Hoover 575 varieties

[scoover]

Bought another 575 this week. Mainly to save it from becoming landfill, it's very rough.

I already have one 575 part restored and a spare body. It was my intention to use the spare body as a replacement for the new one as the spare has good plating on all fittings.

At least that was my idea until I got the new one home and realised that rather than having the 700/725 body it has both the 750 body and motor castings neither of which is compatible with a 700 style body. Must have been made right at the end of production once they had tooled up for the 750. Anyone know if they did the same thing with the 725?

 

[scoover]

Never too old to learn

My mistake. I always thought the 700 and the 725 had the same design of motor body and machined area on the body for the motor to sit on. I also thought that the slightly tricorn base of the motor body started with the 750. And of course, I should know as I have examples of all of them.

Wrong. The Tricorn shape started with the 725. So, my new 575 has a 725 motor and body...

 

[dysonman1]

Our 575 in the USA used the model 700 motor (painted) on a model 725 platform, as the top of the line machine was the 725, and the 575 didn't start till the 700 ended.

 

[scoover]

The 575 was really just the 700 with a black painted motor and a 12 blade fan no? The bodies I have still have an unused space for the 700 logo and serial number on them. The only difference with the later one is that the body is machined to take the 725 style motor casing which has a wider tricorn base and slightly wider fixing screw position. I had a look inside this new motor to see if there was a date on the armature and which model number they had stamped. Inevitably someone's been in there a long time ago keeping it going with spare parts; the armature is stamped 700.

 

[scoover]

Brushed finish for early Hoovers

My first Hoover with a brushed finish was my 575. This finish does not seem to age as well as the highly polished ones, I suppose the scratch finish picks up dirt easier and having a slightly greater surface area is more prone to corrosion. As soon as you try to clean it up with anything abrasive it suddenly looks patchy.

In the few short months since I bought the 575 I have picked up two 541's, two 543's and another 575 (obsessive? moi?) so have been trying to work out how to recreate the original brushed finish on all of these machines without damaging the castings or removing too much metal.

Long story short; 8" Scotch brite mop wheel.

I am of the opinion that early models had a finer brushed finish than the 575 so I bought a fine and a medium wheel. After experimenting with a bit of scrap sheet and a sadly deceased 450 body I think I have cracked it.

I had expected the mop to remove scratches. It doesn't. My technique for the finish achieved in the pictures is: Clean the casting carefully. Ding out low spots with a small ball peen from underneath. Cross sand (side to side) with a palm sander fitted with 120 grit paper. That removes most scratches and should, with care provide an even under-surface. Then mop gently front to back (if you're too heavy handed the scratches are inconsistently deep and they pick up dirty alloy streak marks.

Its not perfect but its a whole lot better than 90 odd years of dirt and scratches..

 

[portable]

It turned out beautifully. I often wondered how in the world someone would resurface a finish like that. Looks like you've mastered it.

 

[scoover]

Old dog, new tricks

Thanks portable. I am treating my revived interest in these as an opportunity to learn techniques that I could either not afford to indulge or was too green to perfect when I was younger.

 

[madman]

That does look excellent. If you think the surface finish won't hold up, you could always clear coat the whole thing with polyurethane. They come in different sheens, probably a matte would look good over the brushed finish.

 

[scoover]

Lacquer finish

I think your right. I thought about it when I was doing it then decided it would be OK but it picks up marks so easily. Just re-attaching the handle yoke and motor with clean hands left fingermarks that could not be wiped off without washing. I guess these days manufacturers would anodise a finish like this. I'll definitely experiment with matt or satin lacquer.

Dunno what it's like in the states but it's difficult to get real Polyurethane varnish here now. They're really pushing the water based stuff which goes on like milk and is about as durable. I have noticed that even what is now sold as polyU has different ingredients from the original and takes much longer to dry properly.

 

[madman]

Oh geez that sucks. You know we're usually slow to adopt stupid new-age laws like that, like forbidding asbestos, or lead paint. Except California, anyway. But yes, you can still walk into any hardware store and buy 5 gallon buckets of oil-based poly. I still have a half-full one in my basement, from when we refinished the hardwood floors. To be frank, it really is stupid to make laws that screw over ordinary consumers. I could understand mandating manufacturers to use different products, because they do things on a large enough scale to worry about pollution. But when you're talking about some guy refinishing a door in his back yard... come on now, that's a shame. But that's the world we live in, I suppose.

 

[electricutopia]

Very interesting...

...and a great restoration! I wasn’t aware of the difference in the Model 575 motor casing designs either. For some reason, 575 seems to be fairly hard to find in the UK. I know it took me a number of years of collecting pre-war machines before I found one here, and in the meantime I shipped one over from the US to fill the gap!

 

[scoover]

Thank you

It's not quite finished but it's getting there. Yes 575's seem much rarer. I wonder if the delicate satin finish which tends to get dirty and corroded more easily than the high polish meant they were dismissed as past it. All of the 575's I have have been painted with flat silver at some point in an attempt to tart them up. Ironically it gets dirtier and scratches worse than the satin.

Hoover clearly seem to have done whatever made economic sense in terms of hybridizing machines. For instance there appears to be those two versions of the 575, three versions of the 543, two of the 475 etc etc. I am trying(though not very successfully) to not get into collecting all the different variations...

 

[electricutopia]

That’s very true, and completely unsurprising - if a manufacturer can make or remake a vacuum that performs to specification but saves them money, they’re going to go for it! Nothing has ever changed there.

 

[watsonw]

old dog, new tricks.

Hello Doug,

re: vac restoration, 'old dog ,new tricks' same here.


I had no idea that the 575 had a late version with a body and lower motor casing format like the deluxe 725.

One just keeps learning, even about vintage vacs!!!


Cheers, Walter, Shropshire.
`

 

[watsonw]

Electricutopia.

I think I may know, if so how are you these days, if I am mistaken, welcome.

Regards, Walter.

 

[electricutopia]

Hi Walter! I’m good, how are you?

 

[electroluxxxx]

well well well!

Always a pleasure to hear from the wonderful knowledge of the fine Mr. JC himself!!

It is a privilege to see your wonderful posts again as you have been greatly missed. I always knew you'd come back.  

 

 

[watsonw]

Hello Jack,

I am fine, its the big 60 for me at the end of the month, I am definitely developing eye bags like Jane Hudsons...YE GADS!!!!

I must contact Al as I have parts for him?

Hope all is well with you?

Were is Mike Rogers shop, I have never heard of him?


Regards, Walter.