if you didn't replace the valve it would be a VERY hot side burner with propane!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the offer! I'll keep you posted. My intention is to find a good home for the second grill after I restore it. I have considered doing the same thing you did- swap the burner out for more table space. I need to wait and see how much I use the side burner before I do that.
 
Yep, I guess they did use a metal bracket on the left instead of the plastic end cap with the drop down bracket on the newer Genesis 1000.

I wasn't referring to the swing table bar that holds the table up. That came along later in the 1990's. On my 1993 I had the old style with the stainless silver metal tab thingy, but I converted it over to the slide bar.....much better system IMO. My grill also has the plastic end cap to hold the table on as I was originally referring to.

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Andy Rue said:
The Quiimetal grates seem to be pretty well liked by the people here that have bought and used them. I agree with your sentiment though, and would have gone with some grates from rcplanebuyer if he had some available at the time. He didn't, and I wanted to get to grilling. They've been great so far.

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Andy,

I think you did just fine. No doubt at all that rc's are the finest and especially if you value tight placement and thicker rods. But those Qlimetal ones are very nicely made, attractively priced, and more than adequate in my opinion to do an excellent job. The slightly wider spacing (not TOO wide like some of the really cheap off-brand replacements) does work well with the option of doing my personally favored "cross-hatch" sear marks.

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Bruce said:
Yep, I guess they did use a metal bracket on the left instead of the plastic end cap with the drop down bracket on the newer Genesis 1000.

I wasn't referring to the swing table bar that holds the table up. That came along later in the 1990's. On my 1993 I had the old style with the stainless silver metal tab thingy, but I converted it over to the slide bar.....much better system IMO. My grill also has the plastic end cap to hold the table on as I was originally referring to.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification Bruce. Yeah, the hinge rod for the table on these older grills does not have a plastic stop, just a metal tab that it slides through on the left, and a hole in the frame on the right.
 
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