Vintage Coldspot Refrigerator
Our beautiful little powerhouse refrigerator is back in business as of Memorial Day 2018. Works like a champ! After a grueling 7 hour drive down with flying rocks, traffic issues and a challenging offload in a heavy drizzle, we had the fridge installed & operating by 10 pm. It held its temperature perfectly and was a breeze to defrost after 8 days. FYI, the compressor was stamped January 7, 1953. Ken remembers its installation! This refrigerator was built to last and after this restoration, we expect it to outlive us!
Before & during rehab
We debated paint colors a lot. Susan painted the fridge coppertone brown in the '70s per Barbara's request (it hides) but we all felt the original white was classic. We finally settled on a 50/50 white/almond mix of Rustoleum Gloss Protective Enamel. We sprayed 2 coats of primer all over & 4 topcoats on the body, 6 on the door. This paint job should hold up for a while! Before stripping, it looked like the lower panels were rusting - after, we found no rust at all.
Update - Note #3 Jan 2, 2018 We had the fridge running for 3 weeks at home & it held temperature beautifully. It used 0.85 kWh per day, 310 kWh/year or about $53/year at our rates. Few new ones can boast that kind of efficiency. We are planning to paint it this winter: a half-tone shade of the brown handle/insignia highlight. Please contact me (Carol) if you want to be part of the decision! Also, see note #2 below.
Update - Note #2 Dec 7, 2017 The refrigerator is home with us after repair of the cold control for $146 - repaired with NOS (New Old Stock) mechanism, kept original dial. Keith & I spent some quality time with it: cleaned & polished inside & out, wire-brushed the racks & painted them ($15) and checked & secured all mechanical & electrical parts. The mold & rust stains are conquered and it is sparkling. We got quotes to paint it: $400-$600 for exterior, $150 to powder-coat racks (now moot, our own elbow grease was enough!). A replacement fridge would be $800 for a boxy apt fridge up to $2000 for a vintage-look SMEG. We think this little workhorse fridge is the right one for the cabin & is worth restoration. We would like to paint it ourselves and would welcome input - opinions or $$ - to buy a spray rig ($200) + paint ($20-40) & subsidize repairs. The spray rig would work for the log rehab, too. Any comments are very welcome and will carry great weight. Please let us know your opinion!!!!!
Note #1 Nov 7, 2017
Our beloved refrigerator has been working like a champ for years after a touch of refurbishing - note new power cord and a painted back-drop to highlight the handle & insignia (& hide the epoxy boogers from past years). We also straightened the fins, balanced it so the door would behave, checked all connections and thoroughly cleaned & polished it inside & out. However, this summer the "Cold Control" apparently broke. It wouldn't shut off during our Oct visit. We hauled the fridge home, not knowing if the problem was terminal. As of 11/7/17, it looks like we can repair it. Since it is here, we could paint it - any opinions?