Official Fridge Transformation Thread

[KCarGuy]

I get a kick out of everyone who talks about how the Older Fridges are an electrical drain and that they cost more to run each year...

...The new Fridges are boring and Ugly! They are built like ****! They cost way too much for the life that they have. Sure they are cheap to run!

I have a newer one in my Kitchen and that just fine.

But in my Garage, I have one from the 70's...and have now for 20 years!
Funny thing, I have gone through 2 in the house in the last 22 years.

So keep your boring, ugly, new, Low energy, cost way too much short life Fridges!
Make mine a Cool, Old, Constantly running, Got it for Free, Will run forever Fridge!
And I'll bet you that I am Money Ahead!!!!

You know what is a Fridge thats a waist of Money?.......
......An Empty One!!!

Keep restoring those old one guys!!!! And have a Cold One!

 

[customcab]

Here's mine & I don't want to hear how this is a outdated & a energy hog

Nice! I have a 1947 Philco that runs like a champ and I wouldn't trade it for a new stainless one. I hear that stuff all the time too.

 

[westex]

Here is my master piece. Logo is paint not sticker

 

[sscustom]

Here is my master piece with no paint

cool jd fridge some who drinks jd would def love this its that logo painted on?

 

[TimGrz]

Just a warning. Many of the refrigerators today have coolant lines going through the sides of them. You very well can make a refrigerator into a boat anchor with one misplaces screw.

/tg

 

[westex]

cool jd fridge some who drinks jd would def love this its that logo painted on?

Yes logo is painted on. I did drill in the side just the doors so no worry about the lines

 

[clkimmel]

How about this look

My wife just surprised me with one of these for my garage! I was only planning on a craigs lister to hold my beer

 

[bushpilot]

I transformed one a friend of mine gave me....I tell folks, if you dont like the outside...dont bother w/ whats INSIDE (funny no one ever complains about how ugly it is)...

 

[Sick Puppy]

My little mini fridge in the garage is starting to look like it needs a few GS and Stage 1 emblems.

Now, I'm no tree hugger. Who can be with a '70 big block, right? I suspect the disparity in energy costs between energy star and older models has a lot to do with the insulation and seals that are used to keep the cold in (or the hot out if you are a physics type).

Has anyone taken their fridge apart enough to see how well it is insulated? Perhaps a small investment in newer insulation technology would shift the energy difference closer to equal.

I read once that most fridges are replaced because of a bad door seal. Scrapping a fridge without recycling the refrigerant is also not very environmentally friendly.

I've wondered about this, and whether it is feasible to retrofit an existing fridge with a better motor, 'green' refridgerent, and better seals/insulation... probably not economic at this point, but it becomes relatively cheaper as time goes on... labour and disposal is what kills the deal at this point, fridges aren't as **** as restoring cars etc...

Not my fridge, this came up on trademe a while back:

Bellicose had a thread here about a fridge he's had a play with too:

"Bad taste" fridge by Bellicose

Okay... this isn't a Fridge but I re-insulated my Coke Machine - the insulation that came out was like matted dog hair vs. the new High efficiency insulation. I literally had to lay the box down and stand in the box and let it just slowly go down there just was NO room. It never bunched up as the box was going in - I taped the edges and it worked great. It's tight, its packed and it should hold a good temp.

I've since blasted then rubberized the bottom pan for moisture control - then added purple LED lights to each bottle rack. It should look good once I get the door painted and back on... I just primed the box this weekend. It will be Harley Orange, Black, and Aluminum Diamond Plate...

I for one look forward to seeing the finished product...

@HAMAR - love that blue!!

There was a fridge going here for free, at a street corner - front had been painted up to be a blackboard, which I thought was pretty cool...

 

[swamp-donkey]

Nothing too special just an old Westinghouse that will freeze your beverages if you set it above 2 on the dial (goes to 7). I want to eventually strip and redo it but I think that will come when I build my new garage.


