I used to restore Weber Kettle and Weber Q-type grills as a hobby. I like to collect vintage Weber stuff. If you want it immaculate and shiny, it is
A LOT of work and people will expect to be fairly compensated for their time, energy, steaming and other cleaning equipment, etc. Webers, IMHO are easier than outdoor kitchen types. Before they were made overseas, they had a very high quality porcelain enameled steel surface that was nearly indestructible and I could clean them with putty knives, 0000 steel wool and elbow grease.
If you simply want to lower your risk of a grease fire, that's easy:
1. Turn on grill to highest setting, once it reaches it, leave it there for 20 minutes to burn off anything on the grill or flavorizer surfaces;
2. Turn it off, let it cool all the way down to ambient temperature;
3. Put on latex gloves and some kind of breathing protection, like a paint respirator. Look for one that is good for fumes. ($25-$50 at Home Depot);
4. Spray the S.O.B. down with a can of industrial strength Easy-Off oven cleaner. Also available at HD.
5. Close the lid. Let it all marinate for a few hours. If this is a Weber kettle or similar portable grill, I put the grill surfaces and parts in a heavy duty 45 gallon trash bag and then spray it all down. Tie off the bag so it can marinate overnight. Make sure the respirator is on when you open the lid or garbage bad - the fumes are powerful and can be dangerous.
6. Take a plastic putty knife (about $2 at Home Depot) and scrape the insides down as thoroughly as will make you happy.
7. Vacuum up or push through drain holes into trash bag.
8. Reassemble and test.
9. Venmo or Cashapp over a $10 tip to me for all this great advice. I'm not VillageTinkerer, I don't work (much) for free and I'm probably not as nice a guy. You're welcome
