Painting Door of 1959 Frigidaire Deluxe fridge (D-13-59)

[cspetros]

Hey everyone! I’ve mostly been silent on here and enjoying reading everyone else’s posts, but I finally have a question that I haven’t been able to find an answer to via this site’s search.

Last year, I found this 1959 Frigidaire Deluxe set (see pic) in North Wales, Pennsylvania. I brought them home (Portsmouth, VA) and restored the range. As for the refrigerator, the upper portion of the door has a lacework pattern that is “embossed”. The pattern is raised up in bare metal lines, whereas the background is painted turquoise. Some of the paint near the handle has worn down to the metal, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to repaint and still keep the embossed lacework design. At first I thought masking fluid might do the trick, but that method isn’t detailed enough for the super thin lines.
The lacework is also on the bottom drawer of my range and the kick plate (not pictured) of the refrigerator.

Does anyone have any experience, ideas, or advice on how to go about this? Thanks![this post was last edited: 8/13/2020-00:08]

 

[sfh074]

The door is embossed .....

But they are not bare metal. The door was painted and then a hard rubber roller with accent paint was rolled over the embossing to highlight the pattern. The same technique used in silk screening. Look up silk screening on youtube and pay attention to how they pick up paint on the hard rubber roller. Then you will lightly roll the roller over the top of the embossing to apply paint just to the top of the embossed pattern. You can pick up a J-roller from home depot in the laminate section. They are used to press down formica, but people still use them for applying paint to embossed patterns. You'll have to take the door to an automotive body supply shop and have them color match the turquoise. Some places can even put the paint in a rattle can for a few dollars extra so it makes it a snap to spray. Ask them to color match using acrylic enamel, and not the polyurethane formula that they default to. Acrylic enamel is more forgiving paint for the novice painter.

Bud - Atlanta

 

[cspetros]

Thanks Bud!

You’re right! I had no clue how they were able to accomplish this but it’s definitely as you describe. I already have color matched enamel for a spray gun that I’ll use. Will put up some pics of the final result when I get it done. Thanks again!

 

[sfh074]

Awesome .....

and good with your project!

 

[mattl]

Don't know if  agree about the doors being twice painted.  I just looked at my '59 Custom Imperial range drawer and the pattern is defiantly bare metal.  Does not appear to be anything rolled over the raised pattern.

 

[sfh074]

Hmmmmm ....

is the door made out of aluminum or an aluminum skin that is embossed? That would make more sense than a delicate pattern embossed into steel. Can't imagine this being the case on steel because of rusting, but on an aluminum panel that was first clear anodized, then painted. Once the paint is removed from the embossing, the exposed anodized aluminum would remain nice without oxidizing. Can you verify if the embossed detail panel is actually aluminum?

 

[mattl]

I am almost 100% certain my range drawer front is aluminum.

 

[circlew]

I'm quite certain those "filigree" pattern parts are an overlay that is attached to the actual steel door panel. In the picture of the refrigerator above, it appears that the panel is held on by the trim strips at the bottom and top of the decorative section. It also looks like there is slightly less clearance to the cabinet side at the top area than in the lower part.

It would make sense that the decorative sections would be separate panels, as the less expensive models were plain. It would have cost Frigidaire a lot less to do this than to make two different doors.

 

[sfh074]

So .....

it sounds like it is an aluminum decorative panel over the steel door.

Two options? Either ..... paint the panel and after it drys, carefully block sand the top of the embossing with a very fine paper to remove just the turquoise paint. Or, apply an aluminum colored paint as I described previously after turquoise is dry. I can't imagine the factory masked off all that embossing when spraying the turquoise. But rather had some quick process to remove the paint from the embossing after painting. Any other ideas?