If the grill is not badly oxidized (whitened), a good warm water and detergent solution will brighten its appearance. A light coating of cooking oil evenly applied will actually restore the black color. If it needs more attention, you may opt to paint the castings, which will restore them to near new condition (fig. 25). Brush heavy oxidation on the grill's exterior with steel wool or a wire brush. Lightly sand the whole grill, then rinse. Make sure no grease remains, as paint will not adhere. Using good quality grill paint, lightly coat the whole exterior. Two or three light coats are better than one heavy coat. Let air-dry. The paint will bake on during its first use.

While the grill exterior is drying, we can begin step 6 and clean the ignitor.