What would you do?


 
D

Denny B.

New member
Ok people, I need some input. I bought a 1989 WSM off CL last weekend. It's in pretty good shape,no rust, but cover and the sides are oxidized pretty good, and it has an ugly greenish, grey color to it. The bottom isn't oxidized at all. I've got it all taken apart, for some cleaning, new hardware, and polishing up the legs and vents

I work at a metal fab shop, and I can get this smoker powder coated for nothing.(as long as it's not to wide for the baking process, I'm checking on that tomorrow). I'm kinda leaning towards painting it, just to make it look a lot nicer. What do you think? Paint it or leave it and start putting it back together. Remember the painting is free.
 
Denny, is the finish affecting your cooking or the performance of the WSM?
if not, i'd leave it alone.
but if the finish is basically something you hate looking at, and the paint job is free...
then, by all means, go for it.

I think if it ain't broke, leave well enough alone.
I wouldn't care if my WSMs were pink, white black or polka dotted... if it cooks ribs to my taste, i'm ok with it.
btw, where in the State are you?
 
The WSM is porcelain coated and should clean up with soap, water and a scotch-brite pad or steel wool. The inside would probably need oven cleaner to get it back to looking like new. Not sure what you mean by oxidized, but if the porcelain is damaged and you want a project, then go ahead and powder coat it, but paint isn't going to hold up as good as the porcelain and, no matter what it looks like, it will cook the same.
 
Thanks for the input. I think I'll just leave it the way it is. I don't want the paint flaking or blistering off. I've scrubbed the outside with a cleaner and then applied some vegetable oil with a cloth and it turned out pretty nice. The inside is not bad at all. I think if I hit hit that with some degreaser and dish soap it will be fine. Just a little more cleaning and I'll be firing it up!

Jim, I'm from the Appleton area.
 
Glad you've decided to keep it au naturel!
Denny, head on over to Jacob's Meat on North Lawe Street a few blocks south of E. Wisconsin....
They have THE BEST Brat's in Wisconsin!
I have only 4 left, I need to truck it up there for 20 more pounds!
 
I'll take a pic as soon as I figure out how to. Harbormaster that was not the WSM from West Bend, it was from Sturgeon Bay. I must have finally been the first to call. I was hunting for quite a while. Jim, I was just at Jacob"s Meat last week, shopping! I love the ring liver sausage.
 
Here are some pics of the '89 wsm. The lid cleaned up nice. I found a small hole in the bottom sectio. Any ideas for sealing that up? Tomorrow I scrub down the middle section. You can see the faded paint on the middle section.


 
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I would leave the smoker as it is. You could simply plug the hole by drilling it out to the next size of machine screw and put a cap nut on it or just leave it alone altogether. You can compensate for the air it will allow with the other vents.

It almost looks like there is more than one hole or another one starting near the top or were they man made? The smoker bowls will hold water, did they come from rust or did someone drill them to keep water from gathering in the bowl. Looking at the finish I wonder if it has sat outside uncovered for a long time. It still has it's own character and you will never duplicate the finish redoing the middle section
 
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It does have 3 more "spots" on the bottom section. Strange enough, they look like they are equal distances apart. They are not rusted through, just look like dimples in the outside surface. Almost like a spot-weld. These spots are not visible from the inside.

I do believe it was in the sun for quite a while uncovered. The finish on the top section looked a lot like the middle section. 0000 steel wool and vegetable oil did a pretty good job on the top. I will do the middle today. The darker spots on the side are from the penetrating oil I sprayed on the rusted bolts and nuts to break them free. They will disappear or blend in with the buff down today.

 
Denny, you might be better off just replacing whatever vents or hardware you need to, clean it up as best you can and use it a few times to see how it's working out. If it does not meet you expectations you can always send it down the road to a new owner. I would not worry much about the bowl as long as it's not rusted through.
 
yeah Denny, i'd plug that hole with a nut & bolt, a coupla fiber washers too.
that thing will put out some awesome smoked meats man.

if you're worried it won't, lemme know, i'll drive up nort for some Jacob's brats and an old 18"WSM ;)
 
Not worried about it, just explaining what the other marks were. I'm excited about this smoker. Just thought that with the ability to get a paint job at no cost, I might get some input from the masses. I am not going to paint it. Just need to get some free time to get it back together and start smoking! Thanks for all the help folks. I'll be sure to post some pics when it's ready to roll.
 
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