Here's the story.......
Late last year, Harbormaster contacted me out of the blue and asked if I wanted an old grill that was given to him. He provided the following photos.
We both knew this was an older grill but it looked just like the pics showed.....a pretty rough, faded old grill. I said Id take it and would enjoy the challenge of trying to restore it for use. After zooming in on one of the photos, I thought I spotted what could be a "swirl" finish (last photo). I asked HM and he said it was present in a spot on the lid handle. I figured it could be a small remnant of the old finish and thought it could be a 50s Custom 18 but didn't think much of it. On Friday, the family and I headed west for a short trip and stopped by HMs place. He had provided the key to the "Yacht Club" so I was able to pick it up.
When I saw the kettle and the swirl on the handle I got a little excited. Realizing it was painted, I couldn't wait to see what was underneath. We got home late on Friday night and I took a piece of steel wool to see what might be underneath. Under the dim light of a flashlight, I could see more yellow swirls. This is what it looked like in the daylight.
Later in the day, I worked on it some more. I used mineral spirits, fine steel wool, and a lot of elbow grease. The more I uncovered, the more I had to do, it was addicting. The lid is clean and complete.
That's where I finished. The bowl is another story. There is a lot of rusty metal. Whats left of the finish needs to be stripped and cleaned. The leg sockets are rusted tight and the thumbscrews are welded with rust to the sockets.
Right now, the sockets and thumbscrews are being bathed in PB Blaster with hopes that they will free up. The weld holding the front leg to the bowl is rusted through and fairly loose. Im also going to have to fabricate an old school ash pan. My goal is to restore this as best I can using all the original parts. More pics to come as this proceeds.
One final note.....a special THANK YOU to Harbormaster for giving me the opportunity to uncover this buried treasure. It is an amazing grill and he is one great guy.