Weber Kettle Club Forums

I have an older N-code 18" I had bought back in 91. Well through the years and setting in basement she has sorta lost her shine. What's your tricks to bring the color back?? Also this is my first time here, how do I post pics??http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/07/21/IMG_0246.jpg

Soap & water.

Quote from: Hell Fire Grill on July 21, 2017, 10:43:13 AM
Soap & water.

I tried that and also vinegar and scotch brite and no luck.

Scotch brite is not good. Dish soap and 4/0 steel wool. Scotch brite is too abrasive.

If the black has lost its luster there really inst anything permanent you can do to bring it back. Your best bet is to clean it as best as possible then use a high flashpoint oil on the outside like grapeseed oil. It will darken it up a bit but you will need to reapply once in awhile.

Some liquid silicone-based or silicone-rich automotive finish restorers or polishes have pretty high temperature resistance but still may only make it look good until the first time you use the grill.  I just went out and tried some Turtle Wax ICE synthetic polish on the lid of my 35 yr. old kettle and it is now blindingly bright and shiny.  I will post an update after it gets fired up this weekend

How do you post pics on here guy's???

sign up for an account at http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/ (http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/) - makes posting pics a breeze

What @SixZeroFour said as well.

Easiest way from a browser is http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/ (http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/) then click on picture, select Embed codes, copy and paste one of the codes into your post.

Or download the WKC app on iOS or Android.

Thank you guy's that worked now I can post pics!! Much appreciated!!!

Good ol dish soap and some steel wool.... and a cold beer...

Quote from: Dc_smoke309 on July 21, 2017, 12:03:06 PM
Good ol dish soap and some steel wool.... and a cold beer...

+1 on the cold beer.
Forgot that step. 🍻👍

Quote from: Dc_smoke309 on July 21, 2017, 12:03:06 PM
Good ol dish soap and some steel wool.... and a cold beer...

;D ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: BillA from CA on July 21, 2017, 10:59:31 AM
Some liquid silicone-based or silicone-rich automotive finish restorers or polishes have pretty high temperature resistance but still may only make it look good until the first time you use the grill.  I just went out and tried some Turtle Wax ICE synthetic polish on the lid of my 35 yr. old kettle and it is now blindingly bright and shiny.  I will post an update after it gets fired up this weekend

Looking forward to it...

It takes quite a bit of beer to get them looking just right.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app (https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=91018)

Update on the Turtle Wax ICE polish.....after heating the kettle to as high as 385 deg F and averaging about 350 F for about an hour there was no discoloration or chalking of the polished area, but I can't say it is really noticeably much more shiny than the unpolished area.  You can certainly tell where it was polished though;  it does look a little different.  I checked and water drops don't appear to bead up differently on the polished area after my cooking experiment but I suspect that it probably confers some water repellency when freshly applied, based on how it acts on my truck.  That alone might be useful since SWMBO makes the kettles sleep outside when not in use.

Update on my update for the effect of the Turtle Wax ICE polish.  I retract my comment about water not beading up on the polished area.  I went back and cleaned the whole kettle and this time noticed that the water was definitely beading up on the previously polished surface.  {I attribute my apparently erroneous initial comments to the somewhat poorer ambient lighting at that first observation)  After I did the same treatment to the whole kettle it very definitely is more shiny than it was after merely washing it. The surface is not "oily" and does not seem to attract dirt.   The best part is that it remained that way after another grilling session.  I'm making the ICE polish part of my regular cleaning process.

I'm a wee bit leery about using car wax. It was never designed to be used in high heat applications. But, I am looking forward to more results.

Quote from: Darko on July 24, 2017, 11:09:47 AM
I'm a wee bit leery about using car wax. It was never designed to be used in high heat applications. But, I am looking forward to more results.

well, it has survived two grilling sessions so far and the lid still looks shiny and the water still beads up. ICE is not a conventional car "wax".  It is a clear liquid product apparently very high in silicone. It is expensive and used sparingly.  Silicone is used in a lot of high temperature applications. 

Perhaps an alternative is any of the various commercially available porcelain enamel polishes that are used along with a lot of elbow grease or a  buffer.  The ICE is basically wipe on/wipe off with minimal manual buffing.