I just scored a 1997 Performer. It has not been well taken care of. The stainless is stained and the bowl and lid are dirty inside and out. Additionally the lid has some black film like stuff on the inside.

What is the best way to clean it up? Thanks in advance for your help

Larry -

You can search this forums, but from what I remember people used simple green for the outside. For the inside, I would build a big charcoal fire and let the grill get nice and hot. This should clean/kill any bad things inside your grill.

good luck!

It's not paint peeling! Many people assume it is peeling paint. The black film like stuff on the inside is creosote from the smoke. It is a sign of frequent/heavy usage. It will flake off here and there. You could scrub it with a brass bristle brush (which won't scratch the porcelain finish). Other than that is harmless, and actually somewhat beneficial.

A slight buildup has a insulating factor to it, and helps stabilize temps on seasoned grills. So you may not want to scrub it all off. Knock off the loose stuff, so it doesn't fall on your food.

Congrats on the Performer!

Thanks for clarifying the "film" and the simple green suggestion. After it is cleaned up should I wax the outside of the bowl or the stainless table, and if so, what wax is recommended?

Weber cautions you NOT to wax the outside. I just wash the outside of mine with Simple Green and that seems to do the trick.

Yeah, the more I thought about wax the more I thought wax was a bad idea. Don't know how the wax would react to the heat. I think I will try the simple green and a power wash. I am still not sure the best way to get the stainless table top cleaned up. It has some circular gunk on it. Looks like the grill lid sat on it awhile. It is not discolored like a heat ring, but has light brown/tan circular rings. Should I use Bartender's Friend and a brass scrubbing pad?

quote:

Originally posted by Larry M:
Thanks for clarifying the "film" and the simple green suggestion. After it is cleaned up should I wax the outside of the bowl or the stainless table, and if so, what wax is recommended?

I wouldn't wax the bowl due to the heat. And I wouldn't wax the stainless either. Just get some good stainless polish/cleaner and use some elbow grease.

Thanks, will do.

If you have Barkeepers friend go ahead and use it. If not, and you have baking soda, try that along with a little vinegar first. The baking soda acts as a mild abrasive and helps scrub off oil burns and other stains that a simple scrubby can't. I use it on my stainless steel pots and pans periodically.

If you've still got some stubborn stains try a Mr. Clean Magic Sponge, they're amazing! We use them around the house and I can't believe how effective they are, especially on the ceramic stove-top-- no scratching, just removal of baked on stains. I'm not sure what's in those things but man, do they ever work wonders.

oven cleaner for the inside. very fine steel wool really shines things up.

+1 for the Simple Green on the outside. Fantastic seems to cut grease good as well.

I use Simple Green/Green Gunk degreaser and Scotch-Brite pads. The flakey buildup gets a wire brush or a ball of wadded up foil.
When I refinish a Red kettle, I'll go over it with fine steel wool, then Mequiars Mirror Glaze #7, rub it in and hand buff it out. Never had any problems with it.

For the stainless and outside of the bowl I use Simple Green if I have some buildup or Windex if its just a shine and not "funk abatement". Windex puts on a mighty fine shine.

These are all very helpful ideas. So far I have power washed the whole unit with Krud Kutter. The bowl has cleaned up nicely. It didn't do much for the stainless. So, I made a paste of Bartenders Friend and used a copper scrub pad working with the grain and that has cleaned up most of the spots. There are still a couple of spots, but it looks clean now

With all the good advice I have got it clean, but I have run into another problem with my rehab project. I will post that in another thread.

Larry - I bought a box of green plastic Scotch Brite pads at Lowes. They seem to work really well on the stainless steel, working with the grain. I used them to clean up the SS on my Performer project as well as to clean my Char Broil SS gasser.

The pads are large - maybe 6x8 - and can be cut to smaller sizes to fit nooks and crannies.

Pat

Pat

Larry - I finally got all my parts in and finished getting my stainless performer ready to go. Pics are posted in a new threat "Stainless Steel Performer Refreshed."

How is your project coming along?

Pat