Old stove refurbishing questions (pic heavy)

[TheLight]

Hi Everyone. First post on this forum. I was referred here by a friend who suggested this was the best place to get advice on a new (to me) stove.

I found a great deal on an old Majestic wood cook stove (model FS-121H) on Craigslist for $150, and just got it home yesterday. It's in fantastic shape, overall, and could probably be put into use as it is. However, I want this thing to last another lifetime if possible. The question is: What should I do to ensure it lasts? This will be the primary cook stove and secondary heat source in my BOL, which gets weekend use a few times a month. Here are some pics of it as it stands now.

Picture of the front. Perfect enamel, no dings or scratches.


Picture of the back. Mostly just surface rust, with a bit of heavier rust in one area.


Picture of the front, doors open. You can see it's in excellent condition, with just a bit of surface rust here and there. The top itself will definitely need to be refinished.


Detail of the top. It's in great shape. Just needs some sanding and new paint.



The firebox and underside of the cook top.


Detail of the water tank. I think it should come out and get wirewheeled. Should it? Should it be painted if I do that? What about the inside?


Worst rust on the whole stove. This angled piece will need to be replaced with some new metal since it holds the backsplash on.


The bottom of the ash pan will need to be replaced as well. That's simple, though.


At a minimum, I'm planning on cleaning up the stove top by sanding/blasting it down and repainting it with high temperature stove paint. I also plan on replacing the bottom of the ash pan and welding some angle bracket to the spot in the back right corner. My skills in this area are limited, but I have friends who have offered to help and teach me, so this is also a fantastic learning opportunity.

Specific questions would be:

• Should I take the whole thing apart and clean every piece?
• Should I blast/clean the entire interior of the firebox area? If I do, how should it be finished, if at all?
• Does the underside of the cooktop also get painted? If not, does it get treated at all?
• What do I do about that water tank? both interior and exterior. I'd like to plumb it in as a backup water heater if it holds pressure.

Thanks in advance.

 

[coaly]

Don't sandblast the top ! You use very fine sandpaper on the bad rust, or scotch bright if that's coarse enough to get it shiny silver. No paint. You oil the top, (vegetable oil) and season it like a cast iron pan. It is cast iron, no different. It takes a few oilings and smokes off. It will leave a hard protective black coating.
There is a You Tube video from Woody at Obadiah's where he is refinishing a Kitchen Queen (modern steel plate cook stove) that you can use the same procedure.
If you search with the search box at top of page, and search my posts with keyword cookstove or cook stove, you should find quite a few operation tips like removing lids to cook over firebox, or tilting them at night to allow indoor air up flue to slow down a coal fire overnight.

Paint will burn right off inside.
Here's a few pictures of cleaning a rusty top and seasoning;



Ready for first fire

Black instantly over firebox

After many fires the blackened seasoned top spreads and protects from rust and stove top wear.

Once done, this needs to be done regularly. In the old days, Sunday was stove cleaning day. It would cool while at church, and when you come home open clean outs around and under oven. Stove black cast iron parts (yours is baked on enamel that replaced this process) and oil the top. fire it up for the next week. That is pretty much my regiment as well and it's our only heat source.
The Garland commercial gas range in the background has a large commercial hood that can dump my smokey kitchen out in seconds.

 

[TheLight]

Don't sandblast the top ! You use very fine sandpaper on the bad rust, or scotch bright if that's coarse enough to get it shiny silver. No paint. You oil the top, (vegetable oil) and season it like a cast iron pan. It is cast iron, no different. It takes a few oilings and smokes off. It will leave a hard protective black coating.
There is a You Tube video from Woody at Obadiah's where he is refinishing a Kitchen Queen (modern steel plate cook stove) that you can use the same procedure.
If you search with the search box at top of page, and search my posts with keyword cookstove or cook stove, you should find quite a few operation tips like removing lids to cook over firebox, or tilting them at night to allow indoor air up flue to slow down a coal fire overnight.


