Forgive my ignorance (I've got plenty), but when you say "use it as a cooker," is a "cooker" different than just a grill used to cook steaks burgers etc? (;-) I know, I'm a rube). In any case, it seems like I'd want to avoid cooking on a wood deck!
"Swap in some color" -- as in find a used kettle top/bottom that could be installed on a platinum? Are the Performer kettles interchangeable with mine?
I'm torn about how to proceed here. I like the Platinum set up and I could continue on undaunted. But maybe that would be good money (and energy) that would be better spent on another unit that's in better shape to start with. I really do like the SS Performers ...