Kirby 517, 1957...to polish, or not to polish?

[texbodemer]

I just bought a 1957 Kirby 517 at an architectural salvage store in Kelso, WA. I plan to leave the original replacement bag on it, and am thinking I'll leave it unpolished--I cleaned it up, and I like the patina. I'm wondering what your thoughts on polishing vs. leaving a vintage Kirby unpolished are.

Also, I would love to see your Kirbys that have been altered over the years.

 

[vacmadman]

very nice

Nick,

I polish up my Kirby's but yours looks good with its patina. It just comes down to personal preference.

Jim

 

[texbodemer]

Thanks!

Thanks! I just want to make sure that leaving it unpolished won't hurt it.

 

[human]

A little patina won't hurt it...

If you like the look of it, then leave it as it is. The patina won't hurt it. The Classic III bag also looks like it belongs there as well.

I've put a Legend II bag assembly on my Classic III so that I can use filter bags with it. I just hate dump bags. I've similarly retrofitted a Heritage 1HD with a Heritage II mini emtor and fill tube to get rid of the dump bag it came with. Fortunately, a member here supplied me with a brand new orange replacement bag, so the machine again has its correct--and distinctive--orange bag. I've also got a G5, which I affectionately call the Frankenkirby because it has so many parts from other models. It has a bag from an Ultimate G (not diamond), a G4 back panel on the handle, a gray G3 replacement cord and a Sentria style brush roll. Amazingly, it all looks, more or less, like those pieces belong together.

 

[huskyvacs]

I polish mine, but will not go to the lengths of sanding out physical metal damage - they will still have furniture damage or deep-set corrosion mottling to the finish. I rescue vacuums from nasty places so I feel better having all the debris and dirt off them (and they smell better) lol

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

I'd get a classic 3 power cord for 9it. I'd also get a red heritage 2 emp
tor. I'd like get a seamstress to put a zipper on your classic 3 bag and you can put kirbys newest hepa disposable bags for it.
I'd put wide wheels on the front and rear. The reason it levels out the vacuum and you can use all the carpet height settings.
If you get steel wool it will remove most blemishes. You can leave it as is. Not change anything and run it like you have it. I just mention disposable setup because the classic 3 and tradition bags aren't really good and they wear out quickly.

 

[human]

Lesinutah wrote:
If you get steel wool it will remove most blemishes.

I elaborate:
Specifically, you want to use very fine steel wool for this, like #000 or #0000. It will do a nice job removing the blemshes, but it will leave a satin/matte finish. You'll still need to polish it out with some even finer sandpaper, 1,000 grit or finer, and then finish it off with Mother's metal polish to really bring out the mirror-like shine.

 

[texbodemer]

Bag

So, the bag is a newer shake-out style, but with a Classic III clamp. The wheels work well, and I may polish it at some point.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

texbodemer

Nick,

That is correct... the bag and topper were taken from a Classic III 2CB (1976-1979).

The 517's original bag was gray, and on the front of it was a large Kirby circle logo (same style as used on late 515s and all 516s). The bag, with no zipper in the back, had an open metal top.

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

The

Bag is a fleece like material. It's thin and I just don't luke it.