Once done, this needs to be done regularly. In the old days, Sunday was stove cleaning day. It would cool while at church, and when you come home open clean outs around and under oven. Stove black cast iron parts (yours is baked on enamel that replaced this process) and oil the top. fire it up for the next week. That is pretty much my regiment as well and it's our only heat source.
The Garland commercial gas range in the background has a large commercial hood that can dump my smokey kitchen out in seconds.

Thanks for the reply and the details.

I think I saw that video... I thought I read somewhere that you could blast it with a finer media, just not sand. If sanding is the way to go, though, that's what I'll do. I definitely want to get it right.

The reason I was leaning towards painting it on the outside, though, was twofold. 1) It was originally painted. I can see it still on the top in many places, so I was thinking of keeping the original look. 2) This is going in an unconditioned (no heat/ac, minimal insulation) cabin that won't see regular use. I won't be able to do a weekly cleaning or regular polishing, maybe monthly. I thought the paint, at least on the outside, would be better for that reason. Would you still suggest polish even in that situation?

 

[coaly]

Here's the coolest side on the right over oven that took the longest to season. You can see it's golden brown before it finally gets black like the left side over firebox.
This is sausage and gravy that goes over biscuits (an Amish thing) eggs, bacon , and hash browns with iced tea brewing over the coolest part. You get used to moving pans around to find the right heat you want instead of controlling the heat like on a gas or electric range. They cook FASTER than a gas range, so be prepared to cook more like a fast stir fry when you remove a lid to cook over the fire. You don't have to remove them, but when you want "high" that's the way to do it. Correct size pans with smoke rings sit down in the eye, and ring holds the pan very solid from moving around. You can use a flat griddle over the hole as well.

 

[coaly]

Thanks for the reply and the details.

I think I saw that video... I thought I read somewhere that you could blast it with a finer media, just not sand. If sanding is the way to go, though, that's what I'll do. I definitely want to get it right.

The reason I was leaning towards painting it on the outside, though, was twofold. 1) It was originally painted. I can see it still on the top in many places, so I was thinking of keeping the original look. 2) This is going in an unconditioned (no heat/ac, minimal insulation) cabin that won't see regular use. I won't be able to do a weekly cleaning or regular polishing, maybe monthly. I thought the paint, at least on the outside, would be better for that reason. Would you still suggest polish even in that situation?

There is nothing to polish on your stove. Polish only sticks and bakes into rough cast iron. That would be the sides, legs, bottom storage drawers...... things that were later enamel like on yours. (the granny ware speckle, white and I think the black stove top edge). You only oil the removable stove top pieces that is the cooking surface.
Stove polish is rubbed on cold, let dry, and buff until shiny. Heating cures and bakes it into the pores. It doesn't work well on machined surfaces like your top. It will only smear around and not evenly coat it like rough cast.
Your top (cooking surface) was probably originally oiled. Paint wears off quickly cooking and sliding pans around. Back in the day, paint wasn't that good either, so I highly doubt the paint was original. I have a couple Buckwalter and Sears Roebuck with baked enamel that are all oiled.
Monthly or a few times a year is enough in your case. Just do it the last time you use the stove to protect it over the summer. If you get a few cast iron pans and season them in an oven, you can tell with use when they need it again. Same with the top, treat it the same way.

 

[coaly]

As far as making it last, I can't tell by the pics if it had firebrick, or refractory cement in the firebox. The boiler side gets nothing and should have water in it, (with pressure / temperature relief valve) but the other sides should be protected from the direct fire. It should make a hopper type box the size of the grate like the boiler side is all the way around. Don't know if you have those pieces. A few would know, like The Stove Hospital, Richard Richardson at Good Time Stove Co., or Ed at antique stoves.com.
Make sure you use the correct terminology with them so they know what you have. It's a Cook Range, not stove.
Did it come with an oval damper or pipe? They are getting pricy when you can find them.