welcome from near stl mo! paint is a waste of time/money on a firebox IMO. too much heat. i've found that if you spray on some canola oil during your cooks, that'll protect it much better. the thickness of the steel will determine how often you need to do this -- like, when i had a char-griller, i had to spray it down every cook almost, but with this brazos (1/4" thick), i did that when i burned it in, and haven't had to do it again yet -- half dozen cooks or so since i got it. i guess that's the difference between a $500 cooker and a $1200 one.