RUSTED 1950'S KENMORE WASHER - PRESCOTT

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We Had One....

That's the second washer I remember from when I was a kid. We started out with a rubber-tub Bendix, which my mother termed "hateful," and when it gave trouble, my dad rustled up one of these Kenmores. Later, the matching dryer turned up. They served us for quite a long time.

One of our members here has a beautifully restored pair that makes me sigh for the good old days....

The ad's copy makes me snicker:

"Old kenmore washing machine un sure if it works haven't messed with it"

1) If you'll think about it, you have excellent reason to suspect it doesn't work.

2) If leaving it outdoors for several decades is not "messing with it," I don't know what is.
 
That picture sure looks familiar...

<span style="font-size: medium;">If memory serves me, that very same washer was offered before...but with a much higher price. For something that has been left outside for so long, the control knobs still look pretty shiny. </span>
 
Yes, poor thing, but $35.   They're basically giving it to you.

 

Has anyone else noticed the number of members that seem to exist just to bitch about the price of things?  These appliances hardly have a "blue book" value to go by.  Go make an offer, anything other than to whine about it being too expensive or too far.
 
Another barn or shed find.Again,poor thing.If the seller wanted to sell it-why not store it in a more suitable place?Lets see-do YOU pay the $35 or does the "seller" pay it to you to take it?
 
We have seen some amazing restorations around here. Someone may need the lid or the chrome.  Sidebar:  In the posters ad is the "box" that lets you send the seller a note via craigslist.  Is there someway to send a seller a note, if the box is not there? I am still having trouble with my craigslist messages, they comeback as an error. alr2903
 
Old Kenmore Washer

It probably has some good parts, the trim on many of these older appliances was like the trim on older cars, it is polished SS and it will basically never deteriorate in many lifetimes. From the look of the picture their may be some other good stuff around.

 

And yes I agree Travis all this whining about prices, $35 is not much above scrap price, it makes this group look very unprofessional. If you think that a price is too high either keep it to yourself or contact the seller and make an offer, whining about it does no one any good.
 
HEY COMBO52..

I sent you an email sometime last week concerning your offer for the connector for the Lady K electronic circuit board, did you get it?
also updated the profile, my email works too..
David
 
It is located 70 miles north of me. As much as I would like to go get it for myself to eventually restore, I find that I have way too many projects on the to do list and not enough time or money. Plus I think I would get shot if I were to bring it home. If anyone is interested in it, I will go pick it up for them. I would just ask for the price of fuel. Hopefully someone can save it or at least get it for parts to save another machine.
 
Hi. Countryford-thanks for clearing that up..

The Location I mean, as when I clicked on Prescott in the ad,
I saw NM,CA,AZ,nevada showing up also.

But the real reason for this query is that if the machine was where I am-
Hot, tropical and HUMID! And over dirt that 'surface rust' would be straight thru to the inside because of the moisture generated by organisms in the dirt forming dew and condensation especially at night on the inside of appliances and old vehicles. The resto guys here always say store your project over concrete never over soil.

But my question to you 'desert guys' is if the porcelain is 'bonded' to the bare metal at high temps (1500F??) And supposed to exhibit 'glass' type properties to a point, why would the porcelain coated cabinets show that uniformity in outside surface rust where chemicals like bleach were not likely to be in contact there.

I know bleach attacks porcelain and rubber,plastics,iron, stainless steel etc
I had to sand down the rust pinholes in both lkm electronic cabinets to shiny metal in places and even in spots on the lids too.
Is it because UV light also deteriorates porcelain just like paint?
I know paint is a porous medium but does porcelain
Also have those microscopic pores only smaller?
And I've also encountered a light film of a 'clear' grease on the inside cabinet sides that ages and looks like 'surface rust' up until
The power wire brush gets to it leaving swirl marks but no 'rust' underneath.
And the porcelain coating was pretty thick too(lotsa dust).

I happen to like the frogeye style, don't have one yet as I'm talking to a seller of '74 km washer with blistered paint console and the seller seems to have gone missing just before the superbowl. after agreeing on the price..

So to wrap up this longwinded post, if I should tackle a project like this with say 3 layers of porcelain and extensive cabinet surface rust,
Would the following be plausible?
Brush paint cabinet minus trim with light coat Por15? Over original porcelain coating
When fully dry (a week or two)then Roller brush with Rustoleum fish oil based paint-may not get a fully smooth finish like porcelain ..
 
David - Porcelain is essentially glass and isn't subject to fading or normal rust the way paint is, so the fact that the cabinet is rusted this way leads me to believe it's painted. When rust forms on a porcelain coated surface it forms under the porcelain, causing it to crack and flake off. The rust generally begins to form at a point were the cabinet was damaged or dented, or it can form on the backside of the metal and work its way through. So I'd be really surprised if someone familiar with this model were to say it was coated in porcelain.
 
I agree that the cabinet was probably painted.

 

This little Kenmore may at least have some usable parts that are worth the $35 asking price, but the sight of that rusty cabinet could mean it will continue spending its retirement in Preskit.
 
Porcelain/Paint

First, let me say that our '51 Kenmore pair was painted. I specifically remember that because our washer's top got into some rust problems, which were "corrected" with a bit of sanding and some spray paint applied by my Mom.

But it should also be noted that for some years, porcelain finishes were available on Kenmore laundry appliances, meaning top and cabinet, like Frigidaire did. I have no idea if that applied during the time this washer was produced, though.
 
Well Guys thanks

For taking the time to clear that up.

My bad, I always assumed that the 50's 60's kms were 3 layered porcelain, then 2 layer then dumbed down to paint/porcelain then paint in the 80s. And now plastic!

Now this info puts the frogeye makeover in a different light, as surface rust paint is a very do-able project aka sweep grit blast to near white finish or even better soda-blast the paint off (a lot less heat generation that distorts sheet panels when using grit and more eco-friendly)

Hmm, things that make you say hhhhmmmmm!
Ok,so let me throw this out then..

If the trim is in fact stainless as a member mentioned earlier,
Are the dials stainless too or chrome plated potmetal??

I understand they're 2 types of potmetal around, a high grade type with a high aluminum content and the one that has so much zinc that the chrome starts pitting after a couple years time?

Btw is this a bolt down machine or does it have the split black ball/rod suspension like in the 70s beltdrive machines?
 
The Scoop!

All bright trim on these babies was plated pot-metal, as I recall. Including the knobs and the dial escutcheons. What grade of pot metal was involved, I do not know. I seem to remember some blistering on the washer's "Kenmore" badge on the front, where top and cabinet came together. However, these were Georgia machines, in a basement, which means the humidity level was slightly higher than you'd find at the bottom of the ocean. Machines in a drier climate (which would not be hard to find) would hopefully have fared better.

They were not bolt-down machines; they had a suspension. Whether it was the type you mention is for others to answer; I'm telling you what I remember about machines we got rid of in 1965. And yes, I was a mere child at the time. ;-)
 
And Oh, Yeah - Paging Northwesty!

The SOURCE on these machines would be Brian, a.k.a. Northwesty, who has a beautifully restored pair that I understand he uses as drivers - they're not collection queens.

If Brian comes forward, I'm sure he can answer most any question you have. Using the Searchalator will turn up some of his posts, and there are pictures to die for in some of them.

Until Brian surfaces, here's a May, 2012 thread about these washers, and one of the posts is from Brian, showing his impeccably restored set. Reply #24 is the one you are dying to see:

 
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