<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Back in 2017 I started a search for the model Frigidaire washer that my grandmother had all the years that I was growing up. She bought it new in 1962 and it lasted till 1987. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">You know how it goes, you don't miss something until its gone. Well for the last 33 years I thought of that washing machine and I really wanted one to relive those old memories. In 2017 I found 2 of these machines and both were in poor condition. For the better part of 2+ years now I have been restoring them into one really nice machine. As usual with all my restoration projects, I wanted to restore this machine to as nearly new as possible, as close to like I had walked into the showroom in 1962 and zapped it back to 2020. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">As most of you know, I'm the guy who started this quest but had no way of getting fresh rubber agitator parts for this machine. If I couldn't have fresh rubber parts for this machine then I wasn't even going to start this project because the money shot is what counts the most, right?! </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">So I started making my own. The cap, the lint and circulator rings and then the energy ring. I then got the wild hair to make molds for all the Frigidaire agitator rubber parts for machines from 1947 thru 1962, which I did. But that was a big side track from the WDA-62 restoration, however I have slowly gotten back on track. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another part that was in terrible shape was the clear plastic timer knob. I ended up making a mold for that part as well and reproduced it to perfection. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The only other part that was a big road block to this project was the control panel background applique. The original was silk-screened over 2 pieces of brushed aluminum and even I had no way of reproducing that! Silk screening?? No one does that anymore in this digital age. BUT ..... I went on a search to find a way to have this background reproduced .... and I found it. The funny thing, I found a company who can do this and they were only 20 miles north of me.</span>
[COLOR=#ff0000; font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif]This thread will be an ongoing post of pictures that show this restoration. I continually took pictures as I made progress but gathering them and posting them here will be a process in itself.[/COLOR][COLOR=#ff0000; font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt] Enjoy![/COLOR]
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">To start off the first 3 pics are of the control panel applique that I had made. The trick is to take the old panel and scan it on a flat bed scanner. This took a bit of work to scan each panel in 2 sections and then join them back together in Photoshop. Once you have the entire panel, next fix all the defects and color correct the old paint. The panel I had to work from spent a few years in direct sunlight and had darkened. But an easy thing to fix in Photoshop. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The first 2 pics show the original panel on the bottom and the new panel on top. The panel on top, I reused the brushed aluminum pieces from the 2nd donor machine and applied the new "printed" appliques that I had made. These printed appliques are an industrial process and even come with a 20 year warranty and are UV tolerant. This process is mostly used for outdoor signage and is waterproof as well! Sorry for the photo quality. The pics don't do these justice. The overhead lighting sucked.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pic 3 is the applique as received from the printer for the matching dryer (DCA-62). The dryer is in the queue for restoration once the washer is done! Pic 4 shows contrast of the new vs the damaged original paint.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bud - Atlanta</span>
[this post was last edited: 3/9/2020-23:24]
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Back in 2017 I started a search for the model Frigidaire washer that my grandmother had all the years that I was growing up. She bought it new in 1962 and it lasted till 1987. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">You know how it goes, you don't miss something until its gone. Well for the last 33 years I thought of that washing machine and I really wanted one to relive those old memories. In 2017 I found 2 of these machines and both were in poor condition. For the better part of 2+ years now I have been restoring them into one really nice machine. As usual with all my restoration projects, I wanted to restore this machine to as nearly new as possible, as close to like I had walked into the showroom in 1962 and zapped it back to 2020. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">As most of you know, I'm the guy who started this quest but had no way of getting fresh rubber agitator parts for this machine. If I couldn't have fresh rubber parts for this machine then I wasn't even going to start this project because the money shot is what counts the most, right?! </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">So I started making my own. The cap, the lint and circulator rings and then the energy ring. I then got the wild hair to make molds for all the Frigidaire agitator rubber parts for machines from 1947 thru 1962, which I did. But that was a big side track from the WDA-62 restoration, however I have slowly gotten back on track. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another part that was in terrible shape was the clear plastic timer knob. I ended up making a mold for that part as well and reproduced it to perfection. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The only other part that was a big road block to this project was the control panel background applique. The original was silk-screened over 2 pieces of brushed aluminum and even I had no way of reproducing that! Silk screening?? No one does that anymore in this digital age. BUT ..... I went on a search to find a way to have this background reproduced .... and I found it. The funny thing, I found a company who can do this and they were only 20 miles north of me.</span>
[COLOR=#ff0000; font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif]This thread will be an ongoing post of pictures that show this restoration. I continually took pictures as I made progress but gathering them and posting them here will be a process in itself.[/COLOR][COLOR=#ff0000; font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt] Enjoy![/COLOR]
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">To start off the first 3 pics are of the control panel applique that I had made. The trick is to take the old panel and scan it on a flat bed scanner. This took a bit of work to scan each panel in 2 sections and then join them back together in Photoshop. Once you have the entire panel, next fix all the defects and color correct the old paint. The panel I had to work from spent a few years in direct sunlight and had darkened. But an easy thing to fix in Photoshop. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The first 2 pics show the original panel on the bottom and the new panel on top. The panel on top, I reused the brushed aluminum pieces from the 2nd donor machine and applied the new "printed" appliques that I had made. These printed appliques are an industrial process and even come with a 20 year warranty and are UV tolerant. This process is mostly used for outdoor signage and is waterproof as well! Sorry for the photo quality. The pics don't do these justice. The overhead lighting sucked.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pic 3 is the applique as received from the printer for the matching dryer (DCA-62). The dryer is in the queue for restoration once the washer is done! Pic 4 shows contrast of the new vs the damaged original paint.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bud - Atlanta</span>
[this post was last edited: 3/9/2020-23:24]
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