And I saw someone post their old porcelain ice box so here's mine. Came out of my Grand Dads basement when he passed. My Dad (76 yrs old) can remember going to get ice blocks to put in the pan underneath when he was a young kid. I took it out of the basement where it had sat for who knows how long with paint splatters and whatnot all over it and redid the whole thing. Like the previous poster said it has now just become a storage unit, mostly for dry goods since we don't have a pantry but it works good for that and is a piece of family history that is a also a great conversation piece. Circa 1908.......

 

[Pharmteck]

I like stickers

 

[strnge]

Love the sticker fridge. I Have tons of automotive stickers, but cant seem to let myself cover my red fridge with them.

 

[D Force]

I got to post my refrigerator...one more time.

 

[nonhog]

D Force, is that Tool Kool? or home made? Looks real good either way.
I still have a toolkool kit somewhere in my shop. Paints probably all dried up.

 

[D Force]

D Force, is that Tool Kool? or home made? Looks real good either way.
I still have a toolkool kit somewhere in my shop. Paints probably all dried up.

Yes, it's custom made. I did get the inspiration from Cool Tool Refrigerator Kit. I thought I could do a better job and, IMO, I think mine is a little better looking. I wish I had the fake key lock fronts in that kit. If you don't need them any more, drop me a PM. I'm interested. I think this restoration ran about $175 or so.

 

[MN4x4]

I got a new-to-me fridge yesterday. It's exactly what I wanted (Sub-Zero Bottom Freezer) but it's maybe a little too fancy for my shop.

What would you do to it?

 

[JC23]

Paint that sucker within an inch of it's life!!!

 

[Grumpy365]

Here is my master piece. Logo is paint not sticker

Nice job. The legal department from Jack Daniels should be in touch shortly looking for their licensing fee.

 

[TWX]

I got a new-to-me fridge yesterday. It's exactly what I wanted (Sub-Zero Bottom Freezer) but it's maybe a little too fancy for my shop.

What would you do to it?

I would tell me where all of the #%&! knobs and other controls are.

We just bought a new house with a built in bottom-freeze subzero, vintage late seventies. It works, but I'm not sure of the controls yet. I've only gotten the fridge compartment down to about 43°F, and the freezer is at -5°F. I'd like to bring up the freezer to 0° and the fridge down to 35°...

My garage fridge is a Whirlpool Gladiator Freezerator, the kind that looks like a normal fridge but the duties of the compartments are reversed. The small top section is the fridge and the large bottom section is the freezer. I got it used from a Craigslist ad for about $350, from a guy who moved here and didn't find a house with a garage.

Since it's a Whirlpool, I'm thinking that the door dimensions should be the same as other Whirlpool refrigerators. I'd like to take a non-faux-diamondplate set of smooth doors, paint them Hemi Orange or with chalkboard surface paint or something, swap the inside plastics from the current doors on to them (the freezer has a cool bottle and can rack) and make it look more spiffy.

I had originally wanted one of those IDW commercial minifridges, specifically the one frequently found at Carl's Jr, small, glass door, with the Monster "M" logo lit up in the glass. Probably better I got the Gladiator though, as the freezer compartment is completely full...

 

[MN4x4]

I would tell me where all of the #%&! knobs and other controls are.

We just bought a new house with a built in bottom-freeze subzero, vintage late seventies. It works, but I'm not sure of the controls yet. I've only gotten the fridge compartment down to about 43°F, and the freezer is at -5°F. I'd like to bring up the freezer to 0° and the fridge down to 35°...

The controls on mine are inside the refridge section, at the back near the top. They are clearly labeled - freezer control on the left, fridge control on the right. My unit has two compressors, one each for the freezer and fridge.

If you have the model number for your unit you can download an operators manual from SubZero in pdf form.

 

[MN4x4]

Paint that sucker within an inch of it's life!!!

What kind of paint job? I need more ideas!

 

[Bellicose]

What kind of paint job? I need more ideas!

