BBQ grill maintenance?

Don’t know if this is allowed here but I’ll give it a shot.

anyone have this issue? Where some of the fixtures in the grill are starting to rust? Not sure how to go about cleaning that up and doing some preventative maintenance.

 

I use my car detailing products on my grill and it helps bead water off pretty well. I have a 20 year old Weber, in CT that never gets covered. I have just had to replace the internals a few times.

 

Gotcha thanks. Yea mine rarely gets covered also. But I’m in Texas where I don’t get much rain so I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about rust. This ones about 5 years old.

maybe trying some emery cloth to remove the superficial rust then apply some mineral oil??

 

I have sprayed my grills with automotive spray wax to prevent that. Another one that started rusting along the bottom (it had a cover but water splashed up from the floor and rusted the bottom part of the cabinet) I ended cleaning with vinegar mixture to clean the rust and then sprayed it with plastidip to shield it from the water.

 

Rust on the handle ends is because they are of Chinese nickel-plated carbon steel...not designed for corrosion resistance, only to look shiny. I doubt you're going to be able to do much with those, maybe use some high temp paint on them once you get the rust off because there won't be much plating left. Whew...makes me tired just thinking about all that expenditure of energy.

The spots on the stainless can probably be scrubbed off...if that really IS rust, then it doesn't say much for Chinese SS.

The worst rust will show up on the painted steel cabinet behind the SS. The back of the fire box literally "rotted" off mine. Today's Chinese grills are like kleenex; use'em, replace the internals once, recycle when the internals need replacing again...or, when the cabinet rots away, whichever comes first.

 

What kind of grill is it and do you cover it at all?

I have a pre-bankrupt, Vermont Castings that has been rock solid and pretty much rust free for 15+y now. I use it, let it cool off and then cover it. No issues with cosmetic rust like that.

A couple burner hardware pieces rusted out and some of my flavorizer bars, but they were easily replaced.

 

Keep it clean and dry

 

I have a Weber that is made in America. The exact same spot on my Weber has chrome peeling off (no rust). I think it’s because of the heat. I do cover mine when not in use. It’s a very good grill, but that’s likely a weak spot for all grills.