I probably have over 8 hours into the cleaning and polishing of the ash pan alone. Had to do it in 1 or 2 hour blocks as it is real hard on the fingers.
What methods/materials/techniques were used on the ash pan?
I followed the WKC "Ash pan clean up and polish procedure" instructions. It is the third tab under the Grill Restorations Heading on the WKC Home Page:
Step 1- Deep soak in CLR
Step 2- Removal of surface contaminates with #0000 extra fine steel wool and fine emery cloth
Step 3- Shaping the ash pan
Step 4- Polishing
I agree wholeheartedly with the writer of this article when he states, "In my opinion, one of the most challenging pieces to restore on a Weber kettle is the ash pan". After soaking in the diluted CLR, I began a process of alternating back and forth between the steel wool and fine and extra fine emery cloth. I tried to always sand with a circular motion, even with the emery cloth. It makes it easier for the final step of polishing. I probably spent 4 hours alone on Step 2. I shaped the ash pan by using a small hammer and gently pounding out any small imperfections. I used a very smooth brick retaining wall in my yard to slowly pound the pan on. Whatever you use as a pounding surface, make sure it is extremely smooth as aluminum is easily marred if you use a rough surface to pound on. Work very slowly and pound gently as aluminum is a soft metal. I used Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish for the final step. I tried Brasso but did not get as much result as with Mothers. This is where you start seeing the fruits of all the hard work coming together. Having now completed a restore on an ash pan I would recommend either covering it with foil when cooking or keep an extra un-restored pan for use when cooking. I would not want to do this again on the same pan.
This was the ash pan before I began the cleanup. This photo was taken after I had hosed off all the loose material.
This is a large detail photo of what I was dealing with. The crude that was left on the pan was like concrete.