Couple i've done, and i'm in the process of doing 3 more.

The white smudge looking thing on the door of the Harley one is the reflection of the guttering of my house.

The 2nd one is black with red pinstripe and gold leaf.

 

[Kevin54]

Finally!!! Someone who takes their beer drinking seriously

That is just too cool. I love it!!!

 

[Wingnut65]

I got a new-to-me fridge yesterday. It's exactly what I wanted (Sub-Zero Bottom Freezer) but it's maybe a little too fancy for my shop.

What would you do to it?

That actually looks like it has an optional panel package installed on the doors to blend in with the rest of the Kitchen cabinets. They usually are stuck on with 2-sided foam tape. Although with a SZ, they may actually be bolted on or part of the door.

If they can be removed, then the doors should be smooth and the painting options are limitless.

 

[MN4x4]

That actually looks like it has an optional panel package installed on the doors to blend in with the rest of the Kitchen cabinets. They usually are stuck on with 2-sided foam tape. Although with a SZ, they may actually be bolted on or part of the door.

If they can be removed, then the doors should be smooth and the painting options are limitless.

Correct. The panels can be easily removed and replaced with anything that is 1/4" at the edges. For instance, I could easily put a stainless steel faced panel in there, or a blank 'canvas'. With a little bit of extra work I could probably rig up the lighted front off a soda machine.

 

[TWX]

The controls on mine are inside the refridge section, at the back near the top. They are clearly labeled - freezer control on the left, fridge control on the right. My unit has two compressors, one each for the freezer and fridge.

If you have the model number for your unit you can download an operators manual from SubZero in pdf form.

I'll have to look when I get home. I found only one knob so far, the one on the left. That might explain why turning it never really got the fridge any colder...

I tried looking by model, but what I found, by model number, was a manual for an entirely different fridge, a small unit. I don't know if the PDF was labelled wrong or if there was some other issue. I certainly hope that they wouldn't reuse a model number on a later fridge...

 

[Wingnut65]

With a little bit of extra work I could probably rig up the lighted front off a soda machine.

I was thinking of painting one on my fridge, but having it actually light up would be wild!

 

[MN4x4]

Couple i've done, and i'm in the process of doing 3 more.

The white smudge looking thing on the door of the Harley one is the reflection of the guttering of my house.

The 2nd one is black with red pinstripe and gold leaf.

The only way anything like that would happen to my fridge is if YOU showed up to do it. I just don't have the talent. With a little help I could MAYBE paint a solid color and some stripes

 

[strnge]

The 2nd one is black with red pinstripe and gold leaf.

Looks like a safe. I like it!

 

[V-10 Killer]

Well I finally finished restoring my fridge, it didn't turn out red like I had planed, but ''turquoise'' blue.

I forgot the ''during'' pic's

I love those old Kelvinators
My in-laws still have one at their cabin. Never been serviced at all and will still borderline freeze anything on the top shelf lol

 

[Kevin54]

A question on painting the 'fridge. What type of paint? I don't want to use automotive paint or go to all of that trouble, but what I want to do is maybe roll on some paint. Who has had good luck with what? I am doubting a regular latex paint would work without getting really scratched up. What I'm doing is redoing the wifes garage and we are in the process of painting it. (by the way...steer clear of Lowes Olympic paint) I have the cabinets done, two-toned, am in the process of painting the walls, but I want the 'fridge to match the cabinets as close as can be. Does Rustoleum hold up and roll on?

I'll post pics up when the garage walls are completed.

 

[Kevin54]

What? Nobody? Ima gonna be ready to try SOMETHING here in a few short days!!!!!

 

[nonhog]

Never done it but maybe this will help?

http://rolledon.forummotion.com/

 

[Gary S]

I'll bet a cold one that the beer from my unmolested garage sale fridge tastes just as good as the beer from your mucked up fridges.............and I have more cash left to buy more beer.

