Iron Man Refrigerator

This project involves basic wiring, metal work, plastic welding, metal prep and paint, and a healthy dose of inspiration from Tony Stark, Iron Man (2008).

Philco Refrigerator Model F915, set of 4 casters, angle grinder, Dremel tool and assorted attachments, assorted screw drivers, blue painter's tape, brown masking paper, spray paint (gray primer, Regal Red, Metallic Gold), electrical wire, Iron Man arc reactor, Iron Man tin sign, pop rivets, door seal, silicone sealant, 1-Gang plastic outlet box, USB outlet, waterproof junction box, waterproof connection box, door wire conduit, a magnetic clip, and 1.5 rolls of insulation.

I found this Philco Model F915 refrigerator in a Craigslist advertisement.

These photos document the state of this Philco at the time of purchase. The compressor ran, the freezer cooled, and the interior light functioned as designed. The body did have some deep scratches, the plastic freezer door had broken hinge receivers, and the door needed a new seal.

As with projects of this size, one of the most important steps is determining how to move the project within a workspace. A trip to the local hardware store led me to a set of casters that could support the Philco's weight while enabling me to move the project by myself without tearing up something, or me. In this step, I used an angle grinder to remove the Philco's adjustable base levelers. I then used my MIG welder to attach the casters to the existing base leveler plates. My welds aren't pretty, but they hold. Note: For this step I had already removed the door in order to reduce some weight as I attached the casters.

My goal for this project was to introduce another electrical element to the refrigerator so I needed to understand the wiring harness. Accordingly, I removed the rear access panel to expose the Philco's wiring.

The wiring harness contains a lead to the compressor and a lead to the interior light with a runner to the door's light switch. Since my plan was to integrate a new feature into the door, I would need to add an additional wire to the harness and run a lead to the door.

I wanted to show an example of how I documented the disassembly to aid with reassembly. The photos in this step depict the door hinges (top and bottom) as having a metal covering to be removed with a small flathead screwdriver. With the hinge cover removed, I gained access to the screws that attached the door to the refrigerator box. Once the screws were removed, and the door detached, I placed the door on a worktable so that I could remove the interior face panel and then remove the insulation.

Photos in this step show the refrigerator door with its interior panel and insulation removed. A photo also shows the horizontal door brace, latching mechanism, and the interior backing seal that encases the metal legs of each letter in the "Philco" name displayed on the front of the refrigerator door. Note: I used my grinder to clean up the rust on the door frame.

Interior Door Panel: Once the door's interior panel was disassembled and prepared for paint, I used a gray primer spray paint followed with a Regal Red top cover. I then used painter's tape to create a simple border and, again, used a Gold Metallic spray paint to achieve the look I wanted. I will clean up the paint lines at a later date...but you can see my intent.

Exterior Door: In this same step, I removed the metal Philco letters from the door exterior, removed the paint coating from the door exterior, and prepared the door for primer and paint. I took the door down to bare metal as I was first thinking that I wanted to polish the door to a mirror finish (decided it would be too much work so maybe next time). I used the same primer paint, Regal Red, and Gold Metallic on the door's front. In this step, I used my Dremel tool to cut a hole in the exterior door to hold the electrical element that I will explain in Step 7.

I'll admit, I felt like Emmet Otter putting a hole in his mother's washtub (if you've seen that classic...there's no going back after a commitment of this type). I did pick up some buffing pads to help me get the door paint to a near-professional appearance.

As noted in Step 4, it was necessary to understand the wiring harness so that I could tap into the power supply and run a lead to the door that would power the Arc Reactor. From the wiring harness, I ran a line down the inside of the refrigerator box and drilled a small hole at the side/bottom of the refrigerator to accommodate the power line exiting the refrigerator box and routing to the door. In routing the power line through the small hole, exiting the box, the line continued through the door wire conduit and, ultimately, into the door component. I realized that the door wire conduit, itself, did not lay flat against the box exterior. Accordingly, I painted a standard magnetic clip and used it to secure the conduit to the refrigerator. Once inside the door's interior, I ran the wire through plastic conduit (later covered by insulation) and to an electrical connection box.

