mivintagevacs
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Kirby Model 4C
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mivintagevacs
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human
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Yeah, that thing scrubbed up pretty well.
kwalsh97214
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Congratulations
Very nice work - your 4C looks great.
Very nice work - your 4C looks great.
odavid123
Well-known member
Just beautiful! Great job cleaning her up . Very rare unit you have there take good care of it 
mivintagevacs
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Thanks guys! I’m really pleased with how the bag cleaned up without having to wash it. I thoroughly vacuumed it inside and out and wiped the outside with a damp cloth. Now it’s allowed to come inside the house
Nice
Well done your 4C looks great. One thing I would have done differently is paint the belt cap logo with flat red paint, not gloss. Yours has the bag clip cover those are very rare and hard to find. Wonderful 4C. Thanks for sharing.
Jim[this post was last edited: 8/15/2024-10:07]
Well done your 4C looks great. One thing I would have done differently is paint the belt cap logo with flat red paint, not gloss. Yours has the bag clip cover those are very rare and hard to find. Wonderful 4C. Thanks for sharing.
Jim[this post was last edited: 8/15/2024-10:07]
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
Thank you Jim, your 4c looks great too! I did not do any painting or touch up on this. That belt cover is all original. I’m thinking the red lettering on yours may have lost its shine, faded and would have been a glossy deeper red like mine originally. Beautiful machine!
Ben,
thanks for your kind words. All belt caps and belt lifter logos were painted using flat red or flat grey paint not gloss. Pictured is a collection of belt caps and belt lifters. All logos are done in flat paint. Also pictured is my 505 with original belt lifter. Note the first belt cap in picture one is from a Kirby 2C and the logo was done in flat paint. Yours may have been painted in the past. Picture three shows my 4C before I restored it, note the flat paint logo.
Jim
thanks for your kind words. All belt caps and belt lifter logos were painted using flat red or flat grey paint not gloss. Pictured is a collection of belt caps and belt lifters. All logos are done in flat paint. Also pictured is my 505 with original belt lifter. Note the first belt cap in picture one is from a Kirby 2C and the logo was done in flat paint. Yours may have been painted in the past. Picture three shows my 4C before I restored it, note the flat paint logo.
Jim
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
Jim, do you have a NOS belt cover that you are basing this info on? Wouldn’t it be possible that they dull and fade over the years? I am certain that this was never painted because it was owned and used by a single jewelry store for its entire lifetime. It was never owned by another collector.
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
Here’s another close up photo of it.
Belt cap
Ben,
I'm basing it on what I have seen over the years of restoring these old Kirby's and the pictures should prove that. Do you find it interesting that the rest of your Kirby shows some age, but yet the belt cap looks very new in comparison. I could be wrong. Maybe our friend David can help us out here?
Never the less you have a wonderful 4C that any collector would love to have in their collection.
Jim
Ben,
I'm basing it on what I have seen over the years of restoring these old Kirby's and the pictures should prove that. Do you find it interesting that the rest of your Kirby shows some age, but yet the belt cap looks very new in comparison. I could be wrong. Maybe our friend David can help us out here?
Never the less you have a wonderful 4C that any collector would love to have in their collection.
Jim
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
All good Jim I totally understand where you’re coming from. One thing I noticed is that when I found this vac it was set up as a canister and the rug nozzle looked like it had barely been used. Take a look at the photo showing the bottom of the nozzle. The chrome center portion has very little wear. My theory is that this machine was used almost exclusively as a canister at the store. There was an old Hoover upright that was used there as well. If the nozzle stayed in the box most of its life, it would have been preserved.
odavid123
Well-known member
Jim , when it was new the Kirby logo was semi gloss and faded overtime , the gray was more of a white at one point.as well .
Ben ,
This 4C is pretty complete and from the look of the bag it was kept away from the sun. Regardless it’s a beautiful unit .
Ben ,
This 4C is pretty complete and from the look of the bag it was kept away from the sun. Regardless it’s a beautiful unit .
Umm
I love how photos are rotated and reordered
I attached front and back of my 505 original belt cap, NOS belt cap and 505 belt lifters. I'll let you use your imagination.
Yours should look like my used 505 belt cap. My 505 should be from late 1945 but I've not opened up the machine and checked. I only put because I know belt caps are original to 1c- 1945 505s.
I'd say some people know alot but think they know everything. I'd like to think I know alot but not everything. I'm not talking about Jim. Jim knows quite a bit too.
I hope the pics help.
I love how photos are rotated and reordered
I attached front and back of my 505 original belt cap, NOS belt cap and 505 belt lifters. I'll let you use your imagination.
Yours should look like my used 505 belt cap. My 505 should be from late 1945 but I've not opened up the machine and checked. I only put because I know belt caps are original to 1c- 1945 505s.
I'd say some people know alot but think they know everything. I'd like to think I know alot but not everything. I'm not talking about Jim. Jim knows quite a bit too.
I hope the pics help.
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
I respect all of your opinions but I’m still fairly certain that this machine is 100% original. Again this was a single family owned vacuum used in a family owned business. The person I bought it from was the daughter of the owner who grew up in the store and I met her in the old store to pick it up. It was set up as a canister and there were two Hoover uprights that were used in the store as well. Nobody at the store cared enough about this machine to do a cosmetic restoration of the belt cap. I think David is correct that these were semi gloss when they were new. I do appreciate the discussion and interest though!
You
Think it could be NOS non original. You better ask David if the OD of the belt caps ever changed since his opinion fits what you want to hear.
Just because the man speaks it's not gospel.
His opinion is opinion not facts. Assuming u already know. If Jim's theory or opinion doesn't fit yours does that mean he's wrong, nope. It doesn't mean he's right. Believe whose opinions you choose but don't wear rose colored glasses from skewing judgement.
Think it could be NOS non original. You better ask David if the OD of the belt caps ever changed since his opinion fits what you want to hear.
Just because the man speaks it's not gospel.
His opinion is opinion not facts. Assuming u already know. If Jim's theory or opinion doesn't fit yours does that mean he's wrong, nope. It doesn't mean he's right. Believe whose opinions you choose but don't wear rose colored glasses from skewing judgement.
mivintagevacs
Well-known member
No Les, I think it’s original to the vacuum period. I think it’s in near new old stock condition for reasons stated above. Jim could be right but he could also be wrong. If you want to go on believing flat paint was used that’s fine. Given the known history of this machine I’d say David’s opinion is correct.
Thanks
David,
Thank you for chiming in. These old Kirby's are still a learning in progress. Thanks for clearing this up, I stand corrected, thanks again.
Jim
David,
Thank you for chiming in. These old Kirby's are still a learning in progress. Thanks for clearing this up, I stand corrected, thanks again.
Jim