 

[Chris Stapley]

Don't go and compare these great fridges of the forties and fifties with a 15 year old unit man, plug your Kilawatt unit into one of the old round top units and you will be pleasantly surprised. Many of these old girls with a new door gasket are more efficient than the newest Energystar fridges currently for sale. They are overly insulated and they will do something that the modern junk cannot do,run for 60 years without repairs! Besides you get a cool looking appliance that doesn't go out of style!

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but those old refrigerators are horribly inefficient. In fact, some of them can cost you over $100 to $200 MORE in electricity for a single year than a newer model. So in many cases you can go out and buy a brand new fridge and the electricity savings will pay for it within a matter of 3 to 5 years.

If you have a Kill-A-Watt or other similar device that measures electricity usage, hook it up to your old fridge and run it for a week. I hooked it to my main fridge which is only a few years old and it told me it costs around $50 a year to operate. I then took it to my father's garage and hooked it up to his 10-15 year old fridge and it showed it cost about $185 a year to operate.

For that kind of money, I'd think long and hard about buying a new no-frills model just for a dedicated garage fridge. Then again, I might feel bad about painting a brand new fridge and anything that is cheap will probably be plain old boring white - and the newer models will never be as cool as those old round-top models!

 

[Rkfdspeed]

Just a little word of advice on those thinking of using older refrigerators.

The energy consumption of a 20 year old refrigerator is going to be at least TRIPLE that of a new one.

The average operating cost of a typical new 18 cu ft top freezer refrigerator is something on the order of $45.00 per year based on the 2007 national average price of electricty.

Triple that would be just shy of $150.00 per year and if your old beater was a larger refrigerator the cost of operation only goes up.

A better plan is to buy a new Energy Star refrigerator.

I'm all about that..but can anyone tell me "what" makes these new fridges more efficient? I'm presently retrofitting new equipment into a "retro-fridge". Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Kevin54]

Never done it but maybe this will help?

http://rolledon.forummotion.com/

Man...this new fangled internet has something for everything. Tanks

 

[Call me the Breeze]

A question on painting the 'fridge. What type of paint? I don't want to use automotive paint or go to all of that trouble, but what I want to do is maybe roll on some paint. Who has had good luck with what? I am doubting a regular latex paint would work without getting really scratched up. What I'm doing is redoing the wifes garage and we are in the process of painting it. (by the way...steer clear of Lowes Olympic paint) I have the cabinets done, two-toned, am in the process of painting the walls, but I want the 'fridge to match the cabinets as close as can be. Does Rustoleum hold up and roll on?

I'll post pics up when the garage walls are completed.

Get yourself a quart of good enamel paint and roll it on with a fine knap roller. Even tractor supply's implement paint with or without some hardner in it will work. It will leave a nice glossy, durable finish ( I would stay away from any latex paint on this project) If the fridge you're re-doing isn't all rusty, you probably wont need to primer it first. Just scuff it up good with a scotch brite pad to give the paint something to cling to. If there is rust, that obviously needs to be addressed first.

Just keep in mind that it takes longer for it to dry than latex. ( it will leave fingerprints if touched too soon, don't ask me how I know this.)

 

[Kevin54]

Thanks Breeze. I don't want glossy as I wanted something semi-gloss, but I may try the John Deere Blitz Black. I completely forgot about that paint. My cabinets are black and red and I want to change the off white 'fridge to match the cabinets. I have a JD dealer about 5 minutes from me. I'll use a foam roller and I'm not too worried about any orange peel as the 'fridge has a slight texture to it anyways. So the JD/BB might work out well as it is a satin.

 

[Call me the Breeze]

That should work. I painted my old pickup with orange implement paint without any hardner in it. Unmasked it and let it "dry" over night. The next day it was still a little tacky so I drove it outside to bake in the sun. Leaves fell on it and left impressions in the hood. I carefully removed them and much to my surprise, they leveled out. I wasn't overly worried about it, it was just and old work truck.