Spa Weekend

[djtaylor]

Three of my Kirbys had a 'spa' day today. The Legend II, the Tradition and my brown trimmed D50. Four others are due to have the 'spa' treatment tomorrow if my hands are willing. Hand polishing is a serious pain in the... well, you get the drift. I hope to get the Gsix, the regular tan trimmed D50, the 561 and 560 done soon. I will post pic when done.
Justin

 

[djtaylor]

Still to be done

And here are the ones in need of a 'spa day'.
Justin

 

[eurekastar]

When I saw the Mini-Emtor on your 500s, I thought, "How does he change the bag?" Ding! Ding! Ding! Slide the bag hanger off the top of the bag! Does the disposable bag just kind of flop around loose on the inside or did you fashion some kind of hanger for the bag adapter? I may have to give that a whirl some time!

 

[collector2]

Just a suggestion re: hand polishing. The buffing wheel used on the flexible shaft of the handi butler does a beautiful job of polishing them up and is much easier.

Doug

 

[eluxca]

Nice looking cleaners! In my humble opinion, the Legend II was the best modern machine Kirby made. It is easy to maneuver and deep cleans carpets very well.

 

[djtaylor]

Flop around inside the bag

Bill, I used a strip of cloth and a safety pin in the bag of the D50 to hold the fill tube. I did not do that in the 561, but I will do it later today. As for the Legend II, my Tradition and the Sweeper Vac 180, I have used a zip-tie to allow the fill tube to hang lower so they can use the shorter cloth-like HEPA bags. I have allergies and can't stand to have fine dust getting through the outer bags of vacuums. I got the idea to put an open-top bag on a Heritage II mini-emtor when I was still working at Kirby of Orem, in Orem, Utah in the late '90's. I remembered that at sometime I had used a commercial vacuum of some sort(don't rememeber the brand) that had a disposable bag inside an open-top bag. I do remember that the bag was orange. It was probably a 'bojack' or put together by someone who liked the idea. It has made my older Kirbys 'Clean Sweepers' and that's how I prefer them.
Justin

 

[uprightman]

Just the inspiration I needed!

DJ,

Great job on those Kirby's! ESPECIALLY doing it by hand.

You've just inspired me to get cracking on a Kirby that a co-worker brought in for me last week. (I didn't know that he knew that I collect vacuum cleaners, but I didn't say "No".) It was his mother-in-law's Kirby Model 514 from 1954. (The plate on the bottom indicates that it was rebuilt by Kirby in September 1957 - it must have gotten quite a workout in those three years.) I'm a HUGE fan of the Kirby Handi-Butler polisher set-up, however, the 514 has been sitting in a dark basement for quite a while, and this project looks like it's going to take a lot of work.

My plan is to start with AUTOSOL...and I may have to then go on to using FLITZ on the SECOND round...then the lambswool buffer from the Handi-Butler - and the final touch - going over it with a damp micro-fibre cloth. Big Doin's around here!

I've been dreading starting on it - but your photos make me want to get right on it. Here's hoping that it turns out as nice as yours!

 

[vac_whisperer]

On your second picture, your 560, (i think?) has a tradition bag, is it a tradition shake-out bag? Ive heard that post-classic III shakeout bags are pretty rare.

VW

 

[djtaylor]

to Vac_whisperer: Yes, it is a Tradition shake-out bag. I have had it for several years. I had been thinking about re-trimming one of my older Kirbys in dark blue(I have several 'bojack' trim kits in dark blue). That, and I just needed to put a bag on that machine for the short term. That 560 needs new bearings and a new brush roll at some point. If I put that much into it I will probably put a Heritage II mini-emtor on it with a new open-top bag(black) as I have done with my other Kirbys. I have a 500 series motor unit coming and it may wind-up being trimmed in blue and if so, it will get the blue bag and emtor.
As for being rare, that is my view as well. There are NEW blue shake-out bags, and I'd rather have one of those. They are very nice, and I have found a seller on eBay who has them for under $40. If I do retrim an old Kirby in dark blue I will, when I can afford it, put a NEW blue shake-out bag on it.
If you can't tell, blue is my favorite color.
Justin

 

[vac_whisperer]

And the Kirby trad is my ALL TIME favorite kirby because of the pretty blue color. It seems like all my favorite vacuums i dont have; old hoovers, old kirbys, eurekas, luxes, AHH! OFF TOPIC!

VW