New Braunfels Resto - Stripping inside of grill

Aaren Cobb · 08-06-2010, 04:15 PM

I found a New Braunfels on CL for $40! From what I've seen that is a sweet deal, but it does have some rust. It's either a Silver for Black Diamond, I don't know how to tell the difference but it has the pot warmer on top of the firebox.

I've got it in pieces now to sand down the rust and repaint the outside, and I'm wondering how stripped down i should get the inside? Should I strip it down to bare steal? There is a lot of ash, rust and soot, but I'm unsure how much to strip away.

Thanks in advance.

Westexbbq · 08-06-2010, 05:42 PM

My old NB Silver did not have the pot warmer on top of the firebox so I'm thinking you got the BD.
I would scrape it clean and then re-season liberally.
Good luck, try and post some before and after pron if you can.

colonel00 · 08-06-2010, 06:12 PM

A handy tool to get is a Plastic paint/wallpaper scraper. This will do well to remove all of the gunk and what not without scratching down to the surface metal. From there you can assess your next move. If there is no apparent rust on the inside, you can clean it out and re-season it.

Aaren Cobb · 08-06-2010, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the advice so far. This is my first smoker so I don't know what the inside should look like on a new or well maintained one. I'll try to not scrape through to bare metal.

The first pic is the only one of the inside that i have right now. I'll take some more tomorrow:

Under the grill:

I've got it standing up straight now, although I did appreciate the character of its "lean." I had to tighten a few bolts on the legs.

I am currently removing rust and repainting with high heat 1200 degree Rustoleum paint, and I plan on hiring a welder to reattach the firebox with a good seal.

Any other suggestions?

Phrasty · 08-07-2010, 01:31 AM

Maybe a fire box heat baffle or 2 tuning plates might be a nice addition. Other than that it looks like it will fix up well. Nice find!

Only other suggestion is if your using that grill brush to clean it up its not going to do the best of jobs. That rust underneath is not serious, but your gonna want to go rent an 4.5" angle grinder for a day (if you don't have one) with a wire-brush attachment (you might have to purchase that along with safety glasses, a couple dust masks and a pair of work gloves) and give it a little elbow grease and you'll have a perfect surface to re-paint. You will not want to paint over any rust at all, you want to take it ALL off.

If your willing to do that, she'll be as good as new.

Good luck with the project... Show us some shots when its all fixed up!

Cheers

Aaren Cobb · 08-07-2010, 08:13 AM

Wow! Good eye, I had to go back up and see what brush you were talking about!

That is a cheapy steel wire brush I started to use and realized it wasn't going to do a thing against the build up that was in there.

Thanks for the tip on the steel wire attachment for a grinder, I'll pick one up today.

I also bought some rust converter, but I'll definitely be taking all the rust off first and spraying that on as an extra precaution before I apply the high heat paint.

So has anyone else taken one of these with the bolted on firebox and had it welded on? Can I just have a welder run a bead around where the firebox attaches to the grill?

barbefunkoramaque · 08-07-2010, 09:01 AM

weld the legs just like that in place! I love it!

I wish I had my old one back... all the research I did and all the mods and time wasted trying to get these puppies to stay down in the 225 range when all the while they are designed perfectly to put along at the 250-300 range... which makes stellar old school and traditional BBQ briskets and ribs on the low end of hot and fast. I just didn't realize what the little pit was trying to tell me.. hot and fast! LOL

I agree with the wire brush. I might do that today on my meat mama which has not cooked anything in quite some time.

Puppyboy · 08-07-2010, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbefunkoramaque

weld the legs just like that in place! I love it!

Oh yeah, then after a few drinks it'll be straight.

barbefunkoramaque · 08-07-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puppyboy

oh yeah, then after a few drinks it'll be straight.

lmao

colonel00 · 08-07-2010, 09:51 AM

FYI, if you do not have an angle grinder you can get wire wheel attachment for a drill. Just dont try to use a cordless drill as the battery will be dead in no time.

Aaren Cobb · 08-07-2010, 12:57 PM

But if I weld the legs on with that lean, won't the smoke come out crooked too?

I have an angle grinder, but Home Depot and Lowes don't have a steel wheel to fit it so I bought one for my drill. It's the plug-in kind so no recharging batteries.

I've already painted the shelf brackets and the firebox door and they came out really well. Firebox is next on the list for early this week.

Phrasty · 08-07-2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaren Cobb

But if I weld the legs on with that lean, won't the smoke come out crooked too?

I have an angle grinder, but Home Depot and Lowes don't have a steel wheel to fit it so I bought one for my drill. It's the plug-in kind so no recharging batteries.

I've already painted the shelf brackets and the firebox door and they came out really well. Firebox is next on the list for early this week.

Hey again Aaren, Just being honest here when I say if you tighten those bolts properly, welding that seam is not going to be much of a performance improvement. Personally I'd leave it bolted. Just get some locknuts (not the kind with the plastic "gripper" though for obvious reasons.) Having the option to remove the FB to clean and do maintenance is a good thing. If you already have the welder guy coming over to do some work... deal with the legs instead... I think steady legs (and smoker) would make more of an improvement that the welded FB over the bolted FB. Again, just my 2¢. Just get her cleaned up nice and give her a nice spray job.

Btw Can you post up a shot of what the FB looks like inside?

Cheers

Cheers

Aaren Cobb · 08-07-2010, 03:08 PM

Okay, thanks for the advice on welding the firebox. Before I disassembled it, I could see daylight between the firebox and grill where it bolted on, should I run some fire rope or oven insulation silicon (or whatever it is) around the outside to seal that off?

I don't have the welder yet, that's stage 2 for this project and should happen in a few weeks for the legs. I also saw some brackets that are on the "Oklahoma Joe" that aren't on mine that I might try to find and use to add stability.

Aaren Cobb · 08-07-2010, 03:14 PM

Firebox Pics:

Better pics of the inside of the grill:

Aaren Cobb · 08-09-2010, 05:36 PM

here's an update, I got the firebox sanded/grinded down with steel wire brush and primered with rust converter.

Before:

Sanded/Grinded:

Primered:

08-06-2010, 04:15 PM	#1
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	New Braunfels Resto - Stripping inside of grill I found a New Braunfels on CL for $40! From what I've seen that is a sweet deal, but it does have some rust. It's either a Silver for Black Diamond, I don't know how to tell the difference but it has the pot warmer on top of the firebox. I've got it in pieces now to sand down the rust and repaint the outside, and I'm wondering how stripped down i should get the inside? Should I strip it down to bare steal? There is a lot of ash, rust and soot, but I'm unsure how much to strip away. Thanks in advance.

08-06-2010, 05:42 PM	#2
Westexbbq Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-02-05 Location: Rockin' Lake Ronfarkoma, Hinterlands of BBQ . Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	My old NB Silver did not have the pot warmer on top of the firebox so I'm thinking you got the BD. I would scrape it clean and then re-season liberally. Good luck, try and post some before and after pron if you can. __________________ Illuminated, circa 1967. KCBS CBJ-Texas Transplant. Texas Smokemaster offset, Well-cured NB Silver Smoker, Santa Fe grill (retired). glory bee gasser. Texas International Pop Festival, Labor Day 1969. IMBAS Certified. Just roll me up and smoke me when I die. Always remember, no matter where ya go, there you are. I wanna tell you 'bout Texas radio and the big beat. Someday, I hope to visit Penelope. Hondo Crouch, Famous Late Mayor of Lunkenbach, Texas who advocated a 'dillo diet: "You can eat nothing but armadillos for a month, but you will have to run down and catch all the armadillos you eat and it can really take the weight off!"

