Love mine! I had our previous smoothtop GE Profile range (w/convection oven) for over 12 years and the top still looked like new...no scratches that I could find. Even when I boiled over tomato soup (which I did a lot) or other things, I just turned off the burner and took a very wet (dripping) dish cloth, wiped the excess food off the burner (fast!), rinsed the cloth and again got it very wet and placed it on the burner...it helped it not stick too badly. Later, when it cooled, I'd finish cleaning it. I rarely used the cleansers after the first couple of years and saw no performance difference. It was shinier when I used the cleanser though, so I would use it before parties. The smoothtop was black w/grayish speckles. We donated the range to our church and the family that got it told my husband how wonderful it is and they couldn't believe it was as old as we said it was...it still works perfectly & looks like new! While we are going w/a cooktop this time, it's a smoothtop...another GE Profile (along with the Trivection double oven!) I tried to talk my DH into induction but no-go. So I just got the a basic cooktop and they are wiring us for induction...just in case! (I will eventually be able to talk my DH into induction, but not until this remodel is done and the bills stop coming in!) BTW...I slid pans on my cooktop fairly frequently, no scratches. As to stirring and the pan turning, I seem to recall that only happened if I was using a pan w/o a flat bottom. I do not use cast iron, so I can't attest to that one way or the other. I will never have anything other than a smoothtop! (Unless some wonderful new technology comes along to wow me!) HTH!

This post was from many many years ago. But I still don't know the answer. I bought a nice used Viking stainless steel 4 burner cooktop that I want to use in my outdoor kitchen. It is under a roof but wind will definetly drive rain and snow so that the range will get wet occasionally. I also plan to cover it when not in use. So.... what is the downside? I'm not going to call the manufacturer... they'll say "no" and that they make a line of outdoor kitchen appliances. Many years ago I installed an expensive under counter mini fridge. It was meant for indoors but after 6 years it was still going strong. I moved 5 years ago and for all I know it's still going strong.

Thanks for the replies. The guys were talking about "wrapping" copper tubes around the stove...reminds me of the BBQ pic. I've saved the "link" info-am passing it along to the guys. According to the info on the website, the "pool" stoves on that website seem to heat well. thanks again.

There aren't that many attractive heat resistant paints on the market available for a DIYer to tackle a stove project. One option is to have it coated with a high temperature powder coating, but that's an expensive option and not likely to be worth it for such a short term. Another option would be to check out an auto parts store for spray enamel that is meant for engine coatings. However, to get it to stick will require a good deal of prep. It'll have to be sanded enough to get a "tooth" and then prime with a high heat primer and then the paint. What ever you choose, do NOT use just "plain" paint for your stove. It can burn and emit toxic fumes, which is why enamel is used on stoves. Enamel is fused glass on metal which is why it's so difficult to paint. It might be easier to just find a second hand stove on Craig's List.