Can these GE cabinets be saved?

[spacepig]

I got these original GE cabinets, and now I don't know what to do with them. They were all original turquoise, but it looks like the base cabinets were repainted white. The paint job is fairly decent, but there are a few spots where they join, as well as some dings on the lazy Susans, that show the original turquoise showing through.

The upper cabinets are fairly rusty and several have some white overspray on them. I tackled the doors on one of them and was able to get a lot of the rust off (see last picture), but am not sure if I can get the white overspray off without damaging the original turquoise underneath. Has anyone done this before?

 

[pulltostart]

Lots of stuff to clean up there...  Have you considered cleaning them up and just re-spraying them turquoise?

 

lawrence

 

[funktionalart]

There are several options~

For the overspray, depending on how bad / thick it is, I would start with trying out automotive rubbing compound. It will usually cut through that stuff with some success, depending on the amount of pressure you apply and how aggressively you tackle it. The stuff WILL cut/burn through the turquoise you are trying to save if you go at it too hard, though.

Second option, and I don't recommend it if you're not used to using it--would be a conservative application of lacquer thinner on a rag and use ONLY on the areas with overspray. Left on too wet, or for too long, and you are quickly going to be down to bare metal.

That said, I see quite a bit of staining/rusting in the turquoise. That will never fully come out and will bother you every time you look at them. Take a drawer or door front down and get a proper color match done and respray. It's probably the only way you will ever be satisfied with the outcome….and those cabinets will look great again for another 60 years.

 

[circlew]

Paint color code

The DuPont color code for GE Turquoise Green is 72949. This is in their automotive paint line.

 

[spacepig]

Thank you everyone for your replies and suggestions. While I think I would be able to get the vast majority of the rust off on some, there still seems to be some sort of discoloration. I mostly used baking soda and water, and a little bit of Turtle Wax chrome polish, but that's it. There may be other things out there that would do a better job, but chances are they won't return to their original glory.

With that being said, I have considered repainting them (and I feel almost sacrilegious for saying it), but in white. While I love the look of a solid turquoise kitchen, I'm afraid Estelle (my stove) would get lost in the sea of turquoise, and I really want her to be the centerpiece and have the eye drawn to her. I would probably keep the insides original turquoise as they are actually in excellent shape and all have the original wire shelves. Of course, none of this happening any time soon, so there is plenty of time to consider options.

Thanks for the paint color code! I did buy an old doctor's office metal cabinet that I want to convert to a mini mobile kitchen island, and would like to paint it to match (yet another project that won't be finished any time soon)

 

[tomturbomatic]

An auto body shop would be able to put them in the glass bead booth and remove the old paint and rust and then paint them under professional conditions to where they would look like new.