Pondering a finish for my Sequoia refurb

[HankB]

I spent some time last week scrubbing the cart having done the doors (which had been removed) some time ago. I scrubbed these with Dawn (a powerful dishwashing detergent) and some spray oven cleaner to help remove the stubborn grease spots. I find the residue from the grates and inside of the cookers is particularly persistent but yields to oven cleaner. Here is the result.

Doors artistically displayed. 


Top (ring cleaned up and just set in place.)


Towel ring end.


Lid hangar end.


Underside.


Here's what I'm pondering. I could use an opaque stain to cover the imperfections, but I don't think I'd like the look of that. A fully transparent stain would reveal the grain and all of the scars and imperfections. A semi-transparent stain (tending toward transparent) would provide some camouflage of the scars while still showing off the grain.

An alternative would be to flip the boards that exhibit significant scarring. As can be seen in the last picture, the exposed surface is substantially pristine. I'm curious if anyone has done that and run into any unexpected difficulties and how it eventually worked out. I'm thinking about doing that with the top.

Couple points regarding my restoration.

• It's never going to be a museum piece.
• The bowl and lid have significant scarring as well.
• I don't have any lookers. This is going to be cooker. Needless to say if it can look good w/out extreme measures (e.g. rebuilding the cart using new wood) I'll be happy.
• The grill has been through many battles and shows the scars and I'm not entirely sure I wish to hide them.

I appreciate your thoughts and experiences with this aspect of the refurb. More pix at https://picasaweb.google.com/111317408295523264877/ImperialSequoia?authkey=Gv1sRgCILg9oqUwrumnQE#

You can find more information in the master thread and other sub-threads.

thanks,
hank

[G$]

Looks great so far Hank.    Personal opinion only:

Use a light stain, even if it shows scars.
Do not flip boards, they will look no less inconspicuous than the defect you are trying to hide if the table is generally well worn.  (I KNOW folks here have succesfully flipped some of them)

Since the bowl is well used, and you plan to cook on this, I tend to think it would look incongruous to have a shiny new table with a rough bowl and lid.

Regardless, I can not wait to see the result.

[MartyG]

Agree with G$ - use a light stain. What bothers me more than the scars are the stairstep top boards. Are you going to straighten them out? And remember, when it's all done wait until twilight to take pics, and get some smoke going. Nothing better looking than an active Weber kettle at sunset.

[OGlenn]

Wow, that looks pretty cool to me, scars and all.  Thanks for sharing your pics, I've never seen one dismantled before.  Are there only two L-bracket supports on the sequoia kettles?

[G$]

What bothers me more than the scars are the stairstep top boards. Are you going to straighten them out? 

I meant to mention that. I assume it is raked because it is off the support provided by the frame?

EDIT: It looks raked when it was still on the frame.  I am sure when you tighten her alkl up it can straighten out.

[ccoiv]

I agree with G$. That baby earned those stripes. Let her show them off. Just my 2 cents and if my wife is correct it's not worth the 2 pennies.

[1buckie]

 I'd vote go with some battle scars.....

Can you sand some on the top face boards & catch a little more of the stains....that might be a happy medium?

If you need, I'll get those pics of the little frame straightening clips the last owner of mine put in.....down inside, almost not noticeable  at all.....these carts are kinda weird.....seem stout, but the guy said it was way wobbly & so he did a decent fix......
It seems like they just sort of twist on the four corners.....doesn't seem like it should do that, with the 2nd shelf in there, but I guess they do.......

Last.....off wood subject, but how far have you gone on bowl repair?

[Hogsy]

FWIW I used these too products on my last timber table
Same product, except one has a stain in it as well
The oil with the stain really enhanced the colour of the timber with out it looking like it has been stained
I did one coat of the jarrah oil and two of the clear
Clean up and application was easy and not messy
Maybe you can find an oil with a stain that matches the timber on the cart

[HankB]

Use a light stain, even if it shows scars.

I'm inclined to agree.

