Simple question about stripping old fridge

[Canadagrown]

Hey all. I attached a pic of the fridge I’m gonna start tearing apart. I messed up my last project and was no longer happy with it so I’m starting over. My question is how to remove the chrome pin striping and Frigidaire emblem at the top without damaging them so I can strip off the paint? I have very little experience working with metal. Thx.

 

[mike243]

Well you don't have many choices, a lot of the old fridges had screws from the inside, if you are taking it apart take the door liner out and see if its screwed or clips. Good luck keep us informed, like watching projects coming together

 

[Winterrider]

Like mike243 said , try from inside. If not, take a heat gun. Had an old one years ago that was basically siliconed on.

 

[kruizer]

Mike 243 has you covered

 

[Canadagrown]

Had a progressive afternoon dismantling this thing. But now I’m at a crappy step, removing the tar from the inside. The stuff on the bottom was brittle and came right off, but the stuff on the sides and ceiling is still sticky and really tough going. Any tips?

 

[mike243]

A heat gun and a putty knife oh and a lot of elbow grease

 

[Canadagrown]

A heat gun and a putty knife oh and a lot of elbow grease

I got most of it off but there is still some tar visible. It is impossible to scrape off everything. Should I clean it with a solvent now? Burn it off? There’s not much left. Just a bit here and there.

 

[Murray]

Solvent would work allowing plenty of time to ventilate, however you would be introducing a toxic chemical to an environment that will be holding food in. Have you considered TSP?

 

[indaswamp]

Is the freezer a frost free model or an older one with coils in the shelves?

 

[Canadagrown]

Solvent would work allowing plenty of time to ventilate, however you would be introducing a toxic chemical to an environment that will be holding food in. Have you considered TSP?

I haven’t considered anything yet. Never done this before. Would TSP get it pretty cleaned up? I might even have some on hand.

 

[Canadagrown]

Is the freezer a frost free model or an older one with coils in the shelves?

It doesn’t have coils in the shelves. It is an old fridge.

 

[indaswamp]

could you pot some pics. of the old freezer?

 

[Murray]

I haven’t considered anything yet. Never done this before. Would TSP get it pretty cleaned up? I might even have some on hand.

Might be a challenge on the tar adhesive not sure but for years of grime it should work fine. Works for taking oil stains off concrete so instructions on the container claim.

 

[Canadagrown]

Another question I have is about the paint on the inside portion of the fridge. Do I have to scrape that off as well? I have no clue what kind of paint it is but I’m wondering if it will burn when I smoke food and end up ruining it. I haven’t seen any other posts in my search for an answer to this.

 

[Murray]

You haven’t told us what your intentions are with the soon to be smoker. What temperatures are you looking to achieve? I would think that would be a factor on the type of finish you would use.

 

[Canadagrown]

You haven’t told us what your intentions are with the soon to be smoker. What temperatures are you looking to achieve? I would think that would be a factor on the type of finish you would use.

You’re right. Sorry about that. I plan to put in some sort of electric element to heat it and do the mailbox mod as the smoke source. I’ll likely mostly use it for low temp smoked around 225 but I’d like to make it have the potential to get up to around 400 or so. Haven’t made up my mind on the exhaust yet but leaning towards 4” out the back and 90° elbow.

 

[Murray]

Why even paint the inside? Once you run a few smokes it won’t look new anyways. Plus you aren’t worrying about off gassing, save time and money to boot. If the interior metal is galvanized then you might have issues.

 

[Canadagrown]

I’m not painting it. It’s painted already. I’m talking about the inside of the fridge where food used to go.

 

[Murray]

Sorry, I missed post #14. If no one who’s done a fridge mod steps in with suggestions I’d crank it up to maximum heat and see what happens. If it starts to blister or starts to smell like burnt paint then you’ll have your answer. Maybe take a heat gun and test a small area? You only need to heat the test area to 400F or so.

 

[Canadagrown]

Sorry, I missed post #14. If no one who’s done a fridge mod steps in with suggestions I’d crank it up to maximum heat and see what happens. If it starts to blister or starts to smell like burnt paint then you’ll have your answer. Maybe take a heat gun and test a small area? You only need to heat the test area to 400F or so.

I’m surprised this is not more widely discussed in these fridge build threads. All old fridges are painted on the inside....