Vintage appliance household lover saying hello.

[SANTI]

Hello gang.
My name is Santi, an Art Deco / vintage appliance guy who turned Mid-Century lover when I moved West. Our home is from 1963 and doing our best to restore it to its swanky atomic Rat Pack golden era of Las Vegas. We have a 1958 Streamline (airstream) trailer, a 1958 Chevy Bel-air, 1955 Hotpoint fridge, and 1951 Chambers stove and many other vintage clothing and items we use daily. My goal is to acquire a mid-century pair of matching washer and dryer machines.

Lastly, the reason I'm here is to find a nice 50s-60s-era floor polisher for my VCT floors. No carpets.

Here's a pic of my retrofied kitchen slowly developing. New floors and cabinets coming soon.

Looking forward to learning from you all.
Thanks
Santi

 

[paul]

Welcome, Santi! Your Mid-Century belongings list is impressive; great job on the retrofitted kitchen so far.

I'm not sure if you were thinking of purchasing a floor polisher from a participant on this site or just looking for suggestions. In case of the latter, here are mine: a triple-brush Electrolux Model B-7 (single-tube "T" handle, two-speed made from 1959 to 1963—in gray & white or aquamarine green); more difficult to find) and the similar Model B-8 (single-speed w/wrap-around tube with an inverted "V" handle typically with the shampoo "Carpet Beautifier" set-up, although those made prior to 1966 lacked it; successive colors were aquamarine green, light bronze, teal blue, honey gold, dark bronze, and silver; made from 1963 to 1983 and quite easy to find for sale). The colors matched each era's vacuum cleaners; so you may want to consider a color-matched or mix-and-match set. Replacement parts and accessories would be easier to find for the B-8s.

Recently I saw a Twin-Brush G-E Model FP-5 (listed by its category # P11FP5) with a chrome hood trimmed in green to match the Swivel-Top Model C-7 canister. G-E only made their floor polishers for a dozen or so years, though, so parts and accessories would be more challenging to locate. But the chrome would sure look nifty.

Vintage Hoover twin-brush floor polishers are also plentiful and color matching with some Convertibles, Constellations, Portables, and Slimlines. The company also made a Floor-A-Matic with a wet pick-up, but they are less common and parts and accessories are difficult to find.

There were other mid-century makes, too, such as Eureka, Sunbeam, Shetland; but they are less common due to their limited production spans. Still, you might find one at a garage sale. A Kirby 500-Series vacuum with a floor polisher attachment is also something to consider.

Online auction websites such as eBay offer some research and buying options, too.

Keep us updated with your floor polisher-scrubber search and your kitchen upgrades.

Again, welcome to Vacuumland!

 

[SANTI]

Thanks for accepting my request and for the warm and detailed welcome Paul.

I'm certainly searching for a classic floor machine for VCT tile. No carpet. I was looking at both the Electrolux B7 and B8 models, but I will also look at the others you've mentioned. I have a few questions.

Is there an advantage to having the double speed on the B7 over the single speed of the B8?

Why is the B-12 version so cool looking and were these ever available in the States?

 

[eurekaprince]

Welcome Santi! You are definitely going to need a vintage 1950’s Regina Elektrikbroom to hang in your broom closet! Most suburban homes in North America had one!

 

[hygiene903]

Welcome aboard Santi! Even though you don't have carpeting, I think you would find a good mid-century tank or cannister vacuum cleaner quite useful. Electrolux, Air-Way Sanitizor, Hoover Constellation, Westinghouse, Silver King, Royal, or GE would all be good choices.

 

[paul]

Thanks for accepting my request and for the warm and detailed welcome Paul.

I'm certainly searching for a classic floor machine for VCT tile. No carpet. I was looking at both the Electrolux B7 and B8 models, but I will also look at the others you've mentioned. I have a few questions.

Is there an advantage to having the double speed on the B7 over the single speed of the B8?

Why is the B-12 version so cool looking and were these ever available in the States?

You're welcome, Santi.

The 2nd lower speed of the B-7 was to minimize wax splashing onto walls and trim during application. I have yet to see an owner's manual for it, so I'm uncertain if it came with a liquid wax mist sprayer like the B-8, that was stored on the handle with a holder. That type of application negates the lower speed. I yield to others who have first-hand B-7 knowledge, however.

The B-12 is a looker, but manufactured outside the US. For a limited time there was a B-8 with a chrome head made for a sales award, but that was the only such Electrolux polisher-scrubber with that styling.

Btw, while B-7 brushes with two protrusions could be used on the B-8, the B-8s with 4 protrusions are incompatible with the B-7. Something to keep in mind if considering a B-7.

 

[SANTI]

Welcome aboard Santi! Even though you don't have carpeting, I think you would find a good mid-century tank or cannister vacuum cleaner quite useful. Electrolux, Air-Way Sanitizor, Hoover Constellation, Westinghouse, Silver King, Royal, or GE would all be good choices.

Thank you. Do those options specialize in shining up VCT tile? Do they all have attachments for polishing?

 

[paul]

Thank you. Do those options specialize in shining up VCT tile? Do they all have attachments for polishing?

You bet. I located a response from Jimmy (rugsucker) in another thread that provides information about Electrolux polisher-scrubber accessories. The North American companies changed their names to Aerus about 25 years ago after selling the trademark and brand to the original parent company, AB Electrolux of Sweden. Anyway, Aerus continues to sell an updated version of the B-8 called the Lux Floor Pro (model S165F), and I think the pads are compatible with the B-8s; although the brushes are not.

Accessories should include--
--for polishing,scrubbing,waxing--3 stiff bristle brushes,3 green scrubbing type pads(both sides usable),3 soft lamb wool type pads(1 sided)or 12 pack of disposable(use both sides till worn)felt type pads,splash guard shield to cover base and catch splashes of wax/cleaner,optional spray bottle as some tile/wood waxes are liquid.
--to shampoo add--3 soft bristle brushes,suds shield under brushes to generate foam as liquid comes from tank(NOT used with stiff bristle brushes!),tank with pull string to release liquid(shampoo & water),triangular tray to rest on when not in use without bristles becoming flattened.

 

[SANTI]

Incredible info Paul. Thank you.
When I'm ready to re-strip the old wax off my VCT, would these B-8 machines be powerful enough to strip the old wax off the VCT? Would I need to rent an industrial-sized machine at Home Depot instead?

 

[paul]

You're welcome, Santi.

If I were you, I'd try stripping a small area with a B-8 (or other vintage polisher-scrubber) to determine whether it would be up to the task then go from there. You could contact Aerus to get its opinion and to inquire what pads they would recommend or just using the stiff-bristle brushes.

I have no experience stripping floors with a B-8—only with a commercial Multi-Clean scrubber.

A consideration for you if you do use a B-8 for stripping your VCT would be to put a protective coating of some sort on the head such as car wax and/or cover it with plastic to keep the paint finish from damage.