The trays should not be flat. They have a slight drop on either side, but grease will run down and/or can collect with drippings and catch fire. You can look at the Members Mark it has ceramic all across and close to the grate. You then have the issue of grease build up at that point, but maybe that meets your needs/expectation better? The Grates are pretty simple design like all other grills. I honestly don't know what you will find as an improvement over stainless steel grates? See all the info on cleaning on this forum, or just burn it to ash and brush it off. There is at least one grill that has a ceramic element (like the rotisserie) at the bottom and a patented grease burning process. It is much more money, but hey if you got it!? See allgrills.com selection.

I keep reading that flare ups has a lot to do with the type of grill and what it has over the burners. I bought a grill with an infrared zone that is supposed to get up to 1800 degrees. I haven't used it yet because we still have to build the island. So, I wouldn't think that the 700 degrees would have been too hot for burgers. At higher temps though, the cooking time obviously varies, so maybe you just waited too long to turn them? On my current cheap grill that I'm using, I pre-heat on the light setting, and then I cook on the same setting otherwise the grill won't sear the meat. I turn it down after both sides of the steak is seared, and then let it cook a little slower because of problems with flare ups. On burgers, I pre heat on the light setting, place the burgers on for a minute or so, and then reduce the heat to prevent flare ups as much as possible, and I usually check them often for flare ups(they always have several). I'm hoping my new grill will not flare up as often. The disfigured grates has me a little concerned. The grill should have grates designed to withstand the temps it can reach. What kind of grill is this?

We did the same for the counters flanking our rangetop that Pioneer Woman did for her stainless counters...Had a local sheet metal fabricator make them for us (DH did the underlayment and took it to the metal shop to be wrapped). They were $17/sq ft. I wish we'd gone with 16 gauge instead of 18, maybe, although they're holding up well after 2 years. Anyway, I'm saying that a little heavier gauge would have been a bit more expense. The other thing I have to offer is that we wanted concrete counters, too. DH is capable, but we DIYed our whole house and time didn't allow that counter work. So the perimeter counters were designed to have the look and color. We made the counters thicker (2 1/4")for 2 reasons...1) so we could replace with concrete if we ever wanted, and 2) so that they resemble the heft of concrete counters...because, to be honest, the likelihood of ever ripping them out and doing the concrete is small. ;-) I chose a Pionite laminate (Moonlighting Papel) that was a slightly speckled light gray. Formica has some brushed aluminum looking laminate, too. We used it in our boys' room in our last house for a kind of industrial look for their room. Here is a picture of our kitchen that shows the stainless and the Pionite counters:

If it is made of the correct stainless steel for appearance purposes, and the welding rod is appropriate, it should never corrode. If any staining occurs, use a phosphoric acid wash (read the directions) that may be obtained from an auto parts store supporting the body shop trade. P.S. Original WD-40 is a water displacing oil for machine stamping protection. It might have some property for rejecting water on the SS, but(!), do we know what it will do when heated?