I need a gray plastic handle-grip for 510-11-12 Kirby.

[electrolux137]

I need the top handle part with the gray plastic handle-grip for a 510-11-12 Kirby, or I could get by with just the plastic grip. Does anyone have a spare that they could send my way? I'd of course be willing to pay a reasonable price and shipping.

I have a really nice 510 that has the replacement red grip which is okay, really -- I've always liked the look of that grip on the older Kirbys as I remember a couple of them from my childhood. But I'd like to have an original to swap out for those special "All Original Obsession" moments.

 

[d-jones]

This could be a tall order if you're looking for an original gray grip, but there may be another way. There are various products on the market meant for coating tool handles and such that might work. One of them is called Plasti-Dip. It comes in a can that's deep enough to dip the handle into to the correct depth, and the kit comes with a number of different tinting agents so that you should be able to recreate the correct shade of gray. Unfortunately, since I've never actually used it I can't vouch for Plasti-Dips quality. But there are other makers of this type of product, so it's a fair bet that at least one of them will be worthwhile. I've been meaning to try this myself on my Kirby 508 but I haven't gotten around to it yet. However, when I was taking electric shop in high school we used something like this to coat the handles of all the wire cutters and pliers we were using and it held up to our abuse pretty well.