Model 3 question / experience

[cwshiles]

Hey all! 
Today was a good day.  I got the chance to put together my Model 3 and cart that came yesterday.  I actually just put the cart together.  Technically it was together in 20 minutes, but I honesty just did not like the finish.  My first impression of the cart was that it was taken out of the factory with all the white welding gunk and junk all over it and that the stainless did not look like what I want my stainless equipment to look like.  I tried wiping it down with a stainless steel cleaner which did nothing but just clean it, but it was still hazy. 

So..  I fixed that.  After having the cart together, I began disassembling the cart piece by piece so I could rub it down with a fine sanding sponge and a fine stripping (scotch bright) pad.  I proceeded to go over every surface of the cart with the sponge/pad and gave it a brushed stainless finish like my Weber Gas Grill.  After I finished and proceeded to ruin a dish towel (sorry wifey), I wiped it down with a microfiber cloth, dish soap, and then the stainless Simple Green Stainless Steel Cleaner again.  It looked way better, but it was kind of dirty and I could'nt get some of the dirty finger prints off of it.  I used some Food Safe Mineral Oil and WOW OH WOW, it looks awesome now.  The mineral oil took all of the black residue off of the cart and gave it a very nice clean coating of oil which has since dried and still looks great. 

I will put the smoker on the cart later tonight and season it tomorrow morning.  I would have done it today, but what I thought was going to take me 30 minutes, ended up taking about 3 + hours.  I am going to inspect the smoker a bit more in detail tonight as well and will give my thoughts there. 

The cart itself seems pretty solid, but I have not mounted the smoker yet.  I really liked the side tables and will likely use them a lot, but they seem a bit flimsy.  I may need to look into beefing those up a bit.  They may be fine once I get everything together and get a few smokes under my belt. 

Anyone else have a similar cart experience or find and easier fix?  I figured that there bust be another way to get all that manufacturing gunk off, but I went with what I know.  I would think there is probably some sort of acid or solution that you can spray on the stainless to strip all that film off.

Off to grab some delicious beers with the guys.

-Charlie

 

[Jerz]

lol... wow... I don't have a cart but it looks like you took care of it!  I love the model 3 but know nothing about the cart...  What are you going to smoke first?

 

[DivotMaker]

Pics of that tricked-out cart would be great, Charlie! ;D

 

[Etex]

I got the cart for my #3 two or three months back.  Did not have any of the stuff on it that you mentioned seeing on yours.  Just cleaned it with the sprayway cleaner each time and it comes out o.k.  The #3 and cart are very sturdy when mounted together.  I currently have to roll mine out of the garage and down the driveway when I use it and it feels solid.  As for the shelves.  I use mine and if you lock them in correctly I think you will have sufficient support for anything you put on them.  Am working on converting a shed to house my new grill and smoker. 

 

[rickne]

Would love to see a picture!

My cart and smoker both had some minor "residue" from manufacturing.  I didn't worry at all about the cart.  The top of my model 3 has two wide lines from the door to the rear, likely from running the sheet metal through some type of machine during the manufacturing process.  I'm going to do the same thing you did some day when I have 3 consecutive hours.  Right now, I'm trying to refinish my Weber Genesis.

As for the shelves, they are fairly sturdy.  however I would not put your food on them.  After my first cook, I was removing 3 racks of STL Style ribs.  The shelf gave away and three racks ended up on the ground.  I enacted the 10 second rule and hosed them off in the sink.  Hey, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

With that said, I love the cart/smoker combo.  I'm so happy I ordered them together.

 

[DivotMaker]

Hey, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

If that's true, I should be able to bench press the Empire State Building! ;D

 

[cwshiles]

Hey guys,
Sorry for the delay on response.  Here are a couple pics of the cart before and after.  You can kind of see what I am talking about, but trust me when I say it looks 100% better, it does!

I think the residue came of nicely and it cleaned up very nicely with the mineral oil.  I need to fine a good stainless steel cleaner to keep my new addition looking clean. 



I did my first smoke yesterday and it turned out great, but since this is kind of new to me, I need to figure out what to clean and what to leave as flavor for future smokes.  I plan to lightly wipe down the whole interior with a little water just to get the easy stuff off.  I have been using one of those scotch brite sponges with the sponge on one side and the rough texture on the other side to clean around the door and the water pan.  It works really well.  I have seen on other sites that a Mr. Clean Magic eraser works well too.  I have not tried that, but I may when I get home today to clean up from last nights 3 racks of Spares.