1981 resotaration questions

[ohen]

Hi there!

I'm restoring my dad's 1981 18" kettle which has been left uncovered and unused since 1989 or so here in coastal southern california.  Resources on internet have been quite helpful.. inside is clean now.  I've unscrewed the wood handles (two thick screws in each) - wood is dried, cracked, splintered, seriously weathered.  I am lightly sanding and applying mineral oil, and will probably not stain them.  The pan is missing, booo, and the bottom triangle looks like a pirate ship dungeon grate it is so rusty.  The lid has a couple big dents, which I think I'll be able to hammer out, and one part of the lip is bent inwards a bit.  At the moment, I've run across a few items which have multiple solutions, not sure what to do:

1. After removing rust on the exterior from dings/scuffs/dents, is it good idea to use the high-heat paint, or just leave it?  Handles have some rust, too.  Most of the rust is really at the dings and the areas where the parts are welded.

2. Lid and kettle inside has rust and enamel deterioration at the dents and the areas where the handles and legs get attached.  With these being exposed directly to flame and hot coals, should the rust simply be removed, or, should I go ahead and paint?

3. The bottom vents are mangled.  Would it be better to remove the rivet and replace the vents, or, try to fix them?

Thank you for your time!

[MagnoliaTom]

I'm new here and new to kettle restoration but here's what I've learned in the short time I've been here.

Do not paint. After you've cleaned up the rusted areas, use some cooking oil on the spots to season them just like you would with cast iron.

As far as the bottom vents go, that's your call depending on whether you can source replacement parts, or your skill level for repairs.

Hopefully someone with more experience will offer more advice.

Good luck


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[ReanimatedRobot]

When it comes to bare metal after rust removal most people opt for using some cooking oil and heat to season the metal.  You can also use touch up paint, but people only seem to have success with this when it is a black kettle.  If it is a colored kettle the paint usually turns black with use.  Make sure it is high heat paint.

When it comes to the bottom rivits it is really on a kettle to kettle basis.  I like to use evaporust on rivits and rusty parts of the kettle, but if it is really old and if complete rust removal might be risky to the the leg sockets welds I wouldn't try it.  You can use steel wool to get rid of most of the rust and if the rivits appear to be in good shape otherwise.  If the rivits are so rusty that the vent is almost falling off or I am concerned about bowl damage underneath the vent then I opt to drill them out and buy Stainless steel button head socket cap screws that are 1/4-20 x 3/4.  These give a rivit type of look from the outside and won't rust in the future.  You will just have to do your best to reshape the vent or find a donor/replacement. The vents a really soft aluminum so you might be surprised what you can accomplish with a little bit of patience, a vice, and pliers. I will edit with a link to the screws I bought on Amazon if your hardware store doesn't have them.  The nuts for these should be easy to find at a hardware store or Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YSSFJ7E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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[ohen]

Okay, cool.  Reading more through the forums, it seems popular belief is not to paint, even outside.  Black ones tend to be "okay", so, maybe.  We'll see how it cleans up.

I think I can drill out the rivets for the bottom vents, but I'll see if I can get them loose first and maybe reshape them in place.

Here's a picture of the legs, rust, and mangled vents.

[ReanimatedRobot]

Yeah I probably wouldn't evaporust the bowl.  Just a lot of scrubbing and then season the metal.

Okay, cool.  Reading more through the forums, it seems popular belief is not to paint, even outside.  Black ones tend to be "okay", so, maybe.  We'll see how it cleans up.

I think I can drill out the rivets for the bottom vents, but I'll see if I can get them loose first and maybe reshape them in place.

Here's a picture of the legs, rust, and mangled vents.

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[CatskillSmoker]

Those bowl vent can be reshaped and cleaned up fine. Are they frozen up or move freely?

[ohen]

Besides a grate, catch pan, and charcoal, what else do I need?  I've never actually grilled with charcoal before, always propane or nat gas grill 

Those bowl vent can be reshaped and cleaned up fine. Are they frozen up or move freely?

Yup, I was able to get them back to rough shape by hand.  All three bottom vents are seized, however.  Should I try penetrating oil? 

Yeah I probably wouldn't evaporust the bowl. 

I have some phosphoric acid based descaler that will get the surface rust off, just spray, scrub, and rinse with water.  Hadn't heard about evaporust, just looked it up, seems to be similar.

[ReanimatedRobot]

Be careful with acid as it might not do well on the porcelain. Evaporust is water based and will only attack the rust.  Anything that is acid can be used for rust removal but leaving anything too long or with a coating might not go well.

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[Cellar2ful]

Thanks to other WKC member recommendations, the best thing I've found to free up those daisy wheel bowl vents is PB Blaster.  You can get it at Home Depot and most Hardware stores.  Spray it on the rivets inside the bowl and under the vents on the outside and let it sit overnight or for a day or two.  Then gently tap the vent tabs with a piece of wood.  Alternate the direction of the tapping and they will eventually free up. 

A Weber charcoal chimney will come in handy for lighting briquettes. The smaller size is best for an 18" kettle. If your fine with using lighter fluid, then no chimney needed.   

[ohen]

Okay, that's good news, same brand penetrating oil I have at home.  One of the vents came loose quickly 15 minutes after applying PB, the other two are still locked up, I'll give it more time. 

I will be careful with the acid descaler, thank you for the heads up.

Meantime, the wood has come along better.  After sanding with 120 then 220 grit, theygot a quick wipe with mineral oil.  They are much easier to touch now without giving me the heeby-jeebees (worse than nails on chalkboard), but seems like they can be better.  I'll do a little more research.

[Walchit]

I did this 1981 handle today.
My phone is about dead and i didnt get the stained picture.

[ohen]

I did this 1981 handle today.
My phone is about dead and i didnt get the stained picture.

Oh, that's cool!  I'd like to see the stained version.  I guess mine doesn't have the logo on it, because it's the 18" ?  Hmmm.

My industrial metal degreaser/descaler/deruster was taking way too much effort to get even a smidge of rust off the triangle, and I forgot I used up my metal wire wheel a while back.  However, I learned one can use electrolysis to remove rust, which seemed like fun and I have all the stuff necessary to do it.  My power supply provides only 2A, so it will probably take a long time to do this - but there's no effort on my part and I feel like a mad scientist AH-HAH-HAH-HAH *lightning bolts strike everywhere*

[Walchit]

I haven't seen handles like yours, looks like maybe it had 2 rivet handles and someone made some new ones. I really dont know. I added the stained pic to my other post

[Cellar2ful]

I haven't seen handles like yours, looks like maybe it had 2 rivet handles and someone made some new ones. I really dont know. I added the stained pic to my other post

His dad's kettle is a 1981 C Code.  Looking at the lid handle in the last photo, it appears to have been a "triple double" (two rivet handles on both bowl handles and the lid handle).  Somewhere along the line, the top wood handles either rotted off or became loose and someone fixed them by making a new top handle and used the old bottom part of the wood handle.  If it had been a single screw handle, the metal strap would have had a hole in the center of the metal strap.



Since 1981 was a transition year from metal bowl handles to wood handles and from two rivet handles to single screw handles, there are many combinations that were produced that year.  Some C codes have single rivet handles all around and others have a mix of both.

[Walchit]

Thanks! I knew it was something like that. Didnt want to spew incorrect info though lol.

@ohen here is a link to replacement handles, and a picture of your style of handle.

https://grillhandle.com/shop/mahogany-3h-2s/