jackiequilts4fun

I really have the itch to find myself a Featherweight.
But I'm picky. And not in a particular hurry.
I think I'm going to hold out for a 1961, the year that I was born.

So far I have not found one from 1961, and I suppose that is good, because I might be tempted to pay too much for it.

Ultimately, I think I'd like to find one that is mechanically very sound but cosmetically needs a clean up.
Initially I thought I'd go for white, which I prefer over a black,
but I'm seeing some of these machines are being painted and they are ADORABLE.

I am well aware that altering the machine GREATLY decreases it's value (as it should).
I imagine that I would hang onto this machine forever, so I'm not worried about that.

Have you actually painted a Featherweight?
How simple or difficult it is to do?
I'm thinking of having a man who I know paints cars do it for me.
Will have to check with him to see what he will charge me.

Check out this site (I just love the polka dot paint job!):
http://www.roxannequilts.com/featherweights.html

Thoughts?

Macybaby

Does anyone know for sure when they stopped making the black ones?

The two I had from the 60's are both white, made in Canada. It's a slightly different style of machine than the earlier black ones.

BTW- a good paint job on FW seems to greatly increase it's value - they typically sell for over $500, and some over $1,000. But that is a GOOD paint job.

PBobbin13

My Featherweight has not been altered and is a black one; however, I have a Singer 185 that has been changed from that original green to a hot pink metallic paint and changed to a hand crank. It was an automotive paint which was applied by a man who knows his way around vintage machines and an auto shop. The results are quite good and I love my machine.

Candace

There's a lot of time involved in repainting(correctly and not a sloppy job). So, be prepared to pay for it. I would imagine at least $300-$400 for the service. Most of the time spent comes in prep work. Do a search here for repaint and there have been several threads about it. I'm at the end stages of repainting a 99. Personally, I would only redo machines that are in terrible condition and that need a facelift. I would never repaint a FW just because I wanted a pink one, unless it really needed it. But, that's me.

ArchaicArcane

Painting a machine, if it's well done can save its life. Machines with huge gouges (i.e. aluminum showing, etc), or minor aluminