# Traeger Paint



## o0infidel0o

Anyone had any issues with the paint coming off their Traeger grill?

I bought the Texas maybe two or three months ago and the paint is coming off in decent sized chunks both inside and outside the grill. Looks as if the substrate wasn't prepped very well when it was powder coated. Very few sanding marks...looks like it was lightly roughed up with scotch-brite and that's about it.

Anyrate, sent an email off to Traeger, hopefully they can help me out. Meanwhile, I'll keep collecting the chunks...  :frown:


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## o0infidel0o

Got an email back from Traeger this morning requesting the obligatory information off the grill and a couple photos. The email stated "...I will take care of you...". Not sure exactly what that consists of, but I can only see a couple options. 1.) Package it up and send it in for a post-mortem, 2.) Send it back and they strip and re-coat it, 3.) They send me a new one, or 4.) They send me out a box of sandpaper, a couple cans of spray paint, with detailed instructions stating "It's all in the elbow...". :biggrin:






Inside drum...





Top of drum...





Another of the top...


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## les3176

OH man that sucks..Looks like the paint just didn't adhere...maybe they got some oil on ther before they painted it. Hopefuly they take care of the problem for you!!


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## o0infidel0o

Got another email from Traeger...new grill body on the way. Should see it in a couple days.  :cool:


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## luvnmt

I find this interesting! I had been determined to buy a Traeger till I found out they moved their manufacturing to China. To me that idea of having them made in China is SO not impressive! Is this the result of that? Makes you wonder! Sure hope they take care of your problem! I intend to go for a Memphis instead! They are American made with stainless steel option available.


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## coyote1

i work on a powder coat paint line  and some times we have parts that the paint flakes of most likely it had some thing on it when it was painted glad they are taking care of you good luck


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## shlongstar

Nice they're fixing it.

I myself have been debating getting a Traeger, and was gonna pull the trigger on one this weekend at a local Costco Traeger Roadshow... but I've been reading a lot about problems with the China-made models, that it's making me reconsider.

This grill just costs way too much to have so many manufacturing problems!

I MIGHT still get one though because of Costco's great return policies.


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## o0infidel0o

[quote name="shlongstar" url="/forum/thread/103765/traeger-paint#post_598854"]
Nice they're fixing it.


I myself have been debating getting a Traeger, and was gonna pull the trigger on one this weekend at a local Costco Traeger Roadshow... but I've been reading a lot about problems with the China-made models, that it's making me reconsider.


This grill just costs way too much to have so many manufacturing problems!



I MIGHT still get one though because of Costco's great return policies.
[/quote]

I bought this thing back in December and have done quite a bit of smoking on it without any major issues. Smoked many a fatty, a turkey, chicken out the wazoo, snack sticks, a pork butt, brisket, a couple roasts, cheese, various nuts...and even used it for baked goods such as pizza, cinnamon rolls, casseroles, etc. and have probably ran 120# of pellets through it. I guess I would consider myself fairly lucky the only problem I have ran into is paint peeling off.

If it wasn't for the fact it is still under warranty, I would have just bead blasted it and had the powder coat redone. Even though it's built in China...it's still one of the better smoker's I've ever had. Would I rather buy American built...you bet I would, but it is what it is and I'd like to thank the PRC for some damn tasty grub...  :biggrin:


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## oneshot

For anyone considering a Traeger grill.....  BUY IT!!!!!!

I have had mine for going on 6 years without one major problem!!!!  I did have a temp problem after 4 years and called Traeger... I spoke directly with one of their guys and he said it was the temp probe inside the grill. He said he would take care of me and explained exactly what to do. He also sent me the probe "FREE of charge) after 4 years of use. And believe me, I used the hell out of it!!!!  lol

Well, when I got the new probe it had a spot where the insulation on the wires was rubbed. I installed it and it worked fine but I was concerned about how long it would last so I called the guy at Traeger and explainded my situation. He apologized and said he would personally check another one out and send it to me right away!!!

Again, NO CHARGE!!!!!  Every question I have ever had and talked to Traeger about was met with very friendly and courteous people that actually spoke english and they made sure to answer my every question until I was satisfied. On a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the best I would rate Traegers customer care an 11 with my experiances. That is why I will always be a Traeger customer!!!!  NO, I don't work for nor am I affiliated with Traeger. But due to their products and fantastic customer service I will remain a loyal customer!!!!


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## valkman

Infidel,

How did it go with getting the new body and switching everything over to it? I have a Lil Tex Elite that Traeger is going to replace the body on and am wondering how hard it is. On mine I left it cooking and it ran out of pellets - only there were lots of pellets in the hopper! You could see the auger through the big hole in the middle but there were pellets on either side that didn't move. In trying to re-fire it I overheated it and burned the paint off in a few areas. I called them and they said to email with pics so I did and got an answer from George Koster that they would replace the body.