Agree with G$ - use a light stain. What bothers me more than the scars are the stairstep top boards. Are you going to straighten them out? And remember, when it's all done wait until twilight to take pics, and get some smoke going. Nothing better looking than an active Weber kettle at sunset.

Yes, It's loose and I plan to square it up. I haven't measured but I think that will straighten out the stair steps.

The 'finished' pictures will include some food pr0n. 

[G$]

The 'finished' pictures will include some food pr0n. 

woo hoo!

[HankB]

Woops - more replies!

...  Are there only two L-bracket supports on the sequoia kettles?

There are three supports on the bowl.

Can you sand some on the top face boards & catch a little more of the stains....that might be a happy medium?

If you need, I'll get those pics of the little frame straightening clips the last owner of mine put in.....down inside, almost not noticeable  at all.....these carts are kinda weird.....seem stout, but the guy said it was way wobbly & so he did a decent fix......

Last.....off wood subject, but how far have you gone on bowl repair?

I will sand lightly before I stain.

Pix of the braces would be helpful. I'm not a furniture designer, but it strikes me that the design of this piece is not all that well thought out. (For that matter, the SS Performers could use some additional bracing as well.)

I'm cleaning up the bowl. I did the top with Dawn and oven cleaner and that took all of the paint off and what porcelain remains really pops! I'm doing the bottom the same way. It is missing one vent cover and I think I can get one from Jeff. The others are a little bent up but I think I can get them sorted out. The bowl is uglier than the lid but the support brackets (inside and out) are all there and seem solid.

FWIW I used these too products on my last timber table
Same product, except one has a stain in it as well
The oil with the stain really enhanced the colour of the timber with out it looking like it has been stained
I did one coat of the jarrah oil and two of the clear
Clean up and application was easy and not messy
Maybe you can find an oil with a stain that matches the timber on the cart

Thanks for the tips on the particular finish that you used. that sounds like the look I hope to achieve.

[1buckie]

If you need, I'll get those pics of the little frame straightening clips the last owner of mine put in.....down inside, almost not noticeable  at all.....these carts are kinda weird.....seem stout, but the guy said it was way wobbly & so he did a decent fix......

Last.....off wood subject, but how far have you gone on bowl repair?

I will sand lightly before I stain.

Pix of the braces would be helpful. I'm not a furniture designer, but it strikes me that the design of this piece is not all that well thought out. (For that matter, the SS Performers could use some additional bracing as well.)

I'm cleaning up the bowl. I did the top with Dawn and oven cleaner and that took all of the paint off and what porcelain remains really pops! I'm doing the bottom the same way. It is missing one vent cover and I think I can get one from Jeff. The others are a little bent up but I think I can get them sorted out. The bowl is uglier than the lid but the support brackets (inside and out) are all there and seem solid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's the little metal corner pieces.....I would think to use fairly short screws will be a good idea, so they don't blow thru to the outside....one in each upper & lower corner, total of 8
i've built shelving & racks for paper with stuff like this & they work grate.....mine is very solid, not hardly a bit of wobble side to side or anything......
Just trundle down to the local Home Depot & they should have them....fairly common....







The reason I ask about the bell is I have an old one (regular kettle) in Red.....missing also one daisy wheel, some chips at the grate support points outside, a few chips in the lid & a dent/ bend in the edge of the bowl (not as bad as it sounds)......
The kicker is that it's missing BOTH metal handles.....how the people managed that I'll never know, but the bowl in general is in quite a bit better shape than the one you're starting with.....





It's 'Patent Pending" & so would be period correct........


If you'd like to use this, I'll send it out to you.....the downside would be popping & re-attaching the supports......probably not too fun, but it's yours for this project if you want......

[HankB]

Thanks for the info on the braces. Those look pretty nifty and I'm sure they would go far to make the cart sturdy.

I'll keep the offer of the bowl in reserve for now - thanks!

[glrasmussen]

Scars and all, go towards original. Looks great so far!