Kirby 505 or 2C? Kirby Frankenstein.

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WOW!!

Jason,

Again thank you for sharing, those are great pictures. You did a wonderful job restoring those Kirby's. It's obvious you take a lot of pride in your work. I think James Kirby himself would be very impressed.

Jim
 
I wish

I wish mine would stay pretty and shiny like that forever. I did lots of sanding on the scratches. and don't get me started on buffing- it gets my face a little itchy. I think I have an odd blood type- "gc"(grease and carbon) I think maybe from working on old fans, lawnmowers, and vacuums(or anything to do with motors)
and sometimes, I don't know if it's grease from the mechanicin' or the bryll cream I use in my hair mixed with sweat and dirt!

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Nice

Get apron, face shield and rubber gloves

By the looks of how dirty you are you may have to mush polish on your wheels. You need a bugging wheel take.
Very nice detail on the vacuum tear down.
 
I'm still amateur

I do use a buffing wheel rake between types of compound. after 25 years I am still experimenting with buffing. have trouble with the swirls- when I move the part around curvs- especially fan housings the part where it curves where the housing connects with the emtor and the emtor itself
 
Ya

I get just as dirty too. If you have a dremmel bit or handi butler flex shaft it makes those tight places easier.
The metal your working on is over 80 years old.
It looks good just joking with you. Proof is in the pics.
 
Joking

Everyone gets dirty when polishing vacuums.
I use mother's mag, red rouge,green rouge white and blue rouge's.
I have 3 6-8" harbor freight/amazon bench polishers. I have the gator drill attachment. The big boy is my dewalt 18lb variable speed buffer/polisher. It goes from 800 rpms to 36000 rpms. It fits 7-9 inch pads. It has a head that uses Velcro and covers the 9 inch pads. I also have a corded and cordless dremmell tool for small areas.
The dewalt is the top of the line commercial buffer for automobiles. I have to clamp everything down as it's sent the nozzle of a tradition 50 feet. It is variable speed so if something is caught it keeps the same speed. It's very dangerous so I use sparingly.
I use wheels on my bench buffer off Amazon that are a couple dollars a piece. I set up 2 polishers with 4 wheels. I put green rouge on one wheel, red on another, white on the third. The last wheel I don't put anything on it it's a flannel multi ply wheel I paid $12 for.
I use each wheel then the flannel to clean off and get mirror shine.
I also have a few sanders I put different grit on each one if something is scratched. There actually Kirby's turbo sanders.
I find it alot harder to buff older vacuums. I also don't want to scratch them because a 90 year old vacuum your not finding parts for.
 
?

ok...how do you clamp down the parts that went flying? thats happened to me before and I also have a few scars. I wish you had a video guide or something. you sound awesome. oh, I hate buffing the older stuff- I'm guessing it was so hard to buff my Kirby because it's sand cast?
 
Kirby collector

Thomas has a very nice kirby wireless vacuette. MyVacRocks just sold a nice wireless. Dysonman runs the vacuum cleaner museum he probably knows. There is a member or former member in the UK who has a museum he knows too.
 

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