Official Fridge Transformation Thread

[ElectroLight]

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.

I painted an old Sears Kenmore (70's copper color) with Glossy White Rustoleum out of the rattle can. I didn't do any crazy prep work, just scuffed it up with a green scotch-brite and wiped it down with paint thinner prior to spraying it. Looked awesome when I rolled it into the kitchen, got the from the wifey.

 

[Wingnut65]

kevin, I've had success with a small foam roller, labeled in the store as a cabinet roller, and got a smooth finish with great results.

 

[D Force]

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.

I just used pints of Rustoleoum Professional and a small roller with the finest foam knap I could find. I was quite surprised how good it turned out. Of course my fridge already had a kind of texture on it anyway...for finger print hiding I assume.

 

[brslk]

Posted this elsewhere.

It was painted with a couple of cans of spray paint.

 

[D Force]

Wow, that looks great!

 

[Moose02]

here a design you all can borrow

 

[Kevin54]

What are you guys using to make what looks like handles on the drawers?

 

[brslk]

What are you guys using to make what looks like handles on the drawers?

I just bent up some sheet metal, painted and stuck some chrome door edge guard on.
Not the straightest but the fridge was kinda banged up so it suited the look.

I attached them with two sided tape.
The tape holds them on strong enough that people who thought it was a real tool box and pulled on the 'handles' wouldnt tear them off. Just opens the fridge.

 

[-->]

You know, I needed another reason to look on craigslist like I need a %#@*&$ hole in my head !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....

 

[dieselmike]

Re: A comment and then my fridge...

the new "energy-star" fridge is full of plastic (an awful lotta energy and carbon went into production of the raw materials, the molding processes and its packaging) and parts that eventually got here via fuel-consuming ships originating from foreign ports.

Then there are the trucks that consumed plenty of energy to deliver it to your local home despot.

And then, in 10 years or so, said fridge will join all the packaging and that 50 year old fridge that was tossed into the landfill.

amen brother!

 

[rwhite692]

I somehow missed this thread going on. Lots of very creative ideas. I just have a mini "cube" fridge sitting on top of my toolbox....Didn't want to take up floor space with a full-size fridge.

 

[Cheap5.0]

This has me thinking now! I have an old fridge, old old fridge. The kind with the handles that are verical, and the top half of the handle moves out like a latch to keep the door shut.

Something is wrong with it, I am no appliance repair guy so i cant even guess. Anyone know what i might be looking at to get it working?

Then i could have some fun with it...

 

[azcactus]

xxxxxxxxx

 

[coolguy]

Dollar store spray paint,One shot. mack 000 and my louver press !!!!!

 

[OldracerJones]

My favorite fridge for some reason. Great fill!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I just bent up some sheet metal, painted and stuck some chrome door edge guard on.
Not the straightest but the fridge was kinda banged up so it suited the look.

I attached them with two sided tape.
The tape holds them on strong enough that people who thought it was a real tool box and pulled on the 'handles' wouldnt tear them off. Just opens the fridge.

Did you use paint or just some of that Pep Boys striping tape? I like how the upper edge of the "drawer" has wider tap and the rest is thinner - makes it look more real.

I'm thinking the chrome door edge stuff would work alone, wouldn't it? Cause can't you easily see the edge of the sheet metal "handles" you velcro'd on?

I'm DEFINTELY doing this. Already havethe little fridge, the quart of red and only need the tape and a Craftsman badge. (Cause, who can afford a Snappy badge?!)

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dollar store spray paint,One shot. mack 000 and my louver press !!!!!

By any chance is that fridge for uh...er..., well THIS:

I KNEW I was saving this photo for something!

 

[sooperdave]

Just picked this up today, seems to work great. I will paint it, gotta pick a color.

 

[Zane]

I once owned a small company called Tuff-Stuff Appliances that sold custom garage refrigerators. It was a fun little side business. Here are a few of them to give you guys some ideas on using some diamond tread plate.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Picked up off Clist for $40. Paint is Sunrise red, wet-sanded and rubbed out. I used a Cman wrench to make the handle.

Before:

After:

I welded two threaded studs to the wrench. Two bushings space the wrench from the door. The steel plate goes on the other side of the door to brace it during many cycles of opening and closing:

I cut away some of the insulation inside the door to mount the handle and the backing plate:

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Same mini fridge as the one above, same color, different treatment:

Did a quick sand and wipe down, primed with Rustoleum light gray auto primer and painted with Sunrise Red. The graphic is from a guy on eBay. He made it a custom size for me so it would fit/fill the door to suit me:

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Nice work!

 

[dabirdguy]

I have a vintage Fridgidaire... works GREAT!

 

[tolken4]

This thread inspired me. Just picked up an old Hotpoint like this. Any thoughts on these?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

This thread inspired me. Just picked up an old Hotpoint like this. Any thoughts on these?

