1992 Weber One Touch, small restauration, German guy needs some help !

[addicted-to-smoke]

... So I thought you only have the One Touch, not a Master Touch. ...

That's correct. The nicer model isn't sold in the U.S. anymore.

[mcflash]

... So I thought you only have the One Touch, not a Master Touch. ...

That's correct. The nicer model isn't sold in the U.S. anymore.

Okay, thanks for the answer.
Now I know why I didn't find it on the website.

But it's still something that makes absolutely no sense to me!!
In Germany for example we haven't got the Ranch Kettle (but we can import it from other European countries) and that is okay because only few people need that grill.
But a Master Touch is such a great product and should be available everywhere. Or do you all buy Performers instead? 

Still I didn't find enough time for my kettle polishing with the wool.
I'm busy in the garden with doing some mosaic flooring and that really takes a lot of time.

I hope that there will be good weather on the weekend so maybe I can finish the flooring and start with the kettle.

[addicted-to-smoke]

... Or do you all buy Performers instead? ...

Can't say, but it sure seems as if more top of the line (with gas assist) Performers come up for sale used that for example, the One Touch Gold.

In America I think we buy cheap (One Touch Silver, at the "magical" $100 price point) or go for broke (Performer, + we often have more space to store a grill with a table?) with most buyers going for a cheaper gas grill that probably costs as much as a MasterTouch would cost if available here.

No, I don't exactly get it either. But we've discussed this before. Something about outdoor grilling being seen as more of a luxury endeavor in Europe, so higher-profit grills are more easily offered and that's where you get the colors, accessories and so on. You guys love our local grill prices but the "price" for that is limited selection of models I think.

That said, any hardware store here will have multiple gas grills or those ceramic "egg" charcoal setups for $1000, easy. It could just be that charcoal Webers are seen as "your dad's old grill" here (which is true) and who wouldn't want to "one-up" dad with a shiny new, silver and chrome gas grill or "high tech" egg-shaped thing with a vaguely Asian-sounding name?

[mcflash]

Good morning together,

at the weekend I found some time for cleaning my Master Touch and I really wanna thank you for the hint with the steel wool.
It's not an easy work and it takes some time to get to the result but the result is absolutely worth the work!!

I didn't finish completely but I wanted to show you some pics because I'm sooooo happy with my Master Touch  !!!!


before:




before:




a "before" leg compared to a leg after polishing with steel wool:




Triangle:




One Touch System after cleaning:




One Touch cover before polishing:




One Touch cover after polishing:






mounted again:




looks much better now:




wings inside the bowl
wow, there is something written on the part in the middle, didn't know before cleaning  :




I've got still 2 legs and the triangle to polish and I will post new pics at latest when I'm done with everything.

Greets,

Sebastian

[1buckie]

Great work, Sebastian !!!!!


Hard to get everything completely clean, but you came very close !!!!

Looks very nice !!!!!

[mcflash]

Thanks 1buckie and I've saved the best for last  -> the triangle with a lot of rust on it !!

I tried to get off the wheels but I didn't.
I had a look in the manual of the Master Touch and it is shown that the "caps" that hold the wheels are only plugged or put on.
So I took a big pliers and tried to pull off the caps. But the only result is that the plastic cap doesn't look nice any more.

Do you have any special trick to get off the wheels?
The cleaning of the triangle would be much easier without the 2 legs and wheels mounted.

[1buckie]

If it seems you must take the wheels off for better cleaning of them or the triangle, try wrapping a towel or rag around the "caps" & twisting gently with the pliers around the rag, the same direction the wheel turns.......rock back & forth & as gently as you can pull backwards......they are meant to stay on, so it's something that has to  taken slowly & gently..........


Some people will try a flat screwdriver to pry off, first one side a bit, then the other side a bit from just behind the cap.......this can get them off, but again, go gently & take your time as it can slip & cause damage.....................

[mcflash]

Thanks for the quick answer. When I find enough time this evening I will try the version with the pliers. I hope it works, otherwise it is just a bit more work for me. But for such a lovely kettle I have enough time and love

[Heyjude]

You should be able to find replcement wheel caps at a hardwre store, if not Weber sells them.
The numbers 1,2,3 are on the ash sweeper. Those are for the correct order of installation of the one touch system. I suspect that they are bent slightly different to accomodate the stacking on the nut and then aligning equally on the bowl. Make sense?

[mcflash]

@1buckie
I found the time and finally I got off the caps. Thanks for the help, I did it with a combination of pliers and screwdriver. This worked really good but took nearly 10 min per wheel. But doesn't matter, I'm just happy it worked.

@Heyjude
I saw the numbers also before cleaning 
What I meant in my post this morning is the Patent number on the nut, not the numbers on the wings.
But thanks for your post.

Have a nice evening,

Sebastian

[Heyjude]

Probably an internal part number.. And nice job on your rehab.. Looking great! 

[mcflash]

Hi together,

I changed my posts because the pics were no longer visible. It's a problem with the online memory of my internet provider ...
I registered at dropbox today and I hope it now works. We'll see 

I'm close to finishing my little project as I am working at the triangle at the moment.

You can really see a difference between the left side already worked on and the right side as the starting condition.
I'm so happy because before I didn't think that it would become that much better!!



Have a nice day,

Sebastian

[mcflash]

Hi everybody,

I finally finished all of cleaning work and put my wonderful red lady back together.


Here are some pics of the result:












It's definitely not looking new but for 22 years and for me it's absolutely perfect!!

The only thing still missing, is a grate. I think something very important for a grill 
I got no grate with the Master Touch, so the last times I used it, I had to improvise with my old Weber Spirit grate.

I'd really like to have the new GBS stainless steel grate for my Master Touch (this version is brand new in Germany and I didn't find it in any other country  ).
I have the stainless steel version for my Spirit and I like the grate because it's build forever and cleaning is pretty easy.
I also like the idea of the Gourmet BBQ System. I already own the Sear Grate and the pizza stone and I use both very often.

But sadly the grate costs 135$ and this is much to much at the moment for me.
We will get our first baby next month so money is missing everywhere!!

Maybe I buy it for birthday or XMAS, we'll see...

Again I wanna thank all of you for your help and please keep on doing what you're doing, it's great !!!

Have a nice day,

Sebastian

[Ted B]

Very nice work there!  That's a great looking grill. You can really tell you put a lot of work into the restore.

[MartyG]

Nice work on the grill, and congrats on the new member of the family too. Take a few pics of them both together - we all wish we had more photos of us as kids growing up with a Weber. Boy or girl?