Let's Restore a RUSTY Blackstone Griddle - $50 Bargain Brought BACK TO LIFE

[@kassi2671]

Perfect timing. My Blackstone developed a rust spot and I said to my husband “I know Neil has an older video on how to fix it”

[@vicfeb3]

My son’s blackstone was really bad with rust…. I mean REALLY BAD! I blocked off the drain and put a 1/4” of white vinegar and let it sit overnight. All the rust was gone then took a grill brick to it. Came out pretty good.

[@mike_adams]

I’m definitely in the “take it all the way down” camp. Don’t know how the previous owner seasoned and with what, eventually the older remains will flake off. But a great video and congrats on the $50 deal

[@TheFlatTopKing]

@@mike_adams although I agree with what “they seasoned with”… that seasoning was stuck like glue… so taking off something solid seemed unnecessary.

[@daleley7645]

$25 for sandblasting sounds like the winner!

[@Bigtexbbq]

If you can find someone that can do it that cheap it’s worth it! It’s quite a bit of time and effort and sandblasting is 100% the best way to bring any metal back to life.

[@ickey1b]

My thoughts exactly. $25 for a superior result, or several hours of your weekend for a slightly less rusty griddle than you started with.

[@JimJoyceChoate]

I have a cast Iron cleaning service and have cleaned a couple of Blackstones.The customers were very pleased with the service. Electrolysis is super easy to do. Maybe look around and get a price on cleaning. I charged $20.50 for the 22". Maybe this will help someone. Great channel you have.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

Thanks for the information...

[@chrisadams3280]

There are also some similar attachments for drills, I used a nylon one to restore some minor rust on mine.

[@trcass1]

great segment sir. your Navy GI cleaning skills are showing through. I live in Southern Maryland along the Chesapeake and its hard to keep the grills smokers and griddles clean. Mildew is a continuous fight. Appreciate you taking the time to strip down and bring back to life that old Blackstone. I've had mine now for about 3 or for years. I'm lucky to be able to keep it on a screen porch out of the elements. thinking about upgrading so I'll have to go back and rewatch some of your griddle reviews. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

Appreciate ya

[@armyguy9735]

I'm a welder by trade. Look for metal, welder, machine, or autobody shops that have a sandblaster. Take the flattop to them and they will sandblast it for a few bucks like $20 to $40 bucks. It looks professionally clean, take about 10 minutes or so then reseason it. I have my own sandblaster in my shed and put baking soda in it. Baking soda is smaller grain than the sand pellets and it takes longer to clean but it makes a glass finish. Just an idea to make life easier. Big fan, keep up the good work. Peace.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

Appreciate that

[@Htown156]

I bet an abrasive disc on the angle grinder would work better than a brush. They look like an abrasive sponge.

[@philshock3805]

A 120 grit flap disc would make short work of it.

[@fadetoblack51]

I’ve done it, it gums up fast from the seasoning. I think next time I’ll use wire disc first, followed by flap disc to get to bare metal.

[@davidward1259]

I wonder if you could put a grill brick against one of the rubber pads on a random orbit sander or even a random orbit car buffer? Let the machine do the work. No adhesive, just the weight of the machine and hand pressure with the rubber pad helping to transfer the motion to the brick. But, a grinder with "flap disk" (sanding disk folded into many "flaps") or one of those Scotch type synthetic round "sponge" sanders would be my weapon of choice. I have a ton of the flap disks in all sorts of grit levels from very aggressive to 200 grit. Both are dirt cheap at Harbor Freight, but can also be found at any "box store" or the local hardware or auto parts store. Also a flap disk will NOT sling a wire into your arm or eye like a wire brush can. Light touch with a flap disk is the way to start or go aggressive if needed. Also on a rehab like that one, I would pull the burner tubes to clean the inside and evict the spiders, etc... Do it right, do it once (touch up the rust with high temp primer & then paint after sanding it to metal).

[@justsmitty1709]

👌 I like to use a palm sander and several different grits of emory cloth. I can get the surface smooth as a babies behind.

[@DS-xl1ro]

An orbital sander could be used instead of the angle grinder. Nice vid.

[@steveverdell6776]

I used a Black+Decker mouse with the pointed tip. It still took a long time but I went down to bare metal instead of leaving any old seasoning behind.

