Back in 2017 I started a search for the model Frigidaire washer that my grandmother had all the years that I was growing up. She bought it new in 1962 and it lasted till 1987.

You know how it goes, you don't miss something until its gone. Well for the last 33 years I thought of that washing machine and I really wanted one to relive those old memories. In 2017 I found 2 of these machines and both were in poor condition. For the better part of 2+ years now I have been restoring them into one really nice machine. As usual with all my restoration projects, I wanted to restore this machine to as nearly new as possible, as close to like I had walked into the showroom in 1962 and zapped it back to 2020.

As most of you know, I'm the guy who started this quest but had no way of getting fresh rubber agitator parts for this machine. If I couldn't have fresh rubber parts for this machine then I wasn't even going to start this project because the money shot is what counts the most, right?!

So I started making my own. The cap, the lint and circulator rings and then the energy ring. I then got the wild hair to make molds for all the Frigidaire agitator rubber parts for machines from 1947 thru 1962, which I did. But that was a big side track from the WDA-62 restoration, however I have slowly gotten back on track.

Another part that was in terrible shape was the clear plastic timer knob. I ended up making a mold for that part as well and reproduced it to perfection.

The only other part that was a big road block to this project was the control panel background applique. The original was silk-screened over 2 pieces of brushed aluminum and even I had no way of reproducing that! Silk screening?? No one does that anymore in this digital age. BUT ..... I went on a search to find a way to have this background reproduced .... and I found it. The funny thing, I found a company who can do this and they were only 20 miles north of me.

This thread will be an ongoing post of pictures that show this restoration. I continually took pictures as I made progress but gathering them and posting them here will be a process in itself.     Enjoy!

To start off the first 3 pics are of the control panel applique that I had made. The trick is to take the old panel and scan it on a flat bed scanner. This took a bit of work to scan each panel in 2 sections and then join them back together in Photoshop. Once you have the entire panel, next fix all the defects and color correct the old paint. The panel I had to work from spent a few years in direct sunlight and had darkened. But an easy thing to fix in Photoshop.

The first 2 pics show the original panel on the bottom and the new panel on top. The panel on top, I reused the brushed aluminum pieces from the 2nd donor machine and applied the new "printed" appliques that I had made. These printed appliques are an industrial process and even come with a 20 year warranty and are UV tolerant. This process is mostly used for outdoor signage and is waterproof as well! Sorry for the photo quality. The pics don't do these justice. The overhead lighting sucked.

Pic 3 is the applique as received from the printer for the matching dryer (DCA-62).  The dryer is in the queue for restoration once the washer is done! Pic 4 shows contrast of the new vs the damaged original paint.

Bud - Atlanta

here is a peek at the reproduction. Original on the left, new on the right.

However the better of the 2 that I obtained in 2017. The poor baby!

Single stage automotive urethane. I love shooting this paint. It is really forgiving ..... so long as the outside temp is under 85 degrees.

One note. Harbor freight sells castor wheels that fit perfectly into the adjustment feet holes. Makes for easy rolling around the shop.

Cross brace and back access door powder coated .... and ready for assembly.  Can you see how retentive I am? The inside cabinet paint just as nice as the outside. lol

The only part I sent out for cleaning was the outer tub. Had it sand blasted. I then used KDS Rust Stop and gave the tub a coat inside and out. 

Impact driver on the tub bolts seems to always be necessary. And the bolts that hold the transmission in no longer resemble hex heads! (last pic) 

As you can see, I had one white and one turquoise machine to work with.

and ready to be installed. New motor bearing packings and saturated with fresh oil. Motor cleaned out with chlorinated solvent and a heavy coat of clear acrylic lacquer to the windings.  Also my first time experimenting with (type 2) cad plating. That is the silver plating on the U shaped trans mount and the pump mounting plate on the motor base.

I have a full set of pics that I'll post to a separate thread on the trans rebuild. I've done 4 of these multimatics so far and will put a tutorial together showing some tricks and tips I came up with. Also the cross reference part numbers for replacement parts that I have found for NLA parts.

Sent out for new porcelain refinishing. Arrow shows a spot completely rusted thru and fixed like new. Jeff at IPE did a great job!

Transmission going back into outer tub. All new stainless steel hardware above and below the waterline.  Inner tub hub bead blasted and its threads reworked using stainless heli-coils. Never have to worry about removing the inner tub again. No chance of dissimilar metals corroding again like alum/steel does over time. 

. . . is phenomenal!!!!   Thank you for sharing this.  Frigidaire was the best ever.

It appears that your work is the best ever also.

Jerry Gay

belt pulley bearings. Found sealed replacement bearings for the NLA bearings and swapped those out after blasting and re-plating the pulleys. You don't need a shop press to do this but easier if you have access to one.

New pump seal and some plating work for the pump parts as well.

Bud - Atlanta

to add the transmission oil. Notice how small the oil port is in the trans to get the oil thru. The tubing barely fits.

Ebay sells these 1 liter "kangaroo feeding bags" (I didn't name it!) that are identical to any IV bag you see at the hospital. However these have a large mouth and plug at the top that allows you to add any liquid. Three of them are like $6 and when you add the required 26 ozs of oil to it, it reads exactly 800 mL on the side markings.  It comes with about 4' of tubing but you will only need about a foot. Get you a quart of 30 weight non-detergent and you are good to go.  Hang the bag as shown and let gravity do the work.  I sped the process up a bit by adding some rubber bands around to help force the oil out. Easy peasy and no mess.

added to the restoration ...... in between all the other honey-do list.

I recreated 3 of the paper labels that were on the exterior of the WDA-62 when shipped from the factory.  Two of them were on the back of the machine, and one on the power cord.

And again it is dark and rainy, making the basement lighting non-conducive for photography.  But here is a sneak peek with lousy pictures.  Like I said before, on a sunny day I'll take the finished product outside and get some HD photos to post.

if you ever feel the need to clean and make the 3-prongs on the power cord look like new, shiny brass can once again be had by soaking the prongs in "Lime-A-Way". It took about 30 minutes and the end result takes the dark oxidation completely off. Once satisfied with the results, soak the plug in water to neutralize the cleaner.

The very last, but not the least item I needed to complete this restoration were original lid bumpers. Well looky looky! 

I went round and round looking for these at the usual places like Grainger, McMaster, etc .... but nothing even close. Stuff that would maybe work, and all only in black. Not the light gray that they originally came as.  And if you know anything about me, I couldn't have that.

So in the usual self fashion, I did a copy cat.  I added a thread over in Shoppers Square if anyone would like a set of these.

www.automaticwasher.org/c...

Bud - Atlanta