Treating/Preventing Rust on offset lower shelf for wood, etc.

[cayenne]

HI all,

Ok, I'm good so far in oiling down and heating up the cook chamber, stack and firebox of my offset....to keep it seasoned and fight the eternal fight to keep rust at bay.

Those are pretty easy, since they all get heat every time I fire it up.

BUT....WTF do I do about the bottom rack.....near the casters that you can keep wood stored, etc?

It does heat up...it is rusting already....and dunno how to clean or fight this.

HELP

I heard a friend say there was something called "Rust Converter"....I'm not familiar with this...is this the key to prevention/protection?

Is this something I can get at Lowe's or Home Depot?


Thank you in advance,

cayenne

 

[Charny]

I am also dealing with that challenge. Expanded metal grate for shelving is a rust headache. It's easy for the paint to get scraped off all those edges. And it's difficult to remove rust and touch up. It is hard to wire brush away rust from between the grates. A sandblaster does, but that's a different headache.

You could lightly brush away the rust and then keep touching up with spray paint. That's my current plan.

You could sandblast it (or have it done) and use a high quality paint solution like POR-15. I don't know if it would hold up.

Another option are the spray on truck bed liners, and urethane car undercoatings. Those are very tough. I'm not sure how they'd hold up, or if rust would continue underneath once started. Clearly you can't have anything coming off on to your stored wood.

 

[txsmkmstr]

It's called patina.... Makes you look like a seasoned pro and the food tastes better.... eep:

I used to obsess over that stuff but it's a losing battle so I just let it go. I may touch up areas once a year but never to the point where it won't come back. I suppose you could place some rubber sheeting over it (farm & ranch stores have different thicknesses) to hide it.

 

[cayenne]

Raw metal..

It's called patina.... Makes you look like a seasoned pro and the food tastes better.... eep:

I used to obsess over that stuff but it's a losing battle so I just let it go. I may touch up areas once a year but never to the point where it won't come back. I suppose you could place some rubber sheeting over it (farm & ranch stores have different thicknesses) to hide it.

Well, on mine...it is raw metal.

I don't know if it was treated with linseed oil or not by factory....I don't think so.


So, I got raw metal rusting like hell.....I paid good $$ for this thing, and I want to keep and care for it so it outlasts me.

I don't really own tools...not sure what to buy to knock rust off the expanded metal.

I don't really keep anything down there...my wood is stacked out in the yard.

I'm soon to have a cover for the smoker and will keep it covered in between uses....but till then I need to make sure this thing doesn't have rust that spreads like cancer.....

Any ideas on this rust "converter" stuff? Anyone used something like that?

 

[bonz50]

POR-15 paint.

 

[ttkt57]

Have you tried brushing the area with boiled linseed oil from time to time? Nothing will stay there long if logs, shovels, and buckets, etc are constantly scraping things, but boiled linseed oil is cheap, easy to apply repeatedly, and cures to a pretty hard coating.

 

[Maylar]

Any ideas on this rust "converter" stuff? Anyone used something like that?

Rust converters are chemical solutions that convert iron oxide (rust) into a more stable compound. Formulas vary but usually the result is a black film that stops the rust and inhibits further corrosion. They're very popular with the woodworking crowd for restoring cast iron table tops and such. Body shops/auto painters also use them for treating sheet metal prior to painting. I have used them for both purposes. I don't know how weather resistant they would be, but yes the big box stores would have a few of them.

POR-15 has been mentioned here and I have used that as well. They have a "metal prep" solution that is a rust converter and the paint (Paint Over Rust) is extremely durable. Not cheap.

 

[Charny]

There is a popular rust convertor called Evapo-Rust. It is good stuff, for many reasons - low toxicity being one. Typically the item is fully submerged in the solution, usually for 24 hours, depending on the amount and depth of rust. Cold temps slow it down, 65F or more is best.

It can be brushed on but then the item must be wrapped with plastic so it does not evaporate. That would be tricky in this case.

Phosphoric acid is another rust remover.

 

[ssv3]

It's called patina.... Makes you look like a seasoned pro and the food tastes better.... eep:

I used to obsess over that stuff but it's a losing battle so I just let it go. I may touch up areas once a year but never to the point where it won't come back. I suppose you could place some rubber sheeting over it (farm & ranch stores have different thicknesses) to hide it.

This!

 

[ssv3]

POR-15 paint.

And this!

 

[rm41400]

I think you may be sweating the small stuff. I’ve had a Shirley for about 6 years and have very minimal rust. No loss of metal thickness. I did take a day to lightly sand and repaint the whole thing about a year ago and the only area that’s gone back to rust is a small area at the firebox where I occasionally get the fire too hot.

Anyhow, you said- I want to take care of this thing so it will last my lifetime…. Or something. Don’t WORRY it will!!! These high end smokers are so overbuilt. Touch it up every 5-6 years with high heat black paint after a light degrease and sanding.

Try to get it under a carport/lean to or something and it will last long enough for your great grandkids to enjoy it.

 

[rm41400]

Confession on the exterior expanded metal shelf’s …

I left my lower rack alone but the main/front rack drove me nuts like you... light rust and food crap stuck in between. I had a heavy sheet of stainless steel fabricated for cheap to replace the expanded metal front rack. Now my ocd is all better.

That’s a great option for a couple hundred bucks

 

[bonz50]

I think you may be sweating the small stuff. I’ve had a Shirley for about 6 years and have very minimal rust. No loss of metal thickness. I did take a day to lightly sand and repaint the whole thing about a year ago and the only area that’s gone back to rust is a small area at the firebox where I occasionally get the fire too hot.

Anyhow, you said- I want to take care of this thing so it will last my lifetime…. Or something. Don’t WORRY it will!!! These high end smokers are so overbuilt. Touch it up every 5-6 years with high heat black paint after a light degrease and sanding.

Try to get it under a carport/lean to or something and it will last long enough for your great grandkids to enjoy it.

that's my plan when I get my 'lifetime' smoker. getting its home ready and will order it when i get to that point.

 

[1MoreFord]

Another rust converter is Loctite Extend.
Don't remove all the rust. Just the terrible flaky stuff. Coat with Extend and then paint. Very important to paint.

 

[TheHojo]

On my blue smoke I just brush off/wipe down every 5 or 6 months and apply a coating of linseed oil on the legs and wood rack

I also keep my pit covered when not in use -

I have not had any rust issues to date

 

[cayenne]

No heat?

Have you tried brushing the area with boiled linseed oil from time to time? Nothing will stay there long if logs, shovels, and buckets, etc are constantly scraping things, but boiled linseed oil is cheap, easy to apply repeatedly, and cures to a pretty hard coating.

I thought the doing the boiled linseed oil required pretty heavy heat to 'cure' it...? As in on the body of the smoker and fire box, you heat it up HIGH and then apply the boiled linseed oil....?

Can't get the bottom of the cart heated.

That and I"m a bit gun-shy to deal with boiled linseed oil....being that it can cause anything it is on (gloves, cloths, sponges) can spontaneously combust...etc.

K