Victor 3 door

[Dave]

Just pulled this out of the mothballs today. I've had it in storage the last 6 years. It's the embossed version with the factory counter top option.
Its a very nice rust free original. I need both grates. I think funtronics also sells some wheels for these.
There is some very bad staining towards the bottom front. It etched the paint. I've tried everything I know of and it won't budge. The problem is Vendo used a single stage paint on their machines, and its very porous.  Thinner will remove it but also the PAINT. I guess I am going to have to live with it. Anyone know of a magic formula?  

[johnieG]

Rubbing compound might lighten it, but if the stuff that stained the paint (looks like it actually thinned the paint & caused it to run) if you apply it with too much pressure it will rub through the remaining paint.

[Dave]

 Thanks johnie,
I'll try it. The runs are actually the black foreign substance that was splattered on it.

[mygoose101]

Wow Dave. As soon as someone talks about something cool here you show us a picture of one that you have, amazing. When does it stop, hopefully not anytime soon. Keep them coming. We are all suckers for this stuff.

[Dave]

Thanks mygoose101,
I have a very strong Passion for this stuff. I was a child of the 70's, and really didn't get to live this stuff, but I was definitely born in the wrong era. I have surrounded myself with this stuff and enjoy it on a daily basis.
It's sad to think that most kids today have never pulled a GLASS bottle of pop out of a machine, played a 45 record on a jukebox, or been to a drive in movie.

[Kilroy]

Or made a call on a rotary  payphone that required a dime

[MoonDawg]

There is some very bad staining towards the bottom front.

     Maybe just leave it alone and install a full length footrest there ?

[Dave]

Thought about that moondawg, but I'll probably just live with the "patina".
It's way down low, so once the soda fountain stools are in place it won't be that conspicuous.
In the end I will take an unremovable stain over RUST any day.......

[BONOVOX]

Question...
With the factory installed counter, is the counter in place of the non counter models?  I've yet to see one in person, so Im ignorant of this lol.
Were the counter tops simply installed right on top, and if so... how?

Thanks
 

[MoonDawg]

      In Dave's second picture above, the holes to mount a bracket are just below the countertop.

[Dave]

Bonovox,
Most of the victors were not ordered with the counter top since it was a factory option.
A lot of people added counter tops and "fabricated" their own brackets.
Here are a couple of pics of the ones Victor used to install the factory counter top option.
There is one on each end, and two on the front . This thing has been sitting in my girlfriends dusty garage for 6 years, so excuse the dust. It's being thoroughly cleaned this week.

[BONOVOX]

Thanks Dave..... the pics help!!

I wish I had a girlfriend that let me store Victors lol

(Im sure Im leaning into a joke with that statement, but I'll let it stand  )

[Dave]

Started thorough cleaning of the Victor cooler today. The factory counter top had never been off before. There was almost 60 years of dirt and grime under it. It looks as if Victor also put a serial tag on the bottom of the counter top also. I also included a pic of the 4 factory brackets in case someone has never seen a set before. Dave

[BONOVOX]

Thanks for the bracket pics!!

How functional is the cooler to be used as a bar without having a counter on top?  Is there enough room for glasses etc....

 

[collecture]

Hard to tell in the pic, but isn't one side of the bracket curved?

[Dave]

Bonovox,
The top without the counter top is 13" so it has some space to place stuff.
Also one side of the brackets for the counter top are curved.

[Dave]

Well here are a couple of pics of the 3 door Victor after approximately 27 hrs of hand rubbing out the original paint and detailing the rest. It's about 75% done. I will put the new wheels on tomorrow.
It's hard to believe that the guy I bought this from a few years ago, was going to sandblast and totally restore this. I knew it was way too nice of an original for that. A little bit of patience and a lot of elbow grease can produce excellent results. Even the stubborn stain on the lower front faded away.

[scalebowler]

Dang that looks awesome! It looks like a brand new machine!

[Creighton]

Looks great congrats!!
Creighton

[Chedki]

Wow, you've really saved yourself a lot of time and money by cleaning it up instead of repainting it.

[Eric]

A true survivor... that was the way to go on that piece... nice job.

[tkaz]

That looks great!  I'd much rather have a nice cleaned up original than something repainted, nice to see the effort put back into this one, it was definitely worth it.

[bcharlton]

Dave,

I have an original Vendo 39 that is so nice I may not restore it  What is the process you used to get the original luster back on the paint.  Did you wet sand at 1600 then work your way down?  Did you buff it with a professional buffer using a compound.  I want to try that with my 39 before I sand blast.

[Dave]

Bcharlton,
I didn't use any machines, this why I have so many hours in it  I first used a good Meguiars car wash soap and bucket washed the entire machine to get rid of all the loose stuff. Then the work really begins.
I use a product called "liquid lustre" to deep clean the original paint, it will remove 90% of the most stubborn stains and rub marks. Be advised that Vendo used only a single stage base paint. There is no clear coat on these machines from the factory. That being said I strongly advise getting a bucket of water and using the round cotton pads to apply the liquid lustre. Keep the pad damp during the entire process. This will help to keep you from "rubbing" through the original paint on stubborn stains. Once you have rubbed every square inch of the paint out, I then topcoat the entire machine with two coats of Meguiars "gold class" paste wax. It's a lot of work, but the end results are worth it. As far as buffers and wetsanding, I advise against it. The original Vendo paint is just too thin. I have included a pic of my materials used. This process and these products are the same I use on my show cars. Dave

[MoonDawg]

     Not only have you restored the red paint, those letters are very well preserved.

     Extremely nice original Dave.

[Dave]

Thanks Glen. I know when I first got into this hobby years ago, I was such a perfectionist, that if it wasn't shiny and restored with brand new mirror finish paint and chrome, I walked right on by. I soon realized that an original machine with a little bit of "patina" was far more valuable to ME than a restored one. Don't get me wrong, I still love nice restored machines also, but nice originals are getting rarer all the time.

[Pat Pixley]

Dave that is a great job .  

[jholmgren]

Bcharlton,
I didn't use any machines, this why I have so many hours in it  I first used a good Meguiars car wash soap and bucket washed the entire machine to get rid of all the loose stuff. Then the work really begins.
I use a product called "liquid lustre" to deep clean the original paint, it will remove 90% of the most stubborn stains and rub marks. Be advised that Vendo used only a single stage base paint. There is no clear coat on these machines from the factory. That being said I strongly advise getting a bucket of water and using the round cotton pads to apply the liquid lustre. Keep the pad damp during the entire process. This will help to keep you from "rubbing" through the original paint on stubborn stains. Once you have rubbed every square inch of the paint out, I then topcoat the entire machine with two coats of Meguiars "gold class" paste wax. It's a lot of work, but the end results are worth it. As far as buffers and wetsanding, I advise against it. The original Vendo paint is just too thin. I have included a pic of my materials used. This process and these products are the same I use on my show cars. Dave

Very nice Dave - I'm a Meguiar's guy myself (use it on my Spitfire and my BMW).  I wonder if their clay bar would be useful for getting some of the surface contaminants cleaned off?  I agree on the warning about not using any power tools.  These machines are not 'that' large, elbow grease should do the trick for the most part without mechanical aid.

Jim

[Jim]

Dave,
Excellent work on keeping another machine "Original"; they're only original once!
You've taken a decent survivor and revitalized it to looking outstanding ! ! !

[Dave]

Thanks guys, and yes the clay bars work wonders. I have jet black paint on one of my 55' Chevys, and after using a clay bar the results are amazing. Trust me believe the hype. They work great on picking up all of the contaminants that regular wax can't remove.

[Kaleid20]

Have you guys used any of the Meguiars Professional Mirror Glaze series cleaners? These are the ones you can only get from them direct. Is this stuff too hard on the paint or will it work just fine on cleaning a machine?

[Dave]

Kalied20,
Never tried those. I've had such great luck with all their over the counter stuff, its hard to imagine they sell anything better. I'll have to check out their website. Thanks for the info.

[jholmgren]

Have you guys used any of the Meguiars Professional Mirror Glaze series cleaners? These are the ones you can only get from them direct. Is this stuff too hard on the paint or will it work just fine on cleaning a machine?

I used mirror glaze on my '02 BMW, it worked really well.  Haven't tried it on any coke machines, but I may try polishing up the V80 this weekend so I'll report back.  I'll have to try on the back side in case it does any damage.   I agree with Dave - I tried a clay bar for the first time last year on my Spitfire and the results were awesome.  I keep it in the garage and it has a relatively new paint job but I couldn't believe what it removed.  The finish was unbelievably smooth.

[mznb1u]

Thanks for the tips Dave!  That Victor turned out great.  Did you use the same steps on the black base on the machine?  I am going to have to try that out on my Victor 4 door to see how it turns out.  Are those products readily available at most auto parts stores?

  Tim

[Dave]

Those Victor 4 doors are cool. Is it the embossed version, and does it have a counter top?
Yes those Meguiars products are available at NAPA. Good luck. Post a pic of your Victor

[mznb1u]

Embossed Coca Cola with the red and white paint job.  I am missing one of the cap catchers so I have been on the lookout for one of those.  White one if anyone has one!  Josh helped find this machine and Brian loaded it on his trailer and brought it all the way to MI from Dayton, OH for me.  It had a counter on it at one point but based on the mounts on your machine, mine was definitely some type of aftermarket adaptation.  I plan to have a counter made for it and figure out a way to mount it.  There are holes but again not a factory job.  Eventually I will do a full resto but for now it I can clean it even to 50% as good as yours looks I will be happy!  The biggest task will be getting the old leveler feet out of the bottom so I can put it on casters.  Going to roll it out of the garage on the dollys and lay it on its side on the lawn to PB blast those things and hopefully get them out.  I know one is already broken off so I will have to drill the out carefully.  This will be the main bar when I finish my basement.  I have some vintage soda stools with the seatbacks to go with it.

  Tim

[Dave]

Those soda fountain stools are BadASS!!!