1981 resotaration questions

[ohen]

Walchit, thanks for the link.  I'll check with my dad when he returns from vacation in a few weeks, but I doubt he'll remember whether anyone had changed the wood handle(s).  I've attached a better image of all the wood pieces in better light.  C2F, it's interesting how much detail was put into the handles (not the curvy bottom parts), when you look past the weathering.  I've not known my father to be one to "mod" things. 

It's interesting how the mineral oil darkened the wood so much.. see the image of the pieces before I applied the oil.  Maybe I should've used something else?  Hmmm.

Two of the three lower vents are still stuck.  I've rapped them with wood, and applied more PB.  Will give it another 24 hours since I won't be using the grill today.

Also, for those curious, a closeup of the electrolysis after running 13 hours on 2A 12V supply - I threw in the screws used to secure the handles as well.  I didn't have washing soda, but did have borax, which appears to have worked just fine.  My inner lazy wonders whether I should do this to the bowl and lid as well, instead of using a rust remover...

I am bummed, none of the local hardware stores carry the 18" sized charcoal and grilling grates, so I have to order online, and subsequently I won't be firing this up today   After more thought, I think I will hit the outside areas where the leg nubbies are welded, and at least the handles with high temp paint, to help slow down any more rust.  Insides will be "seasoned" with oil per suggestions here.

[Walchit]

I need to set up some sort  electrolysis tank too. It seems to work very well. And would be cheaper than evaporust for sure.

[ohen]

It's not difficult, if you do it just remember to be safe and proceed carefully, quadruple check your connections before going live.  Wear rubber shoes, just in case. 

Oh, and make sure to keep the actual connection at the sacrificial metal out of the water.

[Cellar2ful]

I use Tung oil when restoring two rivet wood handles.  I first sand the wood with #0000 steel wool, then apply a couple of coats of the Tung oil. 







The two rivet wood handles were walnut or teak. They stood up to the elements much better than the single screw wood handles, that were made from a softer type of wood.

[ohen]

Very nice, thank you for pointing out tung oil.  If I have some, I'll try sanding a little again, then apply that, I prefer your results. If not, it's going to stay dark like this, it'll be more "distressed like" and fit in with modern hipster life.

Good news bad news.  Good news: all three bottom vents now rotate freely.  It'll be tricky to get them in shape.  Bad news: the electrolysis is not as easy as I thought.  The metal is covered in a black layer, which doesn't scrub off.  It needs a wire wheel to remove (found a small one after digging through my drawers), leaving sort of a gold hue.  This triangle is severely corroded.  I am tempted to just use a chrome paint over it all and call it a day.  My shirt is already full of little brass wires and I have a few stuck in my hair that will take days to remove.

Back to the vents - a minor OCD part of me wants to drill out the rivets, repaint the outside of the lid and base, then install shiny new lower vent covers and reuse the upper one.  Probably not worth the effort or cost.  Pricing this out, September 2019:
 - grill grate $16
 - charcoal grate $10
 - ash pan: $17.50

That's already half the cost of a new one.  Then possibilities:
 - three vent replacement kit, $16
 - triangle, $21
 - high heat paint, $5
 - misc stainless hardware, $2-8.

Aaaannnndddd.... that's a new 18"   This is all for the sentiment as a fun side project, and while cost isn't an issue, it's clear I won't really be able to get this thing like new.  Might as well just start using it soon as the grates and pan arrive, and we'll consider the dents and any remaining rust as patina.

[Cellar2ful]

When the triangles are that badly rusted/corroded, I usually prime them with Rustoleum Primer/Filler, then finish with a Rusoleum silver. 

[Lowbrass]

I have 3 replacement bowl vents that I will gladly trade you for those bowl vents currently on yours!


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[ohen]

Triangle with chrome paint.. SHINY.  After I hung it up to dry, noticed the can said "for indoor use only".  Oh, well.  If it fails, I'll just strip the paint and hit with the rustoleom recommended by C2F.

Thanks for the offer Lowbrass, I'll probably end up leaving everything as is, especially if I can get the vents to be mostly flush-ish. 

[Lowbrass]

Triangle looks amazing!  Nice job!  Let me know if you change your mind about the vents!  I have been looking for awhile!


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[ReanimatedRobot]

Am I correct in that the electrolysis did not remove the remaining chrome plating on the triangle?  I am just curious because I have heard it will remove paint and not just rust.  I am also not aware of how it would react to a porcelain coating. 

As for the black remnant I believe that is just some kind of residue.  I had to scrub some off of my triangle when I soaked it in evaporust in a kiddy pool.  Some 0000 steel wool was sufficient for what I had but I can't say I got it perfectly clean.  Clean enough that most won't notice it though.

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[ohen]

I don't know if my triangle piece was chrome plated steel or well-polished stainless, but that one side which was not rusted retained its shiny.

In my case, unfortunately, the black residue did not come off with steel wool and there were still some areas of deep rust, so I had to take brass wire wheel to it.  The pitting and rust was so bad, I had to spray paint it with some chrome stuff I happened to have on hand.

The replacement grates and ash pan should arrive later this week.  I am watching videos and reading now how to actually grill with charcoal, never done it before!

[ReanimatedRobot]

The replacement grates and ash pan should arrive later this week.  I am watching videos and reading now how to actually grill with charcoal, never done it before!

Don't sweat it that much and keep the first few cooks simple.  You will pick up the basics pretty easily and quick.  The charcoal flavor tends to put you ahead of most others that use gas to cook with.  Having a nice instant read thermometer also helps a lot in terms of making sure you cook items like chicken long enough or getting your steak/burgers cooked closer to preferred doneness.  Most of the fun of charcoal is learning how your particular grill works and experimenting/learning new ways to cook.  You can certainly find plenty of interesting ideas to try here and when someone really finds a winner they generally are happy to post a tutorial. 

[ohen]

Project is "mostly done".  I thought I had some "black magic" stuff I used to use long ago on my car's plastic trim, but I couldn't find it so the wheels look dull.  I did end up painting the outside, apologies to the purists, but I'm happy with the result.  I left all the dents and dings in place, the picture shows the pretty side   The aluminum screw-post things from the hardware store in retrospect were a dumb idea.. the aluminum picks up the heat and when I grabbed the handle was met with a burning surprise, ugh!  But, I couldn't find the screws originally used, they are much thicker and coarser than any I've seen.  I might just put them back in, although they are rusted pretty bad.

Does anyone know where to get the caps that hold the wheels in place?  It seems one was lost long ago.

My first cook was flap meat.  Sadly, I did not realize the butcher had run it through the tenderizer until I got home, no matter, still good if a bit gummy (this cut does not need to be tenderized, ugh).  The two-zone cooking seemed to work okay, but I was unable to get sear marks or any real maillards on the hot side after the lower-temp cook (and it wasn't as low as I'd like, about 350).  Final flavor was interesting... I could taste some of the wood in the meat, it was not bitter.  Very new to me, I don't recall this flavor from my childhood.

Will try doing the "snake" cook next weekend with either some brisket or pork butt.

[MagnoliaTom]

The grill looks good. Nice job


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[Cellar2ful]

You can usually find the axle caps at Ace Hardware or Lowes.  The size you need is 3/8". They are called axle push caps.  For some reason, they usually only carry white or red ones.   Here is a link to the one's from Lowes. If you have problems finding them, send me a PM.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-3-8-in-Zinc-Plated-Axle-Push-Nut/3012512


Also, your kettle is put together caddywhompus.   Pull out the legs and rotate the kettle so the front bowl handle is positioned in line with the front single leg.  You'll find it is much easier to move around that way.