[@gharv1313]

Excellent refurbishing, Neal ! Brought back to life! Cheers brother 👏🔥🍻

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Thanks for your time and skills with grills Neal. That was a whale of a deal on the misused Blackstone Grill and you brought it back to life. I could use a deal like that myself. Stay safe and keep up the great videos, recipes and how to care for your grills. Fred. Amy did her part quite well too,

[@johnhenry8839]

Any thoughts on fabricating a new griddle plate out of thicker steel maybe 1/2"

[@annettemitchell2485]

Good morning, this is the video I’m looking for

[@timburton9514]

Great DIY video!

[@jakespencer8077]

I’ve got the tools so I use a 4” grinder with a cup brush. Never tried the brick but it looks like it did the job👍🏻

[@kenmartin9227]

Thank you!!! Looking forward to this

[@ericsoderquist3969]

Very good video thank you. I know you’ve done this before, but could you please do an update video on the pros and cons of ceramic vs cast iron griddle tops. I have seen a few pro ceramic people switch to cast iron but I don’t know why 😀☺️

[@184JMC]

HI Neil I just got my Blackstone & I have been binge watching most of tyour vids on how to take care of it. I followed your season method🙌I would like your thoughts on the silicone matts for the griddle top & side tables? Also what would you recommend on a good stainless steel sauce pan? BTW! I'm going to use my Blackstone today for the first time & I'm using your garlic parm/asian sauce for wings. excited to try it! Wish me luck.

[@The_Original_Big_Daddy]

When I lived in SoCal near the beach (3/8 mi. away) my grills were always rusting. So were my power tools in the garage... Anyway, good video. Rust on steel is gonna happen. It's just something almost everyone deals with. Just last night I was scrubbing down my Lodge 15" cast iron skillet with kosher salt in an effort to re-season it. Even though I live in the desert, the small amount of moisture in the air will still do a number on cast iron if it's not used on a regular basis.

[@Wattsonthegrill]

4:42 I use that power wash from Dawn on all my Grills. Very smart of you. Cheers!!!

[@garryhammond3117]

...out of the ashes... Great restoration Neal. - Cheers! Luckily, through Canadian winters and high humidity, I have yet to see a spot of rust anywhere on my BS (knock on cast iron!). - I also have a vinyl cover on it always. Constant proper care and lubrication is the key. I even have raccoons cleaning out my grease tray for me - Life is good. Haha!

[@roger80465]

Great info. I have a 2 burner Blackstone that is currently in our storage barn in Mission, TX while we are traveling the country (incidentally, currently in Knoxville 🙂). I suspect I will be finding rust on the surface when I return next month. That will be one of my first projects.

[@bobbicatton]

I can never pass up an opportunity to buy another power tool, so I know which method I would choose😂

[@TheFlatTopKing]

You and me both hahhahaha

[@Bot_thot]

Do you have to sand the rust off the bottom of the griddle? I stay on top of mine griddle top but the bottom looks like it’s rusting a lot

[@dropkickmurphysoilsoap1774]

Griddle ASMR.

[@JL-rj5jx]

Good job❤😊

[@JoNathanB1976]

Way easier and less destructive to use vinegar or slightly stronger acid to remove the rust. The acid dissolves the rust fairly quickly and can be rinsed away. However, if the surface is heavily pitted like this one, then yes it will need to be sanded down to restore a smooth surface. But chemical removal of rust is just way better.

[@scottredmond7998]

Just curious, how do you clean around the control knobs without having the white/orange paint come off?

[@ErictheAmateur]

I’ve considered taking my griddle back down to relatively bare metal and reseasoning it. I have these flakes. They don’t come loose, but I’m not really happy with them. I cook on my griddle ever chance I get. But the flakes annoying me.

[@lancedean5987]

I need to do a full strip and reseason my griddle top, I did a partial earlier in the spring, and grill brick is the way I went

[@lancedean5987]

And I also used some sandpaper along with the grill brick

[@briannicholas493]

Neal, for "spot" rust on a griddle top, do you feel it's necessary to strip the entire surface down and re-season the entire grill top, or just strip away the rust in the one spot and reseason?

[@TheFlatTopKing]

just those areas...I even just grill brick...BUT if doing so..make sure its not just that area...blend it out like sheet rock....so there is not a defined lip....helps with seasoning...

[@briannicholas493]

@@TheFlatTopKing Thank you sir!! Appreciate all you do.

[@christinejones9967]

Wow!

[@sjhorton1184]

4:10 grinding the rust off...sailor chipping paint, baby.

[@olD_Eazy681]

I recently restored a free smoker I found on Facebook marketplace. It was a lot of work but I got that dirty ass rust bucket looking brand new. I was going to donate it to my motorcycle clubs club house but ended up giving it to my prospect brother for his house when he moved

[@TheFlatTopKing]

@@olD_Eazy681 that’s awesome

[@roberthill7280]

Curious as to what you put on before using the stone ? Oil ?

