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Thread Number: 43482
/ Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
WOW....polishing a Kirby is a pain this arse. |
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Post# 454139 , Reply# 1 6/27/2022 at 13:41 (669 days old) by myvacsrock  (USA) |
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Two words: wet sanding It’s the only way | ||
| Post# 454142 , Reply# 2 6/27/2022 at 14:29 (669 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA) | ||
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| Post# 454144 , Reply# 3 6/27/2022 at 15:47 (669 days old) by Bimmer740 (Long Island, New York) | ||
What is the best way to protect the finish once it has been polished? I just had my Diamond Edition rebuilt by the factory and I'd like to preserve the mirror like shine as long as possible. I've owned it since new and periodically polished it with Flitz so it never looked bad, but it wasn't perfect. I'm wondering if I can use a wax or ceramic sealant on it?
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| Post# 454146 , Reply# 4 6/27/2022 at 16:29 (669 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
" it probably would have been easier to just buy new metal covers and be done with it. "
And then it would oxidize again and you'd be in the same situation again, and then you will have just been wasting money. If you are seeing an oxidation in the metal between the exposed metal and the metal behind the bumpers, then you are not polishing it right, and it should not take 3 hours. An hour at most if you are really slow at it. These two videos were helpful to me, and I bought an ancient Sears & Roebuck table sander/polisher off eBay to perform the work. Also those covid face shields are very helpful to protect your eyes from compound splatter, metal dust, and polishing wheel fluff. | ||
| Post# 454147 , Reply# 5 6/27/2022 at 16:33 (669 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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| Post# 454156 , Reply# 6 6/27/2022 at 19:52 (669 days old) by Rowdy141 (United Kingdom) | ||
To answer your question regarding preserving the finish;
I'd apply a good automotive liquid wax polish, one which is high in carnauba wax. Carnauba is one of the hardest waxes, when dry. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. It'll reduce oxidation, preserve the shine, and protect against bumps to some degree. I use it all over the plastic trim, the flex, and bumpers too. Just keep re-waxing the outside surfaces every now & then, as you would a classic car that has shiny paintwork. Oh, and I never use crystallized shampoo, dry foam, or Shake'n'Vac... to keep the inside corrosion free too. | ||
| Post# 454214 , Reply# 10 6/29/2022 at 11:02 (667 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina) | ||
Labor of Love...
I've never really had any desire to make a machine look perfect but shining one up, for me, is a labor of love and I really have to be in the right frame of mind for it. It usually takes me an afternoon to dismantle everything and polish it up by hand. I use a combination of Mother's and Never-Dull. Somehow, the two seem to have a synergistic effect.
I've got a couple of two-sided bench grinders with grinding wheels on both sides. I really need to change one of them over for a buffing wheel. | ||
| Post# 454513 , Reply# 11 7/6/2022 at 21:42 (660 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell ) | ||
Low quality aluminum like what kirbys are made out of is absolutely a pain to work with! It would also seem the alloy changes once you get to the later generation series. Seems to get softer so I'm not sure what they added to it but it's not great.
I personally like to start with the belt grinder go up to a polisher with some rouge and finish up with a wet sand by hand. The average Kirby takes about 2 hours to do. | ||
| Post# 454599 , Reply# 12 7/9/2022 at 00:02 (657 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah) | ||
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| Post# 454623 , Reply# 13 7/9/2022 at 22:19 (657 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA) | ||
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| Post# 454629 , Reply# 14 7/10/2022 at 00:31 (656 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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