British BBQ Society Forums

Hello,

I have a 'Santa Maria' style BBQ that I have brought from the US.

I have refinished the pit itself but the grilling surface is rusty. I have knocked as much rust as I can off of it with a wire brush. What's the the best way to make that surface so that we can cook on it? Can I coat it in high temp paint or is that not a good idea?

Thanks for your input!

Dave

DON'T PAINT THE GRILL GRATE!!!

On most of the santa maria grills that i've seen they have always come with cast iron grates, if you have these all you will need to do is season the grates again.

Wash them in soapy water and take a wire brush to them to make sure they're as clean as possible and then brush/soak the grates in ground nut oil, Light a fire in the BBQ and then place the grill on and then keep wiping with oil until they start to wipe clean.

Hello,

Thanks for the input. The grill is a diamond cross shape (see link below). Does your recommendation till work?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fgpz0s9ryyovbhl/grill.jpg

Thanks for the input!

If it is cast iron I'd take some fine sandpaper to it, then just re-season it

Twisted cup brush on a grinder will shift most things. Or a brilo pad and elbow grease?

Just google 'cast iron rust removal' - lots of ways. I would not take any sort of hard abrasive to it though. You can soak in vinegar and rub down with a nylon brush for one, but google and you will find ways to clean it.

Sorry for the silly question but is my grill surface cast iron (check out the image link in the previous post).

Cheers,

Dave

No, that just looks like steel. Get a hot fire underneath it, and when it has cooled down sufficiently take a bbq grill wire brush and scrub down. Once it is cool, you can rub some vegetable oil on it and it should not rust. Sorry for the confusion - never looked at the pic