Pam S

Yesterday I posted about a FW I was gifted, bought by my BIL and SIL on ebay and sent directly to me. My original post asked about how to stop some blistering and flaking of the paint which I thought was mainly around the needle plate. After closer inspection, there are several spots where the black paint is chipped and you can see a white powdery surface. I am worried that this could be aluminum rot (been looking at pics of rot on QB and other sites). If I had purchased this machine myself, I would contact the seller and return it but my BIL in another state purchased it. I looked up the original listing on ebay (wasn't going to do that because I didn't want to know what they paid but I wanted to see if the damage was noted). The seller said "there are some slight imperfections in the finish which shouldn't affect the performance." They pretty much paid the average rate for a FW on ebay so it wasn't any great bargain and the seller has a 100% satisfaction rate with about 190 ratings.
For those of you who know more about vintage machines, will this continue to spread if it is aluminum rot or is it mainly cosmetic? How can I tell for sure? I opened the bottom and looked inside but I don't see any problems inside except for a little grime. This machine might be a candidate for repainting (I'm thinking a nice ruby red) but I would have to have that done by a pro. So my dilemma is: do I tell my BIL we need to return it or keep quiet and keep the machine? Any feedback would be appreciated.

miriam

If I was doing something nice for somebody I would sure want to know if it was a bad apple.

SteveH

aluminum "rot" is basically rust. It is eliminated and or prevented by the same processes as you would use for rust.

All it takes is scratches in the paint and a humid/moist environment to get it started.

Water will not be denied!!!!!

Candace

The seller stated there were imperfections. There were photos, so it's up to the buyer to educate themselves and purchase wisely. My opinion is that buyer's remorse isn't the seller's fault. Your brother would have problems returning it and getting his money back.

barny

Keep it and clean it up and get rid of the rust. You'll love it even more.

Rodney

That's where I'm at. The seller did note the damage. Can you take some pictures of the damaged areas? It may not require a complete repaint to make it presentable. If the chips are small enough you might be able to carefully clean off the corrosion and touch up the paint by filling the chipped areas with paint (several thin coats is better than one thick one), letting it cure thoroughly and buffing it smooth. Your BIL may not have bought a bargain but it sounds like he did buy an average machine at an average price.
Rodney

singerguy

the question you need to ask yourself is - does it sew nice ? if it does then your issues are mostly cosmetics and can be fixed. if it's working perfectly (mechanically) then i think you're ok. you can't complain to a free featherweight.

oldsewnsew

At least you wont need to feel afraid of marring a "10" and just enjoy using a "7"!

miriam

All I can say is my mom beat her's to death and it still works.

Pam S

UPDATE: Took this machine to the FW maintenance class taught by Linda Scholten at the NQA show in Columbus today. Linda took one look at it and said "somebody sure abused the finish on this machine". But she assured me that it is not aluminum rot, just a lot of pitting and flaking of the finish, and explained to me how to sand down the spots and feather the edges before using auto paint to touch it up and then French polish technique. Since I already have a FW in better condition, it's going to college with my DD this fall (she's been using that 40 lb Kenmore and is thrilled to have her own FW). So we'll try touching it up and if that doesn't work I'll think about having it painted for her for Christmas.
By the way, Linda is in Oxford, OH and specializes in cleaning and repairing FWs if anyone in the area needs a repair person. That's only about 1 hour or so from where I live, so I think I've found my new repair person.