1978 Green MBH restore

[crowderjd]

So, I went and picked this up from our friends on the Central Coast over Christmas Break.  The whole thing was spray painted from top to bottom, with the exception of the legs.  Even the ash pan had a light coating of spray paint!  The triangle is still covered in chrome spray paint, and as soon as I find a dirt cheap donor kettle, I'm switching it out.  The positive is that the spray paint prevented any further damage, as it had lived its life two blocks from the ocean.  If you've never been to Los Osos or Morro Bay, CA, they have fog VERY frequently.  This explained the previous owner's actions. 

That being said, I got started scraping spray paint.  And scraping.  And scraping.  There are VERY few assorted specs still left on the bowl and lid, that may be removed on a later date.  There are a few patches of spray paint on the lip of the lid, but it largely covers areas of rim rash. 

After using the scraper around the lid handle to get some globs of JB Weld off, I moved on to using a grinder attachment to remove the gunk both inside and outside of the kettle.  As I ground away, I was surprised to find that the welds on the handle were secure!  So I ground more greedily.  Finally I found a hole in the lid that had led to the JB weld being applied in the first place.  CRAP.  So...what to do...cover the hole back up with JB weld (of course) and gently paint with high heat green grill paint. 

Overall, I think I did a good job.  I refinished the handle, but it is only loosely on the lid, as I used some wood putty in the holes to keep it attached to the screws.  Any thoughts as to reattaching an original two rivet handle would be much appreciated.

I'm pretty sure this is one of the earliest dark green MBH kettles, as they were introduced late 1978, which is what this kettle is, and considering its life near the ocean, it's got a lot of years left in it.   

BEFORE:







AFTER

[Travis]

Awesome job! Love that dark green man. As for the handle situation, I think someone here makes them...
I'm going to quote kettlebb from a different thread today. Why is the brownie in the corner? Is it in trouble? I lol'd when I read that earlier, kettlebb.
Looks great bud 👍

[crowderjd]

Thanks @Travis.  I thought about it, but I loved the look of this handle once I restored it.  I'll tell you this...I'm never buying a spray painted kettle EVER again...unless a Westerner or Plainsman is hiding underneath

[cumminfourya]

Looks excellent!!! Very nice work


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[greenweb]

Wow! Great job cleaning.  You could have used paint remover/paint stripper to lift the paint off. Much easier than scraping alone. For rest of the small painted areas left, scrub with soapy water when cooking on the kettle while nice and hot. It should come right off as heat and soapy water removes paint.

Welcome to the Green MBH club. Your whole lineup looks great.

[MrHoss]

The screw heads on the handle....were they like that when you got it? They ought to be rivet heads I believe.

[varekai]

@Travis , that little brownie is the kid next door watching and wanting to play with the neighbor kids...LOL

[varekai]

@crowderjd , You have a great collection!!!

[Vwbuggin64]

If that brownie did something bad, I can always take it in with my "bad grills"

[RottiGuy]

Wow great job on the clean up!!....Nice collection!!

[weldboy]

Great job on the restore! It's a green mbh and those don't come around every day!


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[Mr.CPHo]

Excellent job cleaning up that beautiful green MBH!!


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[Neil_VT00]

Great job cleaning it up, love the color.

As for the handle, maybe you could replace those screws with flat heads and get some of Brian's screw covers for a more original look?

[WNC]

Awesome job on the restore! You put a lot of work into that bad boy.
I'd think for the handle, use a hack saw to cut the rivets between the two handle pieces, then replace with screws, then get some of those nice caps from Brian.
Sweet collection too!


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[WNC]

Oh I just realized, just like Neil said with the handle


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