This is the last installment in the story of refurbishing my Sequoia. Paint is dry and I have reinstalled all of the parts. (Except the towel rings. I'm virtually finished.
) I'm generally happy with the result. It is no museum piece, but it is a serviceable reminder of what Weber made back in the '70s (I think) and something I can cook on for years to come. During the refurb I corrected some manufacturing deficiencies and covered, to the extent I could, the scars of a challenging life. The delignified back side of the doors and extreme crazing of the bowl indicates that it has seen many high heat cooks and perhaps even a few bonfires. The PO covered some of that with some crappy looking paint which came off with oven cleaner and revealed some nice looking porcelain with some huge cracks and chips. Instead of paint, I have coated those spots with Pam which should harden and provide some protection from further rust. It was missing one bottom vent cover and I wound up replacing all three thanks to Jeff's kind donation of a set (including mounting H/W.)
I scrubbed the cart as best as I could using Dawn and oven cleaner. I reinforced and squared it up before staining with a semi-transparent stain. Many of the defects are still visible, but they are toned down a bit and the cart looks a lot better.
I characterize my 18 as a grizzled veteran and though it suffered neglect, it never suffered the battles that this Sequoia experienced. I think I would characterize the Sequoia as a scarred warrior. It shows the results of the battles but still serves as well as on the day it was first assembled.
Here's how it looked when I brought it home.
And now
Getting ready to cook
Coming along nicely (if not quickly)
Veggies on the grizzled veteran.
Ready to eat.
Just enough coals left for a peach pie for dessert.
Epilogue: If you've followed my blog, you probably know that I end every cook with notes on what I could do to achieve better results next time. This is no different and looking back I can comment. First, I would disassemble the cart to the extent that it was disassembled for shipping when new. I think that removing the axles and the carriage bolts with wing nuts would do that. It would be easier to clean and paint the various parts that way. Next I would do more to brace the cart. It is a flawed design and the rectangles with axle or single carriage bolt at the corners is not sufficient to keep it square. I braced the corners with 18 gauge brads but that is barely sufficient. I can also second guess the color of the stain. I like the color but would have preferred something a little more transparent. However if it protects the cart, I will be happy.
You can find more pictures of the sequoia at
https://picasaweb.google.com/111317408295523264877/ImperialSequoia?authkey=Gv1sRgCILg9oqUwrumnQEThis Thread is the last in a series of threads I've posted to document my efforts to refurbish this Sequoia. Look here for the
master thread and other sub-threads.
Topic: Wrapping up the refurb on my Sequoia and commissioning into service (Read 5025 times)