C-Code Smokey Joe - Labor of Love

[mcgolden]

I know, cheesy title.  But I really enjoyed this one.  I recently got my hands on a C-Code (1981) Smokey Joe off eBay.  Many of you may have seen it.  It was up for sale for about a month with the price lowering gradually each time.  It went from $75 including shipping to an eventual $49.  After not selling after a couple more weeks I made the seller an offer which he was nice enough to accept. 

This is what it looked like when I received it.  As you can see from the pics, it needed a little help but it definitely had potential.













So I spent quite a bit of time cleaning it up.  Was able to get the legs off and soaked in EvapoRust.  This stuff is amazing.  After soaking it in a diluted mixture (diluted just so I had enough to fully submerge) for a day, all the rust was completely gone.  Just rinsed and wiped.  Unreal!

I also soaked the lid and bowl in warm soapy water and then scraped with razor blade and buffed with 0000 steel wool.   Then I used some tung oil on the previously dry handle and presto, it looked fantastic.  It totally breathed life into the old handle and darkened the logo like I was hoping.  Before fixing up the handle I put one of Brian's wood handles on but then when I saw how nice the old handle restored, I put it back on.

So here's a bunch of pictures of the finished product.



















Quite a bit of effort for a little Smokey Joe but well worth it.

[Craig]

Turned out nicely! Congratulations!

[Winz]

That is a kettle to be proud of!  Excellent resto, it looks new. 
Great job.

Winz

[mcgolden]

Thanks guys.  It rally was fun to do.  I am so amazed by how well the Weber porcelain holds up over time.

[Bob BQ]

Looks great! I'd been eyeballing that listing for over a month. Glad it went to someone who is giving it the proper Respect it deserves... Congratulations!

[SixZeroFour]

Fantastic job! Time to break down and try the evaporust - those legs came out really nice!! As did the handle

[pbe gummi bear]

Great job. It looks minty fresh now. I've always thought those SJ's looked super classy.

[argentflame]

Great score and awesome cleanup. She looks like new.

[1911Ron]

Nice score and great job on the restore!

[GregS]

very nice job on the resto!  it's worth the time and effort to save these guys! 

i've had great luck with evapo as well.  grab a can of "nevr dull" if you see it, that works wonders too.