Vintage Baseboard Heater Restoration

I restored a couple more old 1960s vintage Electromode baseboard heaters.  With tearing out our carpet and showcasing the nice wood floors beneath, and also painting the walls and staining the baseboards, these old heaters looked drastically out of place.

 

They work just fine, and I like them better than a new model from a big box store.  The heating element on these old units are solid and they don't creak and squeak as they heat up and cool down.  It seemed best to freshen them up, too.

They were pretty disgusting.  I think you're supposed to clean out these units every few years, but I don't think they've been cleaned out since they were new in 1964.  

There was quite an accumulation of fuzz and dust.

I really don't know what that fuzz was - probably old  carpet fibers, dust, hair, bug parts, etc.

This is the inside of the heater cover that pops off for easy cleaning.  Obviously it needs it.

This fuzz is pretty easy to remove with a long-haired brush.  I used the little bench-brush that I use to clean off my workbench.  

Prior to paint, there was quite a bit of degreasing to do.  I used a few iterations of soap and degreasers, and on some pieces I opted for simply getting my wire wheel out and taking off that paint down to bare metal.

Paint went on pretty smooth.  The hardest part was waiting for a warm day so the paint would flow.

Not seen below is the heat shield that I painted separately a nice satin black.  It's a good contrast.

Here's a comparison:  Old gross heater below:

...and newly restored heater:

Definitely a big improvement.  I'm quite happy with the results.

The Tilley Hat Guarantee

I bought my old Tilley Hat back in 2003.  I've taken it on all our camping trips, and I have mowed the yard with it for 18 summers.

I used it so much I wore a hole in the crown.  Tilley is known for their "Lifetime Guarantee", but I was pretty skeptical.  Sure, it says "Lifetime Guarantee" to market their product to you, but will they live up to their name and do what they promise?  A lot can change in 18 years.

To honor the guarantee, Tilley asked me to further destroy the hat and cut off the entire crown.  That was a sad moment.

But my skepticism was unfounded.  Tilley came through and honored their guarantee.  I was all ready to shoot back all kinds of arguments, but there was no argument.  I showed them the pictures they asked for, and Tilley said, "No problem!".  I was quite happy!

They were unable to replace my old hat with an exact model and color as what I had, so I had to switch over to an olive drab color. 

But wouldn't you know, I have some other people in the house that have latched onto my new hat.  And anyways, I think this guy makes the new Tilley Hat look pretty good!

So thank you, Tilley, for honoring your Lifetime Guarantee and holding true.  I'm a lifelong customer, and I hope I can get another 18 years of good use out of this next hat.