DOUBLE PORCELAIN-COATED GAS BURNER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME

A two-step method to porcelain-coat an article is provided particularly useful for porcelain-coating a gas burner used in a gas-fired residential barbecue grill. A gas burner constructed from mild enameling-grade steel is dipped in a slip containing porcelain frit and manipulated so that the slip adequately coats and adheres to the interior surfaces of the burner. The porcelain-containing slip simultaneously coats and adheres to the peripheral "shoulders", and particularly to the interior "shoulders", of the gas jet openings of the burner. A second coating of porcelain-containing slip is then applied, for example, by spraying or other conventional wet application techniques, to the exterior surfaces of the burner. The properties, for example specific gravity, of the porcelain-containing slip of the second wet coating are adjusted for optimal coating properties. Then, the double slip-coated gas burner is fired in a continuous furnace at a peak firing temperature of 1480.degree.F to 1550.degree.F, with a target of 1530.degree.F ~ 10.degree.F for about ten minutes, which adequately bonds the porcelain to the steel gas burner.