A new addition to the family...

[vintagehoover]

A package in the mail...what can it be?! (I'll give you a clue, it's not a Purepower!)

 

[vintagehoover]

A look inside...

A slightly bigger clue!

 

[vintagehoover]

Aha! A Model 825 in need of some TLC!

 

[vintagehoover]

Up and running - before any restoration...

 

[vintagehoover]

And finally...as it is at the moment:
- Original bag
- Furniture guard
- 2-speed switch fitted
- Motor cleaned
- New flex (ironically from a Hoover Purepower!)
- Retracting bag strap replaced

Not bad for an afternoon's work! Restoration is only 50% complete though - although I've fitted the 2-speed switch and replaced the missing 3rd wire in the handle, the 3rd wire is also missing from the connector plug/motor, which will be a lot tricker to replace (if it's possible to replace it at all!). The cleaner needs further polishing, too, and the handle and motor cap need a respray.

 

[vintagehoover]

I should add - many, many thanks to Seamus for this wonderful gift!

 

[charles~richard]

the 825

is indeed a beautiful machine - second only, perhaps, to the 925. Congrats!

 

[vintagehoover]

Thanks, C-R!

As I've told Seamus, the 825 is particularly nostalgic for my mum and grandparents because they had one as their first-ever cleaner. It was in faithful service from 1936, when they bought it until sometime in the 70's when they replaced it with a Junior 1346A, which must have seemed incredibly small in comparison! My granny can't remember what happened to the 825 when they replaced it...it was still working, and she things she gave it away to a friend, so who knows - could still be out there, tucked away in the back of someone's garage!

 

[vacuumkid3]

Beautiful! I am still awaiting the day in which I get a "coffee-can" motor Hoover! I love the style and just how meaningful this design was for early housekeepers! The light-up "HOOVER" logo on the front is so special, as I believe only this one and the Kirby D.S. 50 has it. Good luck polishing it! I know good and well just how tough this can be! I polish all of my Kirbys by hand. Ugh...

~~K~~

 

[vintagehoover]

Thanks, Kyle - I too love the light-up Hoover logo...an inspired design touch by Henry Dreyfuss! Pity he didn't include it on the 475, too - it would have looked good in orange to match the rest of the trim!

Here's a pic of the 825 following 2 polishing sessions...it's tiring, but it's worth it in the end!(You can see my other 825 in the background, looking pretty sorry for itself, having been stripped for spares for the new one!)

 

[vacuumkid3]

Wow! It's beautiful! I agree: tiring, but completely worth it! How do you work on the enamel? I have some Testors Enamel paint in liquid form. I tried using that on my Rexair logo, but the way it dried made it uneven and light. I may have forgotten to shake it...Are you going to replace the enamel? It'll make it look BRAND new if you do so, I bet! Good luck again!

~~K~~

 

[vintagehoover]

With the other 825 I had, I painted it by hand with some modelling paint, but it didn't look right because it dried matt, not shiny like the original...I may use the spray paint I've used for the handles and motor hoods on my other Hoovers, although I'll test it on a spare 825 motor cap first to see if it looks right. I don't wanna risk messing this one up! The badge has also lost much of it's paint, so that'll be another detail to figure out...

 

[vacuumkid3]

Ahh, yeah. The paint I have dried glossy, but it was translucent and uneven. I may try putting a test piece in the oven to see if baking it works. Not our cooking oven, though...my dad and mom won't let me! Again, I may need to shake it. I will experiment later.

~~K~~

 

[myhooverco]

Jack...

Wow what a beautiful Hoover cleaner. You certainly have an eye for detail. I think the 825 is a very attractive cleaner and to think you had an original bag for it. Thanks for posting the pictures.

--Tom