08-07-2010, 01:31 AM	#5
Phrasty Babbling Farker Join Date: 01-19-08 Location: Jamaica Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Maybe a fire box heat baffle or 2 tuning plates might be a nice addition. Other than that it looks like it will fix up well. Nice find! Only other suggestion is if your using that grill brush to clean it up its not going to do the best of jobs. That rust underneath is not serious, but your gonna want to go rent an 4.5" angle grinder for a day (if you don't have one) with a wire-brush attachment (you might have to purchase that along with safety glasses, a couple dust masks and a pair of work gloves) and give it a little elbow grease and you'll have a perfect surface to re-paint. You will not want to paint over any rust at all, you want to take it ALL off. If your willing to do that, she'll be as good as new. Good luck with the project... Show us some shots when its all fixed up! Cheers __________________ 1 - 100 lb. self-made cylinder grill/smoker 1 - 100 lb. self-made cylinder smoker 1 - 20 gal. self-made grill/smoker 1 - 25 gal. self-made vertical smoker 1 - 120 gal. self-made trailer stick-burner http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=88599

08-07-2010, 09:01 AM	#7
barbefunkoramaque Babbling Farker Join Date: 11-11-07 Location: Gone Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	weld the legs just like that in place! I love it! I wish I had my old one back... all the research I did and all the mods and time wasted trying to get these puppies to stay down in the 225 range when all the while they are designed perfectly to put along at the 250-300 range... which makes stellar old school and traditional BBQ briskets and ribs on the low end of hot and fast. I just didn't realize what the little pit was trying to tell me.. hot and fast! LOL I agree with the wire brush. I might do that today on my meat mama which has not cooked anything in quite some time. __________________ Popdaddy is Dead - 1933-2011 - Pitmaster T is a free agent

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08-06-2010, 06:12 PM	#3
colonel00 Babbling Farker Join Date: 06-03-10 Location: Shawnee, KS Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	A handy tool to get is a Plastic paint/wallpaper scraper. This will do well to remove all of the gunk and what not without scratching down to the surface metal. From there you can assess your next move. If there is no apparent rust on the inside, you can clean it out and re-season it.

08-06-2010, 11:47 PM	#4
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the advice so far. This is my first smoker so I don't know what the inside should look like on a new or well maintained one. I'll try to not scrape through to bare metal. The first pic is the only one of the inside that i have right now. I'll take some more tomorrow: Under the grill: I've got it standing up straight now, although I did appreciate the character of its "lean." I had to tighten a few bolts on the legs. I am currently removing rust and repainting with high heat 1200 degree Rustoleum paint, and I plan on hiring a welder to reattach the firebox with a good seal. Any other suggestions?

08-07-2010, 08:13 AM	#6
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Wow! Good eye, I had to go back up and see what brush you were talking about! That is a cheapy steel wire brush I started to use and realized it wasn't going to do a thing against the build up that was in there. Thanks for the tip on the steel wire attachment for a grinder, I'll pick one up today. I also bought some rust converter, but I'll definitely be taking all the rust off first and spraying that on as an extra precaution before I apply the high heat paint. So has anyone else taken one of these with the bolted on firebox and had it welded on? Can I just have a welder run a bead around where the firebox attaches to the grill?

08-07-2010, 09:51 AM	#10
colonel00 Babbling Farker Join Date: 06-03-10 Location: Shawnee, KS Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	FYI, if you do not have an angle grinder you can get wire wheel attachment for a drill. Just dont try to use a cordless drill as the battery will be dead in no time.

08-07-2010, 12:57 PM	#11
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	But if I weld the legs on with that lean, won't the smoke come out crooked too? I have an angle grinder, but Home Depot and Lowes don't have a steel wheel to fit it so I bought one for my drill. It's the plug-in kind so no recharging batteries. I've already painted the shelf brackets and the firebox door and they came out really well. Firebox is next on the list for early this week.

08-07-2010, 03:08 PM	#13
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Okay, thanks for the advice on welding the firebox. Before I disassembled it, I could see daylight between the firebox and grill where it bolted on, should I run some fire rope or oven insulation silicon (or whatever it is) around the outside to seal that off? I don't have the welder yet, that's stage 2 for this project and should happen in a few weeks for the legs. I also saw some brackets that are on the "Oklahoma Joe" that aren't on mine that I might try to find and use to add stability.

08-07-2010, 03:14 PM	#14
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Firebox Pics: Better pics of the inside of the grill:

08-09-2010, 05:36 PM	#15
Aaren Cobb Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 08-03-10 Location: Fresno, CA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	here's an update, I got the firebox sanded/grinded down with steel wire brush and primered with rust converter. Before: Sanded/Grinded: Primered: