Is there a good source for Maytag pushbuttons?

[philr]

The pushbuttons on both of my Maytag A-806 washers are yellowed and faded. 

 

The buttons on the second washer are worse (and it needs to be cleaned too!) but I'd like to get replacement buttons for both! 

 

So far, I was able to get one set of wash/rinse temp buttons in their package but already a bit yellow and a used water level switch with still readable letters but I'd like to get the speed buttons as well and x2 would be better!

 

[tennblondie78]

Let me know

if your console has vertical or horizontal shafts. I have a brand new set of horizontal shaft water level buttons that are yours if you can use them... I have also been looking for buttons for my A806, and finding them pristine white will be extremely hard to do. They yellow even in the packaging over time. It's just the plastic they were made of. You could try retrobrite on them and see if it helps. I actually soaked some of mine in peroxide for a week and it lightened them some, but not back to snow white.

 

[launderess]

EBay

NOS sets of buttons and or parted out spares pop up there often enough. You may have to dig through listings as not all sellers know what they've got and or do not list with exact titles. That is you may find "NOS Maytag part" instead of "NOS Maytag push button.....".

 

[philr]

I wasn't even aware that there were vertical and horizontal shafts. I hope I have ordered the correct ones!

 

[tennblondie78]

Yep...

I didn't either until these buttons came... I learned the hard way!

 

[philr]

I just checked both of my washers and the 1974 A806 has all vertical shafts. The 1972 A-806 one has horizontal shafts only for the water level.

 

So I could use your buttons. I can buy them from you as I would have bought a set anyway! I'll send you a PM! 

 

 

 

[jetcone]

Bastards at Maytag

for swopping out vertical vs horizontal shafts !!

 

this is just what I mean about the "devil in doctrine " !!

 

 

 

[beekeyknee]

Do you have one of these? If you have a steady hand, some paint to match and a fine tipped artist brush you might be able to fix them yourself. First you should clean the switches in kerosene let dry overnight, then spray down with Tri-flow spray and blow out with an air compressor. After all the lube is off the buttons you could give it a go. I'm going to try. You can't do that to the water level switch of course, but you could clean it well and lubricate it's mechanics with a small brush and some grease before painting the buttons. It's worth a try. All that can happen if it doesn't turn out well is just wipe it off.[this post was last edited: 6/23/2014-23:08]

 

[beekeyknee]

And while you have those buttons out of there you can take that control console off of there and paint it. It looks bad. I wasn't going to show anyone this until I got both washer and dryer done, but duty calls. See what you think.

Before...

 

[beekeyknee]

After...

 

[bajaespuma]

What paint did you use for that beautiful job?

Also, does the kerosene clean the yellow discoloring on the white button plastic? Does anything?

 

[frigilux]

Great job, Brian! Thanks for sharing your photos. The magnifying glass gadget in Reply #7 looks like one of the retro-futuristic gizmos from the movie Brazil![this post was last edited: 6/24/2014-08:26]

 

[tennblondie78]

Google Retrobrite... That will correct yellowing, but I don't know what it will do to the black paint. I soaked some of my buttons in straight peroxide for a week and they lightened, but not to pristine white.

 

[moparwash]

3-d printing?

That could be the answer to making these and other plastic parts?

 

[mrb627]

Well, I had no idea...

That there was a difference. Wonder why Maytag did this. Did they change sources of switches at some point?

Malcolm

 

[ken]

Ive taken yellowed plastic handles from a fridge/freezer and soaked overnight in bleach in a ziploc bag. Came out nice and white. Will say though most of the yellow was from cigarette smoke. But nothing I tried before the bleach worked.

 

[beekeyknee]

Ken,

Believe it or not, the paint I used for that control panel is an off the shelf can of spray paint from O'Reilly Automotive. I was scanning the paint shelves for a color match and I spotted a color that looked like it might be right. It was only $3.00 and some odd cents. I did a test spot on a piece of newspaper and concluded it was good enough for me. In fact I think I like it better and it's much more durable. It's a Honda car color. A girl I know had a car that was that color. There was only one can of it, so I snatched it up. I assume there's more available. It's BHA0905 Avignon Blue Met (B26M) Replaces 8800905 UPC 2691671531, just in case you can't read the label.

The kerosene doesn't do anything for the yellowing of the buttons. I just suggested it as a treatment to clean old switches before putting before putting them back into use. That plus the lubrication with Tri-flow has never let me down.

I guess Retrobrite is the way to go currently, but I haven't tried it yet.

3D printing will probably be the wave of the future, but the average bear doesn't have access to that technology yet. At least I don't.

We need a replicator like on Star Trek. Then we could replicate buttons. Or whole new machines and everything else to go with them. Wouldn't that be something?

B.

 

[mistereric]

I'm soaking some Matytag buttons in Retrobright at the moment. They're harder to bleach out than the old computer components. We'll see how far I get. I suspect I'll see the same results as Stephanie.