1949 Kelvinator restoration

[rickr]

This is the replacement basement fridge, replaces the 1953 Hotpoint combo that failed last year. This Kelvinator is an excellent vintage fridge, but suffered from ugliness, big time. Someone had brush painted it at one point, then someone had covered it in NASCAR stickers, which made for a real mess to clean up. I removed the stickers, and used it "ugly" for the past six months. I sanding it, replaced the door gasket, replaced the insulation in the door, and installed a three wire cord. Also replaced some of the wiring between the inner and outer skin, on the rear. Then I followed Kenny's advice on painting with gloss white Rustoleum paint, thinned with acetone, and applied with a foam roller. It worked out very well, and I am satisfied with this basement fridge. The reason I did not use spray paint, is because I did not want to haul this heavy fridge out of the basement. This Kelvinator has to be the heaviest refrigerator I have even dealt with. Built like a tank!

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow!  Great job, Rick - it looks amazing!  Nice that you have all the interior parts and drawers - I love it!!

 

 

[repairguy]

Nice!!!

 

[rp2813]

Beautiful!

Identical exterior to my '52 that got a chiffon yellow repaint at some point, but mine has a freezer across the top with a thick insulated door and gasket to seal it, which I think helps a little to keep the freezer from frosting over on the inside, and it gets down to the 10-15 degree range in there.  There's also a full width clear plastic pan below the freezer that routes defrost water into a slim plastic container tucked into the upper right rear corner.   It's missing the shelf/framework for the crisper drawers, so storage capacity is sub-optimal.  I use the tilt-out bin as a catch-all to make up for that.

 

Rick, where did you get the replacement door gasket?  I'm 50/50 about putting any time or money into my Kelvy since it's not complete, but on the remote chance I come across interior parts, I'd then consider replacing the gasket.

 

I've never named a car or an appliance, but for some reason, my yellow Kelvy tank strikes me as a classic "Bessie."

 

[rickr]

Thanks guys! It was a lot of work, but worth it. Kelvinator made a very good home refrigeration systems back in the day. They made many commercial refrigeration products as well.

Ralph, mine is a model CM-R manufacturing date (which is stamped on the inside of the plastic liner) is 9/26/49 The replacement gasket I purchased at our local appliance parts place. It is a universal gasket, but replaces the original Kelvinator gasket perfectly. It was made by Gemline, in Garden Grove CA. The part number on the box is: 5451-50 GREY. It came in a 50 foot roll, they just gave me the roll, and told me to bring back what I did not use. As far as racks go, I have cut down used racks many times, for the problem of missing racks in used fridges. All one needs is a tape measure and a hack saw. I would bet that the power cord running into the back wall on your fridge is brittle as hell too. It can be changed from inside the back wall, but it takes a bit of work. I loosened the condenser, and carefully pulled it back. Removed the back cover, and removed enough insulation that I could reach down in there, and fish the new power cord through, and solder it in place. It was not a pleasant job, but for safety sake, was needed. I would keep that Kelvinator, if I were you. They are wonderful fridge, and have such a great classic look with the fancy chrome details on the door.

 

[polkanut]

Rick,

Your '49 Kelvinator is exactly like the one my Aunt Alvera & Uncle Eldor had.  It moved with them when they moved from the farm into the new house they built in town in 1960.  It was still going strong when the house was sold in the early 1990's.

 

[circlew]

Looks very nice

It reminds me of the old Kelvinator we had in our basement for a few years. My dad bought it used sometime around 1970, but it quit about '77 or so, and was replaced with a '47 Frigidaire. I still have that one, but want to get rid of it.

 

[goatfarmer]

Looks good, Rick!

I'm betting that Hotpoint was a bear to remove!

 

[rickr]

Thanks guys!

I am very satisfied with the way this refrigerator turned out. Never thought painting with a roller could look so good.

Kenny, I always remove the doors and racks before moving a heavy old fridge. Anything to help lighten the weight. Surprisingly, the Hotpoint did not seem as heavy as the Kelvinator. Even the empty door of that Kelvinator is heavy as hell! I stripped the door out, removed all the latch, handle, trim, from the door, and carried it outside to sand it. (rest of fridge I hand sanded in the basement) That stripped out door was still heavy as hell. I do not know what gauge of steel they used to build these fridges, but I can tell you that it is much heavier than what GE used. I have had both my 48 GE apart, and this Kelvy, so I know for sure. They must have used the same gauge of steel, as what they were building 1940's Nash cars out of! No wonder the company went "belly up"

 

[stan]

Paint looks great!

I'm curious about the paint?
You used oil based rustoleum enamel, thinned with acetone ?
Hope you won't mind my asking, but in what ratio.
Did u need to wet sand and recoat?
I've used Resteum oli based for similar projects, but I thinned very little with mineral spirits. And a high density foam roller

 

[rickr]

Thinning oil base paint

Hi Stan! I did not measure or anything. I simply added the acetone to the paint, while it was in the roller pan, to the desired consistency. The label on the can states not to thin over 5% so I was nowhere near that. One thing is, the acetone evaporates very quickly in an open roller pan, so I would add a bit more paint, and more acetone as I went along. One can tell when too much of the acetone has evaporated, by how the paint is thickening. The foam roller is a bit tricky. Do not use any pressure, or you will get bubbles, big time. A very light coat is the way to apply this paint. That said, I did used a quart and a half, total, for this job. I did three coats on the fridge, and waited appx 24 hours between coats. I did not sand between the coats, as the instructions did not require to do so.

Perhaps Kenny can chime in on this subject. He has used, and recommended this method many times, while refinishing used appliances. This was my first time painting an appliance by hand, although I have used oil based enamel many times for other purposes. I feel the results are satisfactory, for the costs and work involved for this project.

 

[goatfarmer]

Many light coats, I thin the paint so it flows together, and roller marks disappear. A little thicker than water. And doing textured door refrigerators sure helps!

 

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