How to salvage rusted stainless steel grills?

[arian10daddy]

Below are the pictures of a set of stainless steel grills that surround an outdoor table top gas heater. They are pretty rusted and not just surface rust. Is there any way to bring these to a presentable condition or are these too far gone? What could be a possible replacement? The trapezoid shape is giving me headaches trying to find a replacement like a heat resistant and weather resistant wire mesh.

I'd love to hear some ideas on how these lemons in my life can be turned into a lemonade.

    

[EricL]

Hello @arian10daddy 

Thanks for sharing your question about your stainless-steel fire protector. My first suggestion is to try and contact the manufacturer and see if they have replacement grills available. 

Because the grill is close to an intense heat source, I can't make any recommendations for paint. However, it seems to me that it might be possible to strip the rust off the grill.

I propose using a Josco Brumby Paint Rust Strip It Wheel Drill Accessory 50mm Single in combination with a drill. Please note that this will create a bit of dust so it's important to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask when stripping the grill.

Stripping the stainless steel is a temporary solution and will slow down the rust from spreading. It will be necessary to strip the grill every now and then when the rust starts to cover the grill. 

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1, @Nailbag and @TedBear for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @arian10daddy 

Rust is a pain in the neck 😕 I have tried cleaning rust from my BBQ lid and handle without a great deal of success. I was using CLR and also a variety of soft abraisives to get rid of it, It half worked "wiggles hand" 

I like the abraisive wheel that @EricL has shown, that looks like a solution as elbow grease will be a lot of work. My first suggestion was to see if spare parts were available and the second was buff and then heat and see how it looks afterwards. 😕 Not a lot of ideas I am afraid and I have not tried the vinegar paste path (Ive tried vinegar paste on cooking trays and it didnt work)

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @arian10daddy 

Stainless steel finishes come in a range of quality finishes measured in "grading" These gradings apply to the recommended applications, though this is commonly not followed. In other words, applications requiring a high grade SS is short-cutted to save $$ resulting in early corrosion and metal breakdown. Same applies to aluminium. I have always lived coastal, which means the aluminium window frames must be of the highest grade to avoid deterioration from the salt air. Same goes for my stainless steel BBQ. In your case the SS grill of your space heater. Though salt air is far more aggressive than conventional outdoor environments, the eventual result is the same. Unfortunately there is no long term resolve. The SS used in space heaters is low grade thin coating. Any form of of even the finest abrasive repair will only speed up deterioration. 

In my opinion the only choices you have is parts replacement or spraying the grates with a high temp black paint.

regards, Nailbag