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Thread Number: 14459
Kirby Tradition like new rebuild and photo fun! |
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| Post# 152803 9/24/2011 at 02:06 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
This is my first solo project. I bought it off member Jayelux here for $20 which included all basic attachments, and original owner's manual!. Broke it down totally myself, cleaned, sanded, steel wooled, buffed and waxed it all myself. it originally had a bagged system and lexan fan. the bagged system and outer bag were donated to my friend's tradition he's gonna work on (and in great shape). I ordered a new replacement shake bag. it is an oem kirby bag for the trad, just newer material like the heritage series outer bags and works great. Also installed a metal fan from a dead parts classic omega that i have for my vac restoration business.
below is one before photo from jaylux showing the corrosion and weird discoloration on the nozzle. the others after after photos including some detail shots, and rarely photographed, in portable/canister mode. 
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| Post# 152804 , Reply# 1 9/24/2011 at 02:07 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152805 , Reply# 2 9/24/2011 at 02:09 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152806 , Reply# 3 9/24/2011 at 02:10 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152807 , Reply# 4 9/24/2011 at 02:11 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152808 , Reply# 5 9/24/2011 at 02:11 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152809 , Reply# 6 9/24/2011 at 02:12 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152810 , Reply# 7 9/24/2011 at 02:14 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152811 , Reply# 8 9/24/2011 at 02:15 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152812 , Reply# 9 9/24/2011 at 02:17 (4,591 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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Post# 152818 , Reply# 10 9/24/2011 at 03:47 (4,591 days old) by KirbyClassicIII  (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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| Post# 152828 , Reply# 11 9/24/2011 at 08:10 (4,591 days old) by Blackheart (North Dakota) | ||
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| Post# 152834 , Reply# 12 9/24/2011 at 08:43 (4,591 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.) | ||
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Fantastic job Will! How about a pic with the vac running in the carpet mode? | ||
| Post# 152843 , Reply# 14 9/24/2011 at 10:09 (4,591 days old) by kirbyvacuum (Long Island New York) | ||
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Beautiful job Hi Will Very nice job it must have taken you many hours to do such a WONDERFUL JOB. I hve Many Kirbys but not one Tradition i love the blue and the new bag. Good luck Doug | ||
| Post# 152900 , Reply# 16 9/24/2011 at 16:12 (4,590 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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ben the sale date was 11-12-79 and all that was on there was the dealer signature. whoever owned it never wrote thier name in it.
blackheart, i converted it to a shake bag. (i prefer them anyway) vac_whisperer : simple, sanding with various grits of sandpaper (320-2000) in a left to right then up and down as the grits change, 0 and 0000 steel wool. both with a mothers/mineral spirits mix. then of course, buffing with a polishing compound on a wheel. there is no other way to get rid of water spots or corrosion. a vibrating sander will get out the "coffee table gouges" then you wet sandpaper it as above. Will | ||
| Post# 152901 , Reply# 17 9/24/2011 at 16:16 (4,590 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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doug and everyone thanks for the very kind words. a like new kirby just looks great and i love it. it performs amazingly with the shake bag and metal fan.
doug, it took me about 10 hours including breaks to completely tear it down, clean of the rubber and plastic parts, as well as the metal finishing work, reassembly and waxing. Will | ||
| Post# 152942 , Reply# 18 9/24/2011 at 22:24 (4,590 days old) by JHGVac () | ||
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Hello Will, Did you remove the nozzle bumper for the polishing or just work around it? In 10 hours you did and amazing job. I would have guessed twice that! Joe | ||
| Post# 152945 , Reply# 19 9/24/2011 at 22:28 (4,590 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 152946 , Reply# 20 9/24/2011 at 22:29 (4,590 days old) by vac_whisperer () | ||
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And another question: How did you remove the bumper, and get it back on? | ||
| Post# 152947 , Reply# 21 9/24/2011 at 22:37 (4,590 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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there are two silver studs that hold the bumper on, on the back of the nozzle. removal is easy. putting it back on is a pain in the a$$. you have to stretch the slit over the circular stud and it takes quite a bit of effort to get the both on. but once you do, putting the rest of the bumper on isnt as hard. make sure you reattach both ends FIRST, then stretch the bumper around the front of the nozzle, or your kill yourself twice instead of just once.
Will | ||
| Post# 152952 , Reply# 22 9/24/2011 at 22:53 (4,590 days old) by vac_whisperer () | ||
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Makes sense. Now I just need to figure out an easy way to get the bag back on. HAha.
Well, time to turn in for the night. G'night all. | ||
| Post# 153131 , Reply# 24 9/25/2011 at 21:18 (4,589 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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dave the bag is $39.50 from "b0sslady2001" on ebay. has the "over 10 available" next to the buy it now. if you change the wheels, make sure to keep the wheel covers. kirby no longer makes the original "chrome" tradition wheel covers. also make sure to wetsand (i go from 320 up to 2000 grit) and steel wool (0 and 0000) both with mothers/mineral spirits combo before you put it to a wheel. of you'll kill yourself on the wheel.
will | ||
| Post# 153133 , Reply# 25 9/25/2011 at 21:24 (4,589 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH) | ||
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| Post# 153160 , Reply# 26 9/25/2011 at 23:32 (4,589 days old) by briguy (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
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Post# 153166 , Reply# 27 9/26/2011 at 01:39 (4,589 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640) |
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Impressive! | ||
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