Seville Chariot kettle cleanup & restore

[PotsieWeber]

One thing I hate doing it cleaning grills, grates, lids, bowls, etc. So, I usually just fire them up figure the heat will kill anything nasty.
I've done a bit of cleaning here & there, but usually say heck with it.

Perhaps the only thing I hate worse than actually cleaning a Kettle is using a PRISTINE kettle, which is why I sold the NIB Brown off-set handle SJ that I found in a box at a flea market.  If it hadn't been in a box, I probably would not have bought it, but would have probably thought that it was kind of a very high quality knockoff (it doesn't say Weber anywhere on the actual grill). That was the grill that got me searching, finding this place, and got me into spending waay too much time & money on Webers, including LONG drives to pick up something I found. Basically, I figured I'd never even put that SJ together, let alone cook on it, so I figured selling it to someone else who might enjoy it more (instead of just leaving it in a box) was probably better.  Didn't hurt that I'd stumbled across a similar used one (although with different legs from a slightly different year) and I figured I could spend the cash on other Webers.

Well, I finally got around to cleaning and restoring the kettle and bowl for the Seville Chariot that I picked up a couple years back.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures throughout, but here are some of the before pictures below. 

As you can see, this kettle needed some work.

So, I cleaned the kettle. Put a new handle on it. Put some oil on the rust spots & streaks.  Then, since it weird with spots darkened I added additional oil to make the weathered warrior darker & newer looking, at least temporarily.

You'll never believe what happened as I rubbed the oil in & shined up the vent tab on top. 
The results are UNBELIEVABLE, but I'll take some pictures and post them tomorrow. 

[FlashHokie]

Looking forward to the additional pictures!

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[JEBIV]

can't wait to see more pics

[bamakettles]

Patiently waiting!  Sounds like a fun project......

[Mr.CPHo]

That is a really really sweet weathered war chariot!  More pics please!

[PotsieWeber]

Doing a little more polishing with steel wool on the porcelain tonight and taking a Dremel buffer piece to the vents after that. 
Should have the "after" pics up tomorrow. 

[PotsieWeber]

I told you guys it would be UNBELIEVABLE.

Some heavy cleaning, some polishing, etc. and she practically looks like somebody got her as replacement set back in the 1970's for a kettle and bowl they had, but never used them. While I suspect some might comment on the remarkable difference in color by oiling her up & polishing her really well, along with some scrubbing with steel wool, I'm more amazed at how different the vents look after some polishing. 

The results speak for themselves. 

Maybe I'll be lucky enough to do the same thing with the cart one day.

(Sorry, I'm just easily amused).

[Gringo]

HOLY COW!!!  That is INCREDIBLE!!!!  Wow, what grate work!!


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[bamakettles]

Haha, love it.....


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[PotsieWeber]

Sorry, but I really couldn't resist because of the obviousness of the switcheroo.

In reality, I haven't posted in a couple years and haven't looked for anything in about as long. Been busy at work, with the kiddos, & with projects around the house. 

In any event, I started searching around & was a bit startled at how many kettles were not being snapped up nearly as quickly as a couple years back. Figured the ability to buy brand new ones in a variety of colors probably dampened the enthusiasm for those that wanted something a bit different. A year or two back, or maybe three, it also seemed like people had discovered Independent Porcelain (or whatever) and (even back then) I wondered if this would dampen the enthusiasm for the hunt and also thought there seemed to be a bit more pristine vintage kettles being offered for sale, which made me wonder if any had recently been black, but then visited Independence MO.

So, while searching I noted the number of reds available both near and far, that looked in pretty darn good shape but seemed to be lingering longer than the used to. Then I noticed a bowl & lid someone listed that was just sitting on the grass & looked in good shape.  It wasn't near me, but just seeing the small picture of the bowl & lid (that was NOWHERE nearby) made me feel a bit nostalgic and it looked to be in great shape at a really good price (at least from a couple years back) for something that didn't appear obviously damaged, so I clicked on it just to see how nice it was, the listing came up larger, and I was startled to see NO LEG SOCKETS and THREE TABS on around the bowl circumference. Then, I noticed the inside of the bowl still included little Styrofoam wedges on the grate tabs (for protecting the lid when it sits upside-down in the box). The, I read the listing that mentioned it was their grandfather received it as a replacement from Weber back in the 1970's, but didn't use it for some reason. He also mentioned that you could probably build your own cart, so I'm assuming his grandfather might have had the wooden Sequoia and he might have seen it when he was a kid.

So, I immediately messaged the person and also emailed a friend (and former co-worker) who lives in the same state to see if I could get them to repay a favor. The co-worker got back to me first, mentioned it was a 90 mile drive (there and back) through a lot of touristy traffic and asked how important the favor was. Then, she emailed again & mentioned some friends of hers were visiting in the next town. So, I called her, told her about the kettle and basically said it had never been cooked in (so it wouldn't dirty a car) and if they could just drop it off at a FEDEX KINKOS or UPS Store, I could get them to pack & ship it.

In the meantime, the seller gets back to me asking when I can pick it up and telling me his availability over the next couple of days. I hold off because I'm waiting for an answer from the friend of a friend of IF they will do it and WHEN they are available.  So, the seller calls me & I explain that I'm in Chicago, but a friend (or her friend who is from the next town) will be picking it up for me & paying for it and that I have one of the carts it was designed for. But, I also ask if he would consider accepting another form of payment and if he'd be willing to drop it off at a UPS store or a FEDEX location where I'll pay them to pack & ship it. He said normally he wouldn't do that, but agreed to take Venmo and drop it off at a nearby pack & ship sort of place.

So, now I guess I have to actually repaint my Seville Chariot in white. I've yet to find WHITE tread available for my missing tread, but think I might have a solution for that.

The first pic was the one I saw a small view of before deciding to click on the listing, without even noticing it was for a cart (it was a lot smaller before clicking on the listing), just because I wanted to see how nice it was and wondered how long it would linger without the legs, pan, wheels, triangle etc. There were several other pics, including the one with the little Styrofoam wedges still on the tabs.

I was so darn startled when I realized it was a red bowl & lid for a cart (as it was something I'd been hoping to find for a long time). Was in negotiations over one for a while on a different one, including jumping through some hoops trying to find some gassers that the guy wanted to restore (he said they popped up more around me than him). In any event, that one fell through, but eventually this one came around.

[JEBIV]

Awesome story Hal

[PotsieWeber]

Thanks.

Perhaps the luckiest bit was asking if he'd be willing to drop it off at a packing & shipping place & offering a bit more cash for his trouble. 
Turns out the friend of a friend (who normally is very much into recycling & whatnot), his wife was with and her response was "they haven't changed those things in over 50 years, he should just buy one locally," so the friend of a friend wasn't going to pick it up.
But, by that point it didn't matter because he agreed to drop it at a pack & ship.

But, my friend & former coworker who was about 90 miles away (trying to be helpful) found the listing & messaged the guy directly (not realizing I was already in contact with him) and asks if he'd be willing to drop it off at someplace to pack it & ship it.
Later, she tells me about this & mentions his reply was hinting around that she should offer him more money.

But, in the end, I paid him & got it. 

Awesome story Hal

[FlashHokie]

Grate story! I'm glad it worked out for you!

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[Bertl]

Wow and congrats. I love stories like yours!


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[getlego]

Wow how does one follow up on that story ? Congrats and thank you so much for sharing!


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