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Restoring old wood burning inbuilt stove

Hi this is Matthew from Perth Western Australia.I have found an old rusted out stove at a station near Yalgoo in out back Australia. It is very badly rusted and the components that I have are the facade with all the iron grates, doors, and handle including the cook top and burner rings, and flue attachment. It was obviously an in wall unit as the tin(i think) casing is completely rusted away. I plan to build a brick barbecue base, back and sides and use the facade and top as the rest. I have started using wire brushes on my drill to clean off the rust, and have disassembled the rest. My question is can I get this facade enameled for use for a barbecue or can I use the high temperature spray paint available in my hardware store, and what will the quality difference be? Can anyone explain the process of enameling or is there a better method to use?

Matthew Grinham
hobbyist - Perth, Western Australia, Australia
July 28, 2008

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Vitreous enamel is a fired on ceramic coating. It is truly a superior coating, but you are going to have a tough time finding someone that will do a 1 or 2 parts.
The paint will eventually burn or wear off. Not my choice, but I certainly could be wrong.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
August 1, 2008

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August 14, 2008

Go with the paint, it works.
There are several paints available for restoring wood burning stoves, and several more for BBQ grilles.
So what if you have to touch it up every 5 years? It's gonna cost about $10 for the good paint, I've no idea how much doing a fired coating will cost.

Marc Banks
Blacksmith - Melbourne, Florida