Frigidaire Gasket odyssey

[northwesty]

Well, I have read the thread on the poor 60s kitchen that looks like it is going to be demolished, but here is a happy note – here is a vintage kitchen I am working on for a nice lady and she’s going totally retro. Except for the ceiling lights this is being restored to it’s 1947 glory. Just thought I would share.

 

[northwesty]

Talk about period perfect, I think this is about a 1947 Frigidaire refrigerator she bought for the kitchen. That’s an early 50s Hotpoint stove next to it. Anyway I am getting known around here for these vintage appliances so she asked me if I could work on it while I was here. I figure I’ve got a certain skill level so I said sure!

 

[northwesty]

Here is the problem. The fridge works fine but the gasket has the consistency of glass and doesn’t seal. It really is coming apart so the fridge basically is partially open all the time. Actually I thought this would be kind of a simple fix really.

 

[northwesty]

Well when I cracked this open I was amazed to find the huge Frigidaire gasket actually held the door together! The front of the door set in a channel with no screws or anything else. Well I was just going to glue on some new weather stripping and door gasket material I thought matched, but this wouldn’t hold this heavy panel in place. Actually I’m not too sure of Frigidaire’s engineering on this point…

 

[northwesty]

Here is the old insulation I took out. I decided to replace it with some rigid Styrofoam insulation and glue the door together. That way the gasket material I had would stay put.

 

[northwesty]

Here is the door being glued down. This project is getting a little more involved that I first thought...

 

[northwesty]

Here is some of the process of painfully reproducing the gasket look. This is a variety of door threshold material I picked up at the local hardware store. (Needless to say any appliance store, even the antique appliance places, don’t have anything that works, it’s all discontinued, I looked) Now I have to carefully cut out the part that resembles the original gasket.

 

[gredmondson]

That was interesting. Thanks for sharing it.
George

 

[northwesty]

I have to clean up the back so it will lay flat, so without scuffing the “front” I sand the back.

 

[northwesty]

I’m using Liquid Nails clear, hopefully it will hold. Its pretty heavy duty and its clear and you can clean up
the oozing out extra with mineral spirits.

 

[northwesty]

Here is notching the gasket like the original. This is pretty tricky – I ruined a few before getting one that was acceptable.

 

[northwesty]

Here is the gasket in place. BTW the original gasket fit so tight this one actually has to have almost the exact profile of it – this is the second go-round I’ve done! I think it is a reasonable facsimile of the original.

 

[DADoES]

Fantastic!

 

[perc-o-prince]

WOW!!!

Great job!! I LOVE that kitchen Please post a picture of the finished project.

Rich

 

[charbee]

Fantastic job on that gasket. We have a 1949 Westinghouse fridge that needs the same treatment. I cobbled together something "that would hold for awhile" a few years back that is nearing the end of its life. Thanks for the inspiration!

And yes, please share photos of the finished product!

 

[goatfarmer]

Nice job! I hope you were well paid for all that work!

kennyGF

 

[mickeyd]

the shiny blood orange scarlet of the cabinet interiors has

and the precision of the gasket cut has me green with envy--the good kind.

Frigidaire forever!!

You're amazing.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Very Impressive

Mr. V. !!!!!!

I see the Suburban with a sign on both doors.
"Brians Precise Restorations"

 

[danemodsandy]

Thought on Adhesive:

I don't know if it would have worked for this particular application (you mentioned that the gasket was holding the inner panel of the door in place), but something I've used with success on tricky adhesive situations is automotive emblem tape, available at auto parts stores. It's a double-sided black foam tape, but with a much more powerful adhesive than the usual double-sided tape stickum (after all, it's meant to hold car trim on in summer heat, winter ice and snow, etc.). There's no real curing or drying time- once you stick it, it's set.

The major advantage it has for me is that it can be removed fairly easily when it (or whatever it's holding in place) reaches the end of its service life. A little WD-40 and a plastic scraper gets it. It's expensive, but it has saved my noogies more times than I care to tell you. Anyway, I thought I'd share that with you, in case it might make for an easier job another time.