[@griddlecookeatandmore]

Doing a little Flat Top Noob Refurb that Turd Lol. I'm curious to see how that high temperature paint holds up. I bought a 36" Blackstone that I use for camping and tailgating and have used it about 8 times so far and it's rusting on the top like where you repainted yours. I have to say Blackstones quality is slipping a bit compared to my older Blackstones I have and had.

[@mikepetrick]

Plug up the drain hole and use vinegar. No bringing necessary, or very little.

[@mikepetrick]

Actually vinegar only works for rust.

[@robertmccoy5031]

Where in Knoxville did you find someone to sand blast the griddle top. I was wanting to strip it down to metal and re-season.

[@ErictheAmateur]

I’ve considered taking my griddle back down to relatively bare metal and reseasoning it. I have these flakes. They don’t come loose, but I’m not really happy with them. I cook on my griddle ever chance I get. But the flakes annoying me. Also, if you want a faster, better finish use a flapper wheel disc on the angle grinder. It’s much faster (and cheaper) than the steel brush.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

TY...

[@IrishFF1972]

What kind of wheel did you use with the grinder?

[@frankmarullo228]

Good video Neil ! What did you do , let it rust up for this video ? THANK you Frank from montana

[@ArthriticAngler]

Restraunt grill screens for scrubbing? They were pretty abrasive, but we used them every night.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

@@ArthriticAngler you could…

[@brianmcleod471]

Any suggestions on how to restore a rusted Blackstone griddle press?

[@willyschannel6594]

I have a 2 burner black stone and it's hard to keep it from rusting.....I use a drill with a 3 in wire brush for cleaning and grape seed oil for seasoning and the seasoning part is my worst problem never can get it rite and I've tried every technique

[@Bigtexbbq]

Watch kent rollins how to season cast iron, its the same principle as flat tops. Keep it covered and away from rain/moisture is still a big deal as well. I like blackstone’s seasoning wax, I tried canola oil but it would flake real bad. Do multiple coats thoroughly burning off the oils.

[@jeffmelton3127]

Was that just olive oil you put down when you were using the brick

[@JasonStutz]

Thanks for doing videos like thus, I know cleaning is not fun.

[@joshrichards2082]

You mentioned Knoxville. I am in the county south of Knox county. How local to Knox are you?

[@andrewwissingthetrucker5236]

If too many people figure out how easy it is to fix them, they won't want to sell them for $50 anymore.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

@@andrewwissingthetrucker5236 hahaahahah

[@gary-gilbert]

i would like to see one sandblasted. $25 sounds like a bargain.

[@timburton9514]

Have you ever used the Blackstone seasoning paste? It’s a blend of oils i think

[@Bigtexbbq]

Great stuff for the everyday blackstoner

[@td5997]

What is everyone treating the frame with .. amorall????

[@td5997]

Or the lid - what do u make is shiny with?

[@floydcampbell1501]

I had to restore my Blackstone 36 and I used a palm sander and took it to bare metal. That method isn't for everyone, doing what Neal did is perfectly fine and reseason from there, it's not rocket science. Remember that your goal is a nonstick surface to cook on,not a beauty contest.

[@TheFlatTopKing]

100....thanks bud

[@onlyychevys]

Harbor Freight has a cheap angle grinder for $10 and a wire brush or like $2. Just sayin

[@kenmartin9227]

I wish I had...THE TOOL! Sorry ladies...😊😂

[@greyballer1671]

Im hoping its grinder, much work😂

[@famcontreras93]

I went from FUGLY to Damn... Hired a sandblaster for $80

[@RoadHead62]

Nonsense. Grill bricks are for stainless griddles, not rehabbing a cruddy carbon steel griddle. And a wire wheel is a shop tool, not a kitchen appliance, lol. The only way to clean a griddle with rust and chipped seasoning is to pour some 45% white vinegar solution on it, and close the lid. Go in the house and watch a cartoon, them come back outside and get the garden hose and rinse your griddle off and season it. 30 minutes, near zero elbow grease.

[@jamescereda2628]

Not on the grass!

[@Wattsonthegrill]

Here's my thoughts. If you have a griddle that looks like this. You literally shouldn't be grilling anyways. Just take care of everything.

[@mikecrabtree8200]

Hold the phone. You’re going to hi temp paint the grill?! And then you’re going to eat off of that grill? Seriously!? Ok, I get where you’re going now. But when you speak, you need to be specific about what and where you’re doing what.