# Paint bubbling inside smoker?



## TannerS47 (Feb 12, 2019)

Just used our Masterbuilt Sportsman elite 2 door propane smoker for the first time. We smoked the ribs at 225- 250 degrees for  just under 3 hours. After taking out ribs we noticed the paint on then inside had bubbled up and could peel away easily. A few weeks ago before smoking any food we sprayed it with oil and ran the smoker at 350- 400 for 3 hours. There were no visible problems with the paint until after smoking the ribs. Could the paint be toxic? Is it still safe to eat the ribs? Sorry for the bad picture.


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## newsmokerky (Feb 12, 2019)

You sure it's paint and not creosote?


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## pineywoods (Feb 12, 2019)

Hard to tell much with the pics you posted


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## SmokinAl (Feb 13, 2019)

It looks more like creosote than paint to me. If you put a propane torch on it, it will melt if it's creosote. I highly doubt that it's paint.
Al


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## PAS (Feb 13, 2019)

This is a picture of my Cabela's Sportsman Elite 30" when new.


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## Ricardo Galindo (Feb 13, 2019)

I don’t think it’s paint either, like the other comments probably creosote. If you sprayed it down heavy with cooking oil on your first burn that’s probably what it is. 
I would eat the ribs then go back out with a rag and wife the inside down or a light brushing with a grill brush.


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## solman (Feb 13, 2019)

I have the same smoker and noticed bubbling paint around the burner when i smoked some chickens at 375-400F. I think if your issue is actually bubbling paint as you say, it may be because you seasoned it at too a temperature. Creosote shouldn't build up so much on the first use.


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## solman (Feb 13, 2019)

PAS said:


> This is a picture of my Cabela's Sportsman Elite 30" when new.



Yours is electric. His is propane, which do not have insulated walls and are painted black on the interior. I wish mine looked as pretty as yours on the inside. :)


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## PAS (Feb 13, 2019)

solman said:


> Yours is electric. His is propane, which do not have insulated walls and are painted black on the interior. I wish mine looked as pretty as yours on the inside. :)


That was brand new.  I didnt realize the propane units were constructed differently, Thanks for the education.


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## mike243 (Feb 13, 2019)

No paint inside of my propane smoker and i doubt any company would put paint inside of a grill or smoker. My $ is on creosote


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## solman (Feb 13, 2019)

mike243 said:


> No paint inside of my propane smoker and i doubt any company would put paint inside of a grill or smoker. My $ is on creosote



it looks like some masterbuilt gassers are painted/powder coated, and some are not. looks like the OPs is coated. here's a review on amazon with pictures showing exactly what the melted coating looks like: link


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## solman (Feb 13, 2019)

PAS said:


> That was brand new.  I didnt realize the propane units were constructed differently, Thanks for the education.



looks like i'm not entirely correct, as some masterbuilt propane smokers actually do look like yours (insulated, uncoated interior). in such a case, i think it would be obvious if it was creosote buildup. but in the OPs case, if the interior is coated like mine (i think it's powder coating and not paint), it would be harder to tell. but again, creosote buildup on the very first smoke seems unlikely.


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## HalfSmoked (Feb 13, 2019)

Not sure where to go here. I would like to think its creosote and not paint. If you can scrape it off and you have shiny metal then I would have to say it is paint other wise I would say its creosote. First burn or not if fire was not controlled property and vents open it could very well be creosote.

Warren


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## TannerS47 (Feb 13, 2019)

Thanks for the responses. Took some better pictures just think it's paint and not creosote because when peeled away there is bare metal where the rest of the interior is covered and bubbled up.


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## solman (Feb 13, 2019)

your interior looks exactly like mine, minus the peeling paint/powder coating. my guess is the 400F temperature for seasoning was way too high. i did about a half dozen smokes around 230F before i hit 400F to smoke some chickens, and at 400F the paint around my burners looked a little bit like your pictures. i guess the half dozen smokes at low temperature helped coat the walls to protect it from 400F, otherwise i'd be in the same boat.

unfortunately masterbuilt specifically excludes "paint" for warranty coverage: https://www.masterbuilt.com/pages/warranty "The Masterbuilt warranty does not cover paint finish as it may burn off during normal use."

i would take a power washer to it and see if you can wash off any of the flaking. or take it back to where you bought it as a defective item. either way, don't do 400F next time. :)


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