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## o0infidel0o

[quote name="Valkman" url="/forum/thread/103765/traeger-paint#post_614890"]
Infidel,



How did it go with getting the new body and switching everything over to it? I have a Lil Tex Elite that Traeger is going to replace the body on and am wondering how hard it is. On mine I left it cooking and it ran out of pellets - only there were lots of pellets in the hopper! You could see the auger through the big hole in the middle but there were pellets on either side that didn't move. In trying to re-fire it I overheated it and burned the paint off in a few areas. I called them and they said to email with pics so I did and got an answer from George Koster that they would replace the body.
[/quote]

I got the body relatively quickly from Traeger. The body I got was just that...the body. Transferring the parts is simple. Unplug from power source, disconnect RTD wiring, unbolt the hopper and slide it out of the grill, unbolt the smoke stack, remove the handle and put all the pieces on the new body. The only thing I would advise is getting new gaskets for the hopper and smoke stack. Mine tore when I pulled the parts off.

I also replaced the temperature probe (RTD) with an aftermarket one with longer leads. The original wires were two piece, and the junk connectors it came with wouldn't stay together. The new RTD came with wires that were long enough to attach directly on the termination blocks on the temperature control without breaking the wire.

Something else I would advise is while you have it apart, inspect the fire pot and ignitor assemby for any damage.

Below is a link to a supplier for aftermarket parts...

Pellet Grill Outlet


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## valkman

Thanks a lot!


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## ron rice

i have the same problem with mine.  paint falling off inside and out.  at first i thought it was smoke building up inside that was flaking off, but no.  its the paint.  now this season, the outside paint is starting to fall off.


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## maryloar

Today I set the Traeger up to smoke a roast for several hours.  I had it all set up and put the meat in, then I noticed that at the back of the grill, all the finish is peeling off and it would have fallen onto the food.  We paid a lot of money for this grill so we are totally disgusted that what we thought was a quality product has such shoddy workmanship.  We had heard that they were producing these in China so probably got on of the junky ones that they made in China.

Does anyone else have this problem.  We dare  not use the grill as we have no idea what is in that stuff that is falling off of the back of the inside of the grill (not the cover).  Here we are midddle of summer when one needs to use their grill all the time and we find we have paid $720 for a piecemof junk, plus we have ruined our roast as stuff fell down on it before I noticed it.

It could be very toxic.  Ideas please. I will write to Traeger with photos tomorrow but of course we are at the weekend.

Mary Loar

[email protected]


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## ron rice

i called treager, and they send me a new grill body.  i asembled it and its all good.


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## morcwbl

Hi. First time posting here. I have had my Treager Elite BBQ07E for about 2yrs and 10 months(2 months shy of the 3yr warranty)

and have used it for cooking just about everything from pulled pork to cookies. During that time I have had to replace 1 digital control system,1 fire pot, several hot rods, 2 fan motors and 1 thermostat. Treager has been EXCELLENT in standing behind their product and shipped the parts quickly with no trouble. There has been a few days where I just start the grill to have the wood smoke in the air! LOVE IT!!! Although at this time I am having some issues with rust and corrosion(pitting) and have contacted Treager and presented them with my concerns about these issues. This unit has never been in the rain and lives under a covered area away from the weather and always covered with a Treager cover. Treagers track record with customer service has me hoping for a positive outcome. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.













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## morcwbl

As I had hoped for Treager sent me a new grill body so al is well!


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## show me smoke

morcwbl said:


> Hi. First time posting here. I have had my Treager Elite BBQ07E for about 2yrs and 10 months(2 months shy of the 3yr warranty)
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Looks like the cover is holding moisture, maybe condensation or something....


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## morcwbl

Hi. Interesting... The grill lives outdoors and under a covered area and has never been in the rain and is always covered. I had noticed that condensation formed in the hopper and had caused the pellets to swell a bit when I first bought it, SO I leave the hopper lid and the main door open after use to allow the grill to cool and acclimate. Then I place a terry cloth towel over the opening to hopper and close the hopper lid and the main door. The towel has helped reduce the pellet swelling considerably.  I use the grill/smoker at least twice a week. Perhaps the cover IS holding the in the moisture it is intended to keep out? On a lighter note... Treager has sent me a new grill body. Yay!! Thanks


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## kagoshimajim

Granted, I've had my traeger for several years, storing on my deck and not always covered. But, as I was sanding off the usual rust and flaking paint, I've discovered that the entire smoker is covered with rust underneath even the smooth, non-bubbled paint. I had expected to find rust underneath the bubbled paint, but not under all of the paint. A fairly simple sand and touch up job has turned into a full-fledged project! Hopefully, this high temp paint will protect it better than the original paint job.


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## ugasmoker

Had my Traeger Texas Elite for about 7 years.  First time the body flaked off, Traeger sent me a new one.  Now its happening again.  I get a powder coat problem every once in awhile, but this is the second barrel.  The controller fried last month, which was expected after reading the forums.  Just ordered the Savannah Stoker IV...waiting on it to come through.  The smoker is solid, too bad the powder coat is junk.


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## barrelcooker

If its powder coated its gonna flake off


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## mijdrawoh

I bought my Traeger $1000 grill (10) years ago and the paint started chipping off within 6 months. _  primed the bare metal, primed and used Traegars'  touch-up paint. After (8) mos. same thing._


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