Yeah, they're frickin awesome and I'm jealous!

But seriously, I really wanted one of those but they're expensive if they still work and they're expensive to run compared to a modern fridge. But modern fridges have no soul!

 

[tolken4]

Anyone have a good latch fix to make this thing usable, but safe for my kids?

 

[csp]

they're expensive to run compared to a modern fridge.

Not necessarily. Sure the compressors aren't as efficient, but they also aren't frost free like modern fridges which burns up a crapload of energy.

 

[tolken4]

From the following link. No idea when this was written or what area of the country it is in. Still some interesting analysis.

http://www.denisbyrne.com/fridge.html

Some of you may think these vintage units will be energy hogs. But the models of the late 30's to late 50's were mostly not "frost free" or "self defrosting" and also remember that electricity was relatively expensive back then, so they DID try for efficiency in those days. The trick is that while the unit will draw a little more power when running, but it runs a lot less overall than newer units. Only in the mid 1960's when everyone wanted "frost free" units did energy consumption soar. The units made after 1960 or so are much more square shaped. The inefficiency continued until the late 1970's or early 1980's after the second oil and energy crisis. Then, mandated by the federal government, the manufacturers began to make the units more efficient. After 2000 the units became really efficient, but the trade off is the new compressors are cheaply made, mostly overseas, they run hotter, have cheap start relays that malfunction and the compressors rarely last more than 10 years, regardless of what you spend on a new fridge... $400 or $3500. So keep in mind that you'll either be replacing a fridge every 10 years, or paying for a costly (average $750.00) compressor replacement. Which is why I like the old refrigerators and freezers so much... 6o years later they still keep on quietly running and there is no reason they can't make it to 100 years if you treat them well! Most of the older units do very well, as long as the doors close good and airtight and the insulation( usually fiberglass ) is dry. The unit should not run more than about 50-55 percent of the time at 70 degrees F ambient for older fridges. I have one that runs for 5 minutes, and then stays off for another 18 minutes and sold another one that ran for 7 minutes and stays off for almost half an hour, and that's with the fridge holding at about 34 degrees inside! I tested several older refrigerators with an ampmeter and found them using only 1.6 to about 3 amps! That means 180 to 360 watts at 120 volts. Figure that the average unit runs about 40% to 55% of the time and you can see the power usage is low. Many units from the late 60's to 1980's pull higher overall amperage, around 4 amps or even close to 5 amps. Note that you cannot rely on the metal tag or paper sticker, almost any fridge shows at least 5 amps and is quite meaningless. If the temperature is too cold even after adjusting the thermostat it may be broken, or if it is a single door fridge there should be a flap or baffle to control freezer airflow into the fridge portion to help regulate temperature.

 

[Rickochet]

I have a vintage Fridgidaire... works GREAT!

The only thing I see that you REALLY need is more hammers & vice grips!!!

 

[buzz4041]

I have a couple old soda machines for my fridges

 

[brownbagg]

i need an old frige to keep welding rods in

 

[Kimmer]

And here is my before and after photos. Still working on it. It is a Danish made "Atlas"..

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Kimmer, That's fantastic.

From the look in the 1st photo I would have sworn it was a much larger fridge. Then I remembered the size of European appliances from my one trip there in 1976. They were very small compared to American ones. I love yours. How about a photo of the interior?

 

[wesalexleft]

I saw these online...

 

[wesalexleft]

I just got inspiration from the fridge to toolbox transfomation. Has anyone done the inside of their garage door in the toolbox colors/theme? The horizontal wind braces could be made into handles, paint the panels red, a big Craftsman logo and you've got the biggest toolbox ever.

 

[Jagmandave]

I don't expect mine to inspire anyone.....

We had a 20 year old Harvest gold in the unheated and un- air conditioned garage for about 15 years, it worked perfectly but finally died, so we replaced it with a modern, energy star machine.

However, the new refridgerators will not work if the garage temps drop below about 50*, so I had to take it down the adjoining stairs to the basement (woodworking) shop.

 

[southview]

here's mine. Was an old white nasty looking fridge left in a basement of a house i bought. It still wosrked so i painted it black with flames on it and then cleared the whole thing. Never use it and now 5 years later want to sell it. What should I ask for it? Used on c/list i see they bring $175 for this model GE with ice maker.

 

[buzz4041]

Got mine ready for service now.

 

[ehsan1772000]

I am so happy to become a member of this fabulous website.
I am so excited because i have bought a fridge JUST like the one the senior member (bugdust) has bought.
I would like him to give me some advice.
The fridge I have bought had some problems and I am fixing all of them. I got t painted in pearl white.
But the big problem is that It has no handle.
I would love if Bugdust could help me by sending me closer pics of the handle area.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Got mine ready for service now.

Man, I wish I had the space to have a full sized vintage fridge. Preferably just like tolken4 bought.