Over on the Forum, reader JoAnn Wiltrakis has discovered our 74th known brand of vintage metal kitchen cabinets: Even more wonderful — this is our first brand of vintage aluminum kitchen cabinets: “Olympia Kitchen Kabinets.” She writes:
I put a deposit on these yesterday. They need painting. There is no rust, but very worn paint around the pulls. I put a magnet on them, and it does not stick.
Hopefully, I can combine them with other brands, because I doubt I will find more of the same. The good thing is they are local, so no shipping.
– JoAnn
JoAnne, congratulations and many thanks – this is a terrific find! I have some questions, though:
- I don’t know about things like the properties of metals, so can someone tell me: Does aluminum even rust?
- Car guys (said in gender neutral way, I am part Californian): Would these aluminum cabinets have been even More Expensive than steel back in the day?
- Washington staters: Was there a big aluminum manufacturing complex in Olympia? Perhaps associated with the aerospace industry?
- 52 PostnBeam, will JoAnn be able to combine them with other brands?
- And JoAnn, where will you put your magnets?
Our 70th brand of vintage steel kitchen cabinets: Anemone Kitchen Furnishings 
Our 73rd brand of vintage steel kitchen cabinets: Ace 
Are you looking for vintage metal kitchen cabinets? 
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I am almost positive that aluminum doesn’t rust. It’s perfect for exterior light fixtures and mailboxes. I believe it may oxidize over time though.
Great find! You can always put a magnet behind the other, sandwiching them with the aluminum in-between. I did that with my 1971 aluminum camper.
Those cabinets are fantastic. I love the pulls.
Aluminum will not rust. The industry was big in the pacific northwest because of the immense supply of hydroelectric power available for the smelters. (Aluminum smelting is energy intensive.) Presumably, the Olympia company was redirecting the excess capacity of the aluminum industry following the war.
My dad is a metallurgical engineer and while he was in college during the late 50s/early 60s aluminum was all the rage. It’s lightweight, doesn’t rust and you can make just about anything from it. Think about all the anodyzed aluminum everything being produced in the post-war era. How many people reading this site have aluminum windows? Aluminum lawn chairs? Aluminum is about as mid-century as it gets.
Thanks, Bill. Duh. Hey, how about also: Mill finish screen doors with the family’s initials inside!
And don’t forget about Aluminum Siding! LOL. Much better than vinyl!
duh
Olympia, Washington — my hometown! Had no idea metal cabinets were ever manufactured there.
Aluminum doesn’t rust.
I live in WA and there was a couple of huge aluminum smelting plants in Washington state, one in Tacoma, just North of Olympia and one in Spokane.
Hey Pam,
I saw a complete pink kitchen on ebay last night – just wanted to give you a heads up! E
Eldon — you can post these on the Forum — very active there.
Aluminum doesn’t rust, but it has a different process of decay, it corrodes in the right (wrong) environment, though the corrosion isn’t as severe or common a process of decay as rust… Aluminum can be a little softer than steel, so they may be a little more prone to dings or dents.
But the fact that they don’t rust, with kitchens being pretty wet, is a plus!
What a wonderful website you have, Steven. I added it to the Cities/Associations blogroll. I need to make time to do more research and update my blogroll….
Thanks, Pam! In the near future, I plan to do some posts on the original designed features of our kitchens and baths, and how some of us have successfully restored them… so those may be of particular interest to your viewers/readers/fans…
Ok, just chalk it up to you having a senior moment – aluminum rusting! What about all those mid century folding picnic tables and webbed aluminum chairs that everyone schlepped to the beaches and campgrounds! I still have some that were my parent’s from the 60′s. I even remember when you could buy rewebbing kits.
And I thought about the only thing they made in Olympia was beer! Go Bears!
You need to be careful when putting 2 different metals near each other as the polarities can cause paint to chip and steel to rust. Learned that in Autobody class
Aluminum needs to be anodized to resist its own version of corrosion. These old cabinets may or may not have been anodized, but keep in mind the bare metal can powderize a slight amount over the years, sloughing off the paint. It’s still better than rusting by far. If the metal is thick enough it is resistant to dings, but otherwise it can show bending and wear relatively easily.
Anodizing will protect aluminum parts by making the surface much harder than natural aluminum. Aluminum oxide is grown out of the surface during anodizing and then becomes aluminum hydrate that is extremely hard.
i live in olympa, so i HAD to see what the deal was with the manufacturer, so i blew up the pic showing the tag in the drawer to see the name of the cabinet maker (Western Metalcraft, Inc.), then found out they were in the old Olympia brewery for just a short time after WWII. And as Mark said, there were smelters just north of us in Tacoma.
here’s the site with the info: http://www.brewerygems.com/olympia.htm
Thanks for the research, Wendy!!
Aluminum DOES RUST when exposed to air, and it does so rather quickly. It forms aluminum oxide (think of how tough sandpaper is, also, factory finished laminate wood floors are coated in the stuff) -just like steel forms iron oxide.
Generally speaking-
When steel rusts, the oxide molecule is has different properties than the steel, so it swells and flakes, exposing fresh steel.
This is not so with aluminum. The ‘rust’ is clear, incredibly hard, and does not flake off. Different welding and painting processes are required because of this.
Anodizing is a process where an extra thick layer of alum. oxide is formed, and chemicals are added during its formation to add pretty colors.
my head just exploded
Hello I am looking to purchase cabinets for my kitchen aluminum or stainless steel any ideas where i can get brand new ones
thanks
See all my stories on Steel Kitchen Cabinets under Kitchens/Steel Kitchen Cabinets … you can all get them new from St. Charles — see story in Kitchens/Cabinets.