what do you use to RE-polish a magma grill

Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
I have acquired a magma marine kettle 2 grill and it looks terrible.... its yellowed with dark blotches and i would like to re-polish it.

ive tried steel wool, bar keepers friend, chrome polish, and easy off oven cleaner... nothing touches it... it makes no difference at all, worse or better...

dos anyone know what will polish heat hardened stainless steel???
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
Centerline, I hate to say this, but I use a canvas cover. I tried all your ideas, and Ken's as well. Nothing seems to work on heat 'distorted' stainless, and seriously, knowing what I DO know about it, I venture nothing will. Don't waste your Spotless Stainless on it either, it's good stuff that will work elsewhere, just not here.

(The canvas cover is easy to make). I know of no other recourse..
 
Feb 10, 2004
4,096
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
Unlike Chris Patterson, I have been moderately successful with Spotless Stainless on my Kumma grill. Its not perfect but was much better than before using it. But the areas that are heavily blued probably will not improve very much. I found that the areas that are just dark responded best.

And I also use a canvas cover.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
so... it seems there is no easy way to restore it. I will make a cover for it, but I also wanted it to look nice without the cover:D

I think I'll get some carborundum powder and a dedicated buffing pad and resort to power tools for the task....

all I want to do is the lid, so it should be easy to do. I'll let you know how it works out.
 

RECESS

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Dec 20, 2003
1,505
Pearson 323 . St. Mary's Georgia
You are wealthy person with a lot of disposable income for yachting, just buy a new one after ten or so uses.

:evil:
 

Jim W.

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Oct 24, 2013
20
Catalina 22 1988 Shediac Bay
2 Quick questions:
- will the cover prevent the problem by protecting it from the start or cover it up?
- is there a way to prevent the discoloration/corrosion?
 
Feb 10, 2004
4,096
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
Their is a product that is marketed to the motorcycle crowd that is used to polish the exhaust pipes. As you might expect they get very hot and turn blue. This polish will lighten the blue and almost remove it if it isn't very dark.

It is called Simichrome- Google it and you will find some u-tube videos.
 

zeehag

.
Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
the problem comes from use. it is a badge of having used the bbq for cooking at heat.
covers keep off bird duty.
mine have yet to corrode...have had some many years...i get them second hand....
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Sometimes the West marine "markdown" rack has just the lids or base unit. Which model do you have?
 
Sep 25, 2008
43
Hunter 42 Passage Kemah,Texas
Magma grills are horrible quality and their customer service is crap as well.....buy a galleymate
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,471
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I've had my Magna grill for almost 15 years. I've replaced many of the internal parts, i.e. burner, the spacer arm thingies, and maybe some parts I've forgotten. But the grill surface, the housing and mounting hardware are original. I don't think that's too bad. We use it a lot while cruising. At the end of the season I use EZ Off oven cleaner on the grill surface the rest of the parts.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Magma grills are horrible quality and their customer service is crap as well.....buy a galleymate
ill agree there are some horrible quality grills out there, but the magma grills wouldnt fall into that category by a long shot...
they may not be of the same quality as a galleymate, but at the same time the magma is affordable, and will still last many many years.... and I wonder if your galleymate will last any longer or look any better with as little care as most grills get.... I think it wont!:D
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,701
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Magma grills are horrible quality and their customer service is crap as well.....buy a galleymate
Their older grills used to blow out with the slightest wind and were a royal PITA..

The new grills in the last 8 years or so, hinged lid, have many improvements. They are simple, work extremely well, and ours has never once blown out.... Parts if ever needed are available locally at three chandelleries including mounts, covers, regulators, grates etc...

Ours is 7 years old and has needed absolutely nothing. Other than me dropping a regulator overboard we have had zero issues. I always carry a spare regulator and had one in that instance so it took me about two minutes to find it and be back in business..

We use our Magma multiple times every weekend for about 6.5 months straight... We then take it off the boat and we mount it to the deck railing at home and use it for small grilling events rather than fire up the massive propane-eating home BBQ...

The Galleymates are very large and with the sharp square edges can be quite dangerous when hung off a back push-pit, especially when people are swiming off a swim step or climbing up and down a swim ladder... I cut my head open about ten years ago while standing in the dinghy talking to some friends who had a "sharp corner grill" when a boat wake threw me into the corner of it.....:doh:

I'm not so down on the Magma, unless it is an older version that will blow out if you fart... Galleymates are good grills but if you not used a recent Magma the claims that they are junk I feel is very, very off base....




Centerline,,

Polishing one.....? It's called Sunbrella......;)

If this is an older Magma, without the hinged lid, either buy the parts to upgrade it to non-blow-out status or just get a new one because it will dive you crazy. Many of the old parts can still be used so don't get rid of it.. The new versions simply don't blow out like the old ones did..

I agree with Rich that Spotless SS can minimize the brown but even the Magma brand polish is only a feel good measure. The next time you fire it up it discolors again, which is simply normal behavior.......

I suspect if you have time to waste on polishing your grill, on a new to you / used 34 footer you are simply not looking hard enough for more meaningful fixes....;)

I use a priority list for fixes on our boat and polishing the Magma has yet to poke above the number 70 position on the list..... :D
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Centerline,,


I suspect if you have time to waste on polishing your grill, on a new to you / used 34 footer you are simply not looking hard enough for more meaningful fixes....;)
point well taken:D

this grill came with the boat and is a marine kettle 2, so its a new style... just wanted it to look good..
 
Oct 2, 2008
1,424
Island Packet 31 Brunswick, Ga
I suspect if you have time to waste on polishing your grill, on a new to you / used 34 footer you are simply not looking hard enough for more meaningful fixes....;)

I use a priority list for fixes on our boat and polishing the Magma has yet to poke above the number 70 position on the list..... :D
Not looking hard enough, heck he must not be looking at all!! Just kidding though, sounds just like me.
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
Hehe. The grill, like most of US, will never look the same again. Despite how many baths I take, or try and clean the grill, we are both still just ugly as hell.

Now that I put it in that perspective, I wonder if a Magma Grill canvas cover will go over my head?
Show of hands on who gets to pull the draw-string?
 
Jul 26, 2009
291
. . .
Try Noxon, you can find it in any box store for about $5. You'll need to apply it several times but you'll start to see it work right away when you look at the rag. We use it in the house on our kitchen SS appliances. It's the only thing I've found that will clean up the range and bring it back to looking like new. It takes a lot of time, not sure I'd make that investment for a boat grill, but to each their own.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_227716-861-062338001173_0__?productId=3178841