Here's the trick: The Iron Man Arc Reactor (purchased online) utilized a USB plug as the basis for its power. I have never hardwired a USB to a power supply, so I didn't want to risk ruining the Arc Reactor. Accordingly, I ran my power lead from the refrigerator's wiring harness to a USB receptacle outlet tucked into a 1-Gang outlet box. I then plugged the Arc Reactor's USB into the USB outlet. This contraption was tucked within a waterproof junction box that would later be covered by insulation.

You'll see in the photos that I cut a circle in the bottom of the waterproof junction box. This allowed me to glue the junction box to the door interior, directly over the hole prepared to host the outward facing Arc Reactor. Also, a quick review of the photo labeled "Packing list" shows the Arc Reactor with a "stainless-steel bracket." In this step, I used my Dremel to remove the stainless-steel bracket so that the flange that reads "Proof that Tony Stark Has a Heart" could be glued to the door's exterior and used as the fixture to accommodate the Arc Reactor, as designed.

The electrical connection box, the 1-Gang outlet box, and the waterproof junction box were all glued to the door interior with construction adhesive. The "Proof that Tony Stark Has a Heart" flange glued to the door exterior allowed for the Arc Reactor to sit within it, as designed, with its plug-in encased within the waterproof junction box. All items were sealed with the sealant.

If a human being can assemble it... then a human being can disassemble it.

I'll spare readers the photos, but each screw or bolt removed was photo-documented for its location. There's nothing worse than finishing a project with a handful of hardware accidently omitted from the reassembly process. The front-facing trim pieces were removed along with the bolts that held the interior box in place. The shelves and drawers were also removed and stored as I would later paint everything the Regal Red and Metallic Gold combination.

One of the most difficult aspects of this step was the removal of the interior freezer box while managing not to damage the rigid copper refrigeration line running from the freezer box to the coil panel attached to the back of the refrigerator. This step required, first, detaching the coil panel from the back of the refrigerator in order to allow for enough play in the rigid copper line so that the freezer box could be detached from the refrigerator's interior box.

With the freezer box removed and set to the side, I could then remove the interior refrigeration box to prep for paint while also assessing any rust damage that is the product of 70+ years of prior owners defrosting the freezer.

I included a photo of the refrigerator front to show that the freezer door was not attached to the freezer box, but laying flat on an interior drawer. In order to reattach the plastic door to the metal hinges, I needed to figure out how to bridge the broken plastic. A quick internet search led me to a plastic welding kit that is basically a wood burning tool with some wire mesh and other items.

I cut the wire mesh to size, melted it into the plastic door and created a basic structure on which to melt more plastic. I happened to have a new package of plastic zip ties and melted several ties into the wire mesh to bridge the plastic. Once I had created, and smoothed, a solid structure of plastic over wire mesh, I used a drill bit to create an opening on each side of the door so that the door would hang, as intended, on the metal freezer box hinges. The door was prepped and painted during this step.

In this step, I included a photo of the original front as a reminder of the drawer layout and overall look. You'll recall from a prior step that I had removed all interior hardware and prepped for the paint combination of Regal Red and Metallic Gold. I also removed the interior box and prepped it for paint. Blue painters tape works magic when trying to create defined lines that I will clean up at some point.

I start here with a photo of the Philco's original interior and a review of steps. In review, I removed the door to reduce weight so I could add casters allowing me to move the project around my workspace. I removed the trim, freezer box, and refrigeration box. The hero in this project is the Arc Reactor in the door and the custom paint job to bring this project to life. Step 11 is reassembly made possible by reviewing the countless photos taken during the disassembly steps. I purchased some Stark Industries mugs for some additional customization. This project turned out great. I hope you enjoy.

#GarageTherapy.