The first vintage grill I cleaned had more than an inch of caked on filth. It took weeks. I would soak it in Krud Kutter over night and chisel away at it with a plastic putty knife, flat screwdriver, and steel wool. It literally took 5 sessions before getting down to the porcelain. The stuff was caked on so thick that the vent holes were COMPLETELY sealed.
Over the years, I learned how to effectively use Easy Off oven cleaner. Spray it on, put the bowl/lid into a trash bag, let it sit for a day.
Usually one application is all it takes. After a day in the bag, hose out the gunk and hit whats left with a plastic putty knife (or my fave, a platter from a torn apart hard drive).
This is a great method. It's the least amount of "work" when you add up all the actual time spent cleaning. My wife calls me lazy. I prefer the term efficient.
@SixZeroFour and a few others have been harping about razor scrapers, and I really never saw the need. Although I picked up a cheap one just to try on triangles (it's what Six recommends in his Triangle restoration guide (http://weberkettleclub.com/weber-charcoal-grill-restoration/triangle-restoration-rust-removal/))
Oddly enough, Six left a grill at my house that was particularly stubborn. I'm not sure what the previous owner burned in this thing, but Easy Off literally had no effect. My special hard drive platter wouldn't touch it. In an act of desperation, I pulled out that cheap scraper I bought at home depot for 4 bucks. Low and behold, it handled the caked on filth with relative ease.
Unfortunately the scraper crapped out and kept retracting on me. A needle nosed vice grip held the blade much better. 20 minutes later, the lid and bowl are looking great.
I'm officially sold. I just ordered THIS SCRAPER (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SR88C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002SR88C&linkCode=as2&tag=webketclu-20&linkId=UYP3SW47J3BYZOKT) and i'm pretty excited to see it in action.
Maybe I'll do a deep clean on a few more kettles to really test it out.
I have one of those cheap retractable scrapers and it's a PITA .... Need to get the one you ordered.
Razor scrapers are the ONLY way to go. That, and some "SOS" pads, will get your caked on crud covered grill shining like a new 30 year old kettle ;D
I'd look at a short handled holder as well, for a little more control and leverage.
the one i bought at home depot is stubby, but its retractable (Stanley brand)
I'm going to drill a hole through the mechanism and put a screw through it to keep it locked.
I just had the one you ordered deliver to my house yesterday. I am hoping to test it out later this weekend..
Quote from: indy82z on March 18, 2015, 11:29:28 AM
I just had the one you ordered deliver to my house yesterday. I am hoping to test it out later this weekend..
let me know how it goes!! I'm a tiny bit worried about the spring clip
for what its worth, the needle nose vice grips (cheap ones from Harbor Freight) work surprisingly well
I will. Its supposed to be 60 here on Saturday and I am smoking a brisket and cleaning kettles all day ;-)
Quote from: indy82z on March 18, 2015, 11:51:31 AM
I will. Its supposed to be 60 here on Saturday and I am smoking a brisket and cleaning kettles all day ;-)
Sounds like a fine day!
I have had bad luck with the retractable ones. This is from Stanley tools, it costs a buck and it works great.
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/18/3cb4c065585015af962ae44bccb588e8.jpg)
I may look at getting one like you ordered for greater leverage.
Those retractable ones are awful... try holding it upside down and it shouldn't retract on its own as much ::)
I haven't tried the spring loaded version but a very similar one and its great!
@Troy that type of Scrapper is available at Harbor Freight. Bought mine a couple years ago for around 10.00 comes with 4 different size scrappers.
This is what I use. Its just an old hoe I ground to the approximate profile of the kettle. This tool will scrape the heaviest crap off as rough or gentle as you need it to be.
(http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w129/americanwest/unknown541.jpg) (http://s175.photobucket.com/user/americanwest/media/unknown541.jpg.html)
My old hoe wont get your bowls as clean as a razor will but in my opinion a clean kettle is a sign of a sick mind.
Quote from: Hell Fire Grill on March 18, 2015, 10:12:45 PMMy old hoe wont get your bowls as clean as a razor will but in my opinion a clean kettle is a sign of a sick mind.
You used old hoe and sick mind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo) in the same sentence.
Do you shave your bowls with a razor?
Quote from: Hell Fire Grill on March 18, 2015, 10:32:25 PMDo you shave your bowls with a razor?
I use a Remington (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yv3y1Ergwo).
I use the exact scraper that Troy recommends, and I love it. The clip works great, the handle gives lots of leverage, and I love the convenience of having extra blades in the handle.
Before I got it I used a regular Vice-Grips as a holder for the razor blade. Those dinky little blade holder things would make my hands cramp up.
PROTIP: the inside of your oven (and most kitchen cooktops) are also metal coated with porcelain. So before you scrub that stuff or fume up the house with oven cleaner, give those surfaces a dry scrape with your razor scraper, and vacuum up the mess with a shop vac. It'll save a lot of work, and a lot of mess.
PROTIP #2: the inside of your oven and cooktop will stay a lot cleaner if you cook outside on your Weber kettle.
Quote from: Hell Fire Grill on March 18, 2015, 10:32:25 PM
Do you shave your bowls with a razor?
@Hell Fire GrillGood ta see ya back & being of assistance there Ray !!!!!
Quote from: 1buckie on March 19, 2015, 10:38:17 AM@Hell Fire Grill
Good ta see ya back & being of assistance there Ray !!!!!
I will 2nd that ... :D
So the blade does not scratch or cause damage to the porcelain?
Are you using this along with the easy off or does it handle it by itself? I have been using plastic ones and it has always been a chore on the really tough jobs.
Thanks for the advice!
Quote from: Josh G on March 19, 2015, 11:36:02 AM
So the blade does not scratch or cause damage to the porcelain?
Are you using this along with the easy off or does it handle it by itself? I have been using plastic ones and it has always been a chore on the really tough jobs.
Thanks for the advice!
Josh, I think it depends at least somewhat of the type of crud that's there, but sometimes the slightly lighter stuff that maybe hasn't been there for years you could just use the scraper...
More intense or thicker crust might need some help......oven cleaner works good, but not everyone likes the heavy chemical junk (kids & dogs, cats being around may also be a factor)......
This one had a layer that may have been on there for decades (kettles about 54 years old).....I mopped it down with apple cider vinegar (I'm a whimp about white vinegar) soaked in a rag, then waited 15~20 minutes for it to soak in a bit, then scraped....the coating was a little bit softened by the vinegar & with some work, it peeled up pretty well.....
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/2014/Wood%20Dale/WoodDale022.jpg)
There was a bunch of strips & bits, but the porcelain was great underneath.....
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/2014/Wood%20Dale/WoodDale023.jpg)
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/2014/Wood%20Dale/WoodDale013.jpg)
Here's what it started like.....doesn't look too bad, but was actually 1/16" thick in a lot of places......if the stuff's not been there forever, maybe even mopping down with water would work OK.....
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/2014/Wood%20Dale/WoodDale006.jpg)
Just keep the scraper at a fairly low angle & don't "chop" or "chip" at it too much as it could gouge with that action.......
It's unfornuate.....but we're all dealing with this:
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/1st%202013%20chicken/8-4-2013%20Surf%20Turf%20Orange/8-4-2013SampTurfOrange001.jpg)
Looking at your first photo, 1buckie, I think that fingernail would be about all you'd need.
:)
Quote from: addicted-to-smoke on March 19, 2015, 12:42:07 PM
Looking at your first photo, 1buckie, I think that fingernail would be about all you'd need.
:)
LOLOLOLOL
been using only razors for years
The only thing I've found to be effective on really thick crud is a wire brush attachment for my drill. I thought it would have scraped the porcelain so I tried it on a grill that has seen far better days, and it didn't scratch at all.