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Here's a 1960s Regina Floor-Care Machine that I saw at an estate sale. It was so grotty looking that I initially passed it by. But I looked at it a second time and saw it had some excellent Mid-Century design elements and colors. But I didn't want to pay $30.00 for it!
So the next day I emailed the guy running the estate sale and said that if the polisher didn't sell, I'd come back on the last ("Half Price!") day and pick it up. He replied that if it didn't sell, I could have it for free!
After the sale was over I emailed him again. It hadn't sold, so it was mine! I stopped by their next sale and he sent his helper with me to his van to fetch it. I got it home and a few days later gave it a full spa treatment.
I think it came out really beautifully, and I'm glad I didn't end up passing it by as I originally had done. It had looked like it was covered with rust and a restoration would be futile. But I heard it pitifully whispering "Please save me!" and I just couldn't turn a deaf ear to its pleas.
What I thought was rust turned out to be years of caked-on floor wax. I'd loved to have been a fly on the wall when it was being put to use. I just can't imagine what they were doing with it -- it was covered with splattered wax all the way up to the top of the cord.
Cleaning it up took a lot of elbow grease -- but, happily, I was able to completely restore its original finish without having to repaint it. I love the retro graphics on the front of the motor unit and the shampoo tank!
What made this a really nice find was all the accessories and literature that came with it! There was a whole box of stuff that I hadn't even seen!!
I had to sacrifice the "what's included" sticker on the tank, but making a replacement sticker on my Mac will be a simple task.
The thing about it that has me stumped is how to detach the brushes. No amount of tugging or prying will free them. Anyone know how?? Either there's some trick to it, or they're stuck on after being in place for decades.
See attached photos. (The metallic decals were hard to photograph because they're so shiny.)
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Here's a 1960s Regina Floor-Care Machine that I saw at an estate sale. It was so grotty looking that I initially passed it by. But I looked at it a second time and saw it had some excellent Mid-Century design elements and colors. But I didn't want to pay $30.00 for it!
So the next day I emailed the guy running the estate sale and said that if the polisher didn't sell, I'd come back on the last ("Half Price!") day and pick it up. He replied that if it didn't sell, I could have it for free!
After the sale was over I emailed him again. It hadn't sold, so it was mine! I stopped by their next sale and he sent his helper with me to his van to fetch it. I got it home and a few days later gave it a full spa treatment.
I think it came out really beautifully, and I'm glad I didn't end up passing it by as I originally had done. It had looked like it was covered with rust and a restoration would be futile. But I heard it pitifully whispering "Please save me!" and I just couldn't turn a deaf ear to its pleas.
What I thought was rust turned out to be years of caked-on floor wax. I'd loved to have been a fly on the wall when it was being put to use. I just can't imagine what they were doing with it -- it was covered with splattered wax all the way up to the top of the cord.
Cleaning it up took a lot of elbow grease -- but, happily, I was able to completely restore its original finish without having to repaint it. I love the retro graphics on the front of the motor unit and the shampoo tank!
What made this a really nice find was all the accessories and literature that came with it! There was a whole box of stuff that I hadn't even seen!!
I had to sacrifice the "what's included" sticker on the tank, but making a replacement sticker on my Mac will be a simple task.
The thing about it that has me stumped is how to detach the brushes. No amount of tugging or prying will free them. Anyone know how?? Either there's some trick to it, or they're stuck on after being in place for decades.
See attached photos. (The metallic decals were hard to photograph because they're so shiny.)
