Unhappy with my Red Head restoration


 
Yah, and the first guy that says: "You missed a spot" is going to look worse than me.
 
Dave Oaks said:
Thanks again Bruce. I am using a workmate, but hadn't thought to simply screw it down.
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Dave, be careful if you still have the original "particle board" on the workmate. You will quickly tear it up by screwing stuff into it. But, no matter, just go down and get a six foot deck board and replace the cheapo particle boards. I have put mine through hell with all the water, bleach, cleaners, sanding, grinding, screwing, pounding etc...... The real wood boards were a HUGE improvement. DIdn't cost that much either.
 
I never got the chance to redo them. I had a Silver A advertised for sale. A guy came to buy it,
saw the Red, fell in love, and bought it instead. I am currently working on another, 1100 this time,
and hoping for better results. The ends and tub are stripped, hoping to get some paint on them this
weekend. I just finished the last coat (#5) of spar varnish on the new cedar slats. I would really like
have this completed and ready to use by the end of the weekend, but that may be over-optimistic. If I
decide to sell this grill, I will never recoup my investment. So it keeps taking a back seat to flips that will
actually turn a profit. Speaking of which, I am supposed to pick up a blue Gen 2 performer this evening.
 
I finally finished my #2 red head of the season. Better than the first, but still no where near the Bruce realm where it needs to be.

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Maybe #3 will get me one step closer to the finished product I am looking for.
 
Shoot, that is a great rehab. I wouldn't criticize anything on that grill. I love the wood. I still have not done a real wood genny 1000 this year. I used up all my cedar boards helping out another member. So, I need to get to a Lowes and get some more. But that is an 85 mile drive. The durawood is just an easier choice for rehabs.

The wood looks quite different in darkness between the first photo and the last photo. Which photo most closely indicates the trued hue of the wood and what did you put on it besides the Spar?
 
Maybe a cross between both. Darker than the last, but a little lighter than the first.

That is 5 coats of spar over unstained cedar. I looked at stains for 2 days, and could not make up
my mind, so I with without it all together. I had 30 slats, only needed 24, and had my wife pick out
and arrange the ones she thought looked the best.
 
Good idea on involving the wife to pick them out and arrange them. Did you get the wood from Lowes? I find it hard to get boards without larger knots all over them.
 
I bought mine from a regional store - https://sutherlands.com/

As I am sure you already know it is not an easy process to find decent cedar.
I cut open two bundles and spent about twenty minutes searching through
them until I found six to my liking.
 
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Thanks Dave. I don't know when I will get to a Lowes again. But I will plan on spending some time sorting...even if it does **** off the employees.
 
Dave,
Those Red painted knobs look very familiar... ��
Just kiddin'you.

Your restore looks great.
Keep up the good work.

Jeff
 
Dave in KC said:
Maybe a cross between both. Darker than the last, but a little lighter than the first.

That is 5 coats of spar over unstained cedar. I looked at stains for 2 days, and could not make up
my mind, so I with without it all together. I had 30 slats, only needed 24, and had my wife pick out
and arrange the ones she thought looked the best.
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The cedar will come out like that with a clear various shades because that is what the wood is myself I think it gives it some character I think you did a fantastic job. Even at Lowes I had to go thru 30 boards to find the ones I wanted which meant no knots.

I cheated and used a semi deck stain on mine so they all look the same but no doubt the next one is going to be clear and not worried about the variation in color.
 
So, the consensus is to skip any kind of stain or pigment before putting on Spar, Teak oil or whatever protectant????
 
Bruce said:
So, the consensus is to skip any kind of stain or pigment before putting on Spar, Teak oil or whatever protectant????
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Bruce it depends what you want for the look if you wanted the look of various wood colors meaning no stain then on the cedar using clear it will not look the same on every board you can see that in his pictures. I like the look myself. The marine spar will give better protection than the Teak Oil its not cheap and way more effort cause it probably needs at least 3 coats or more with some 600 or higher wet dry to achieve a smooth finish in between coats.

Its not a consensus its what you like and if I had a mind to had to much wine I posted a link to a much better Spar than Helsman its a Marine Spar. I told Jon about it maybe he remembers what it was I will dig through my threads in the next couple of days and let you know what it is.

On a flip not sure about the effort what I did is use a semi stain 2 coats and I was done the color is the same on all boards. Would someone pay you less if you did that really no idea.

Here is a link to my thread showing the boards.

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?71432-My-Redhead-Rebuild
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
Bruce it depends what you want for the look if you wanted the look of various wood colors meaning no stain then on the cedar using clear it will not look the same on every board you can see that in his pictures. I like the look myself. The marine spar will give better protection than the Teak Oil its not cheap and way more effort cause it probably needs at least 3 coats or more with some 600 or higher wet dry to achieve a smooth finish in between coats.

Its not a consensus its what you like and if I had a mind to had to much wine I posted a link to a much better Spar than Helsman its a Marine Spar. I told Jon about it maybe he remembers what it was I will dig through my threads in the next couple of days and let you know what it is.

On a flip not sure about the effort what I did is use a semi stain 2 coats and I was done the color is the same on all boards. Would someone pay you less if you did that really no idea.

Here is a link to my thread showing the boards.

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?71432-My-Redhead-Rebuild
Click to expand...

The spar urethane Brian recommended is McCloskey Man O War. It gets strong reviews and is intended for harsh environments. If I EVER get my honey-do’s done, I will be trying it out on sets of slats for a couple grills. Hopefully someday soon...
 
I would rather just use a good oil stain. Anything shiny is sure to not wear off gradually. It usually will end up chipping off or flaking whereas a stain will simply fade or wear away and can be simply reapplied without a whole lotta work
 
LMichaels said:
I would rather just use a good oil stain. Anything shiny is sure to not wear off gradually. It usually will end up chipping off or flaking whereas a stain will simply fade or wear away and can be simply reapplied without a whole lotta work
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Larry,
I think that is a good point. Definitely for cedar. I am not so sure about the oak I am using on a couple right now, especially for our humid Florida environment. I have been told numerous times that oak is subject to soaking in water. Seems like spar urethane is the best hope to keep it dry. I guess time will tell if it will hold up. I will know in time because I recently finished four Weber kettle wood handles with three coats. At completion they certainly look nice. The original finish doesn’t do well here I can say for sure. Same with the Big Green Egg wood handle.
 
Yeah that was directed at using cedar or redwood. Honestly IMO oak belongs on floors and furniture not grills LOL
 
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