Weber 2000 Corrosion

[Titus R]

Hey Folks,

I am having an issue with the aluminum on the grill cover and in the firebox (not sure if that's the name?). I "restored" this grill last year after I purchased it. Cleaned it up, repainted the frame and the outer part of the cover and replaced a bunch of parts. After taking the cover off to start the new grilling season I noticed all this corrosion. This was after I cleaned it and washed it out.

I am wondering if it's because I have used Greased Lightening...I have read this can potentially cause corrosion.

Any advice on how to handle this issue? I have read possibly vinegar and steel wool? Even then it will be difficult to polish all the crevices.

Thanks!

 

[Steve Hoch]

Welcome Titus, it's hard to tell from the pictures whether what's inside of the cook box is just normal grease buildup or the result of some chemical reaction. As far as cleaning it, I get pretty good results with a wire cup brush in my angle grinder. Those white spots on the lid end caps do look like some kind of stain or chemical reaction. I have no idea how you can clean that up without stripping and repainting. The lid itself is porcelain coated and should clean up nicely with fine steel wool and Windex or similar. I don't know if this helps, maybe someone else will have more insight.

 

[LMichaels]

You will simply need to clean and likely repaint. I don't think it's corrosion as I could not enlarge the photos enough to actually see much if anything "wrong". They do grow mold if left covered for a ling time. I'd get that Member's Mark Grill and Oven cleaner spray. Spray it all down brush it off and rinse well. Run the burners to dry it out really well. Then spray it down with BrakeKleen (outside and NOT on a blacktop driveway). Let it dry (no burners). Once well dried paint it with good paint (not the insides just the outsides)

 

[Bruce]

Don't worry about the inside of the grill. Just scrap off what can fairly easily.

Are you concerned with the inside or outside of the cook box and lid end caps?

 

[Titus R]

Hey Ya'll

Sorry for not replying sooner. I got married last month so a lot of my focus was on that. Either way, your replies were not a futile effort!

I have some attached some closer up pictures. Hopefully that helps. It does seem like the resolutions gets greatly reduced when I upload. Perhaps I could use a third party photo sharing platform if needed.

That said, I have pretty much remedied the issue. I did as suggested above and wire brushed off what I could on the inside. It came off decent. Then what I did was coat the inside with some vegetable oil and burned it off, in hopes of preventing further corrosion. Seems to look good on the inside now. I will send some photos of what it looks like now when I get to it.

I do believe it to be corrosion. I thought it was possibly mold at first as well. However, after looking at it very closely and feeling with my fingers it had to be corrosion. It was a white powder that felt like a fine sand when I rubbed it between my thumb and index finger. To me, mold would have some moisture to it and be squishy.

As for the outside portion of the lid, I have not fixed that yet. It also seems to be corrosion. Could be from using greased lightning, could be from a poor prep job the last time I did it. Either way, as mentioned this will have to all be sanded off and re-coated. Going to leave it for now until I have time to do it.

 

[Titus R]

Don't worry about the inside of the grill. Just scrap off what can fairly easily.

Are you concerned with the inside or outside of the cook box and lid end caps?

Thanks! I was mostly concerned about the inside of the grill. The outside I knew I could fix. It's nice to know I shouldn't be too worried about the inside. I was pretty worried for a while I had done all that work for nothing.

 

[Titus R]

You will simply need to clean and likely repaint. I don't think it's corrosion as I could not enlarge the photos enough to actually see much if anything "wrong". They do grow mold if left covered for a ling time. I'd get that Member's Mark Grill and Oven cleaner spray. Spray it all down brush it off and rinse well. Run the burners to dry it out really well. Then spray it down with BrakeKleen (outside and NOT on a blacktop driveway). Let it dry (no burners). Once well dried paint it with good paint (not the insides just the outsides)

As mentioned in the above post, I do think it was corrosion and not mold. Thanks for the protocol for cleaning the grill! Would you only recommend this when refurbishing a grill or could this be used at the end of the grilling season to leave the grill clean over winter? Obviously without the painting part.

 

[DannyG]

As mentioned in the above post, I do think it was corrosion and not mold. Thanks for the protocol for cleaning the grill! Would you only recommend this when refurbishing a grill or could this be used at the end of the grilling season to leave the grill clean over winter? Obviously without the painting part.

FYI that Sams Club cleaner kills grass... ask me how I know

 

[Titus R]

Welcome Titus, it's hard to tell from the pictures whether what's inside of the cook box is just normal grease buildup or the result of some chemical reaction. As far as cleaning it, I get pretty good results with a wire cup brush in my angle grinder. Those white spots on the lid end caps do look like some kind of stain or chemical reaction. I have no idea how you can clean that up without stripping and repainting. The lid itself is porcelain coated and should clean up nicely with fine steel wool and Windex or similar. I don't know if this helps, maybe someone else will have more insight.

Thanks! Maybe the new pictures will help. Notice I am not concerned with the black buildup, it's the white powdery looking stuff. I think you are right about the end caps, just have to sand down and repaint. I will remember the tip on using the wire cup brush!

 

[Bruce]

When you upload photos, you want to hit the "Insert" button and choose to insert the photo inline in the post.

 

[John G (Boston)]

I think stripping off all the grease and leaving the inside of the cookbox dry over winter will encourage corrosion. Temperature changes will cause condensation in there and the aluminum has no protection if it's been totally stripped of grease.