Original Bag Style for Kirby Model 515 (First Post)

[kirbyowner]

Hello fellow vac. enthusiasts! This December I purchased a Kirby 515 that was factory rebuilt in '92. Due to the rebuild, my 515 lost its original red guards, black wheels and cord, and bag. I am slowly working on finding and replacing these back to the original early red, black and grey.

The currnt bag on my 515 is a DS50 style shake-out bag, and I would love to get it back to the original style, since it's one of the largest parts of the unit! This is where I was hoping someone would know which of the many early bag styles my unit would've originally had.

Also, if anyone knows where to find these old bags, or ones like them, that would be grerat information as well. (I regularly scan ebay for o.g. 5-series parts.) I also know of Michael Kirby's reproduction bags that he has for sale.

Additionally, I regularly wash my unit's bags, so I was thinking of buying a plain new shake-out style bag, and having the appropriate Kirby logo embroidered onto it. With an original, or one of Michael's bags, I would just be nervous about the logo fading, as (to my knowledge) they're silk-screened on, which is why I am thinking of having it embroidered into a plain new bag instead.

If you have any insight or comments for me, feel free to post whatever you have on your mind, all insight is appreciated! Appologies ahead of time for any way I may have posted wrong, I am new to vacuumland!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Quin,

WELCOME !!!!! Although I'm 'all Hoover', I appreciate others and those who collect others. I was offered one of those from the sister of a late friend. It will/should last forever. Those rebuilds are a great thing. But, you do tend to lose authenticity.
Best of luck, and, again, Welcome!
John

 

[kirbyowner]

Thank you!

Thank you, John, for the warm welcome! Yes, the rebuild program is excellent as far as polishing and motor-rebuilding goes, it is a shame that you lose the original trim and what not, but judging by the condition of the attachments when I got them, I'd say the original trim probably wasn't much better, haha!

 

[human]

Embroidery...

I like the idea of an embroidered logo in place of the silk-screened image. Besides being more durable, it would make for a classy looking upgrade. I can understand why the factory chose silk screening as it would certainly have been cheaper and more efficient to do on an industrial scale but for a one-off, embroidery might actually be a more cost effective option since you wouldn't be able to spread the inherent setup costs over multiple copies.

 

[vacmadman]

Welcome to the group

Quin,

Welcome to the group! Here are some pictures of my 515 with an original bag. This 515 also has the smooth grey plastic wheels. The early 515's came with the black wheels, but this changed near the end of the run. These wheels are the rarest of the Kirby wheels in the 500 series. They changed to the ribbed grey wheels with the 516 or 517. This took some time to restore. Good luck finding the parts you need to restore yours.

Jim

 

[lesinutah]

Jim

I thought the athalon grey wheels all ribbed. I've never seen vulcanized grey wheels. I know they can be made.
The wheels on your 515 are they real and are they vulcanized rubber like the black or athalon plastic like the ribbed wheels?
That is a very nice job you did on the 515. You have the correct red trim grey emtor sweet aire cap etc. I don't like the bags kirby made 515-561. There thinner bags with screen print almost always gone. I say I don't like the bags but the whole 500 series look and wheels I've never seen. It's probably the coolest 515 I've ever seen. Thanks for posting pics.

 

[kirbyowner]

Jim's 515

Thank you very much, Jim, for your response and information on the 515. Your unit looks incredible; shines like a mirror! I can't wait to get mine original again, and seeing yours just made me even more determined! If I may ask, what method do you use for polishing? I am still relatively new to polishing, and I use flitz polish on a 3,500 RPM bench grinder with a cotton buffing wheel, then buff it off with a microfiber towel. I've also tried hand-polishing with mother's, and eventually I'm going to get a loose-stiched buffing wheel and experiment with some proper rouges. Reguardless, my polish jobs always come out with just a little bit of a haze, it's almost like a mirror, but not quite. I'll attach a few images below. I'm away from my home for the next couple days, and just so happen to have my DS80 with me! Thank you so much for the help!

 

[vacmadman]

Les and Quin

Les,

The wheels are the original smooth athalon plastic. I got them from our friend Kent at Kirby Needs, and thank you for the kind words

Quin,

I use a Chicago electric variable speed close quarter hand drill. I start by wet sanding with 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper, depending on the level of oxidation, or damage to the aluminum.

I then work my way up to 3000 grit before I start polishing with a cotton polishing wheel. There are a number of different sizes and types you can use. I polish using Mother's mag polish, then I'll finish by hand polishing with Flitz corrosion protection polish.

This will protect the finish for up to 6 months. If you need to remove bad or deep scratches you may want to start with 600 grit then work your way up to 3000 grit 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000,...polish.

Side Note: The 515 bag is again one of the rarest of the 500 series bags. As far as I know this bag was only used on the 515, It changed with the 516 to the white speckled grey bag.

Jim [this post was last edited: 3/28/2021-10:15]

 

[bikerray]

Just thought you might like to know there was a Kirby 520 at the Goodwill on 159th and Harlem.

 

[lesinutah]

No sir

I told you to not get to excited. You know kirby stopped at 519 and went to 560.
If you can find a bag a embroidered patch could be done. It wouldn't take much to do one.

 

[kirbyowner]

Update: Found a Bag

Hello all, I have had a slight change of plans for my Kirby 515's bag, as I had found an original one on Ebay the other day. I will not have access to the bag for the next couple weeks, however it is the original style for my 515 (The same as Jim's 515, just in worse cosmetic shape), and I decided to pounce on it, as I wasn't having any luck finding a plain grey bag. (They're all black now, since that's what Kirby is currently making.)

The bag is NOT pretty, it appears to be in pretty good structural condition (No holes, tears, fraying, etc.), but it is very dirty and the red on the Kirby logo needs some attention, nothing I cannot handle!

I've decided that I will refrain from washing this bag, as it is silk screened, instead turning it inside-out to vacuum it, and brushing the inside clean with a light mist of a fabric cleaner.

Below is the only picture I have of the bag off the ended Ebay listing, however, I will be sure to update and carry this thread along into the cleaning / restoration of this bag!

 

[lesinutah]

Refrain

from getting it wet at all.

 

[vacmadman]

Washing

I have gently hand washed these in the past with good results. If the silkscreen is in bad shape then I would shy away from this. After washing I let it air dry, then iron on warm staying away from the silkscreen. I will then lightly coat with hairspray. [this post was last edited: 4/8/2021-09:49]

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Great

job !!

 

[vacmadman]

Thanks

Thank you John! I have washed Kirby bags, my Kenmore bags, AirWay bags, My R3 Singer bag....it can be done, Thanks again.

 

[kirbyowner]

Jim,

All good tips to know. My bag is far less dirty than your Kenmore's was, so I shouldn't have any issue getting it looking as good as the rest of the unit! Also another great restoration, that is a really neat Kenmore! I love the dual headlights, it reminds me of a 30's car!

I also have a couple new original parts coming for my unit, so I cannot wait to get those on. I will post more on that once I get all my parts in!

 

[lesinutah]

Damn

I love that super rare Kenmore bug eye.

 

[kirbyowner]

Update

Hello,

I have finally received every part I was waiting on for my 515: The bag, early grey emptor tray, early red handle grip, and the Sweet Aire disperser inside of the emptor, which was missing when I bought the unit. I also found some attachment goodies, a cloth hose, lifter grip & sholder strap, and early grey crevice tool. I am very happy about all of this, my Kirby is finally starting to look like a true 500 series again!

I noticed a couple trouble spots on the bag, aside from being generally worn over the years, there were two main issues I spotted (With photos provided):

1. Unsuprisingly, the red around the Kirby logo has mostly faded off. I beleive I saw another post talking about a certain acrylic paint that does the job, however I'd just like to ask for myself.

2. When cleaning, I noticed there is a decent-sized hole on the bottom of the bag around the emptor spring. Luckilly it is underneath the guard, however it is still something I'd like to address if possible.

I have not cleaned this bag at all, aside from vacuuming out the inside, and giving the inside and out both a light brushing. I didn't want to do any sort of real cleaning until I know what would work best for my bag without potentially harming it. The bag also feels somewhat stiff compared to the bags on my Sanitronic and the other corduroy one on my 1-CR. I'm not sure if this is normal for older bags, or if it is stiff from dirt (This bag looked like it had never been cleaned in its life when I got it)

Again, thank you for any advice and feedback, (As you can probably tell, cloth bags are not my strong point. I'm still young, and a beginner collector!)

 

[vacmadman]

Kirby 516 bag

The bag you have looks to be a 516-561 bag. Picture# 4 of 5 shows the white speckling through out the bag, The 515 bag was all grey with no speckling on it. Pictured is a close up of my 515 bag, all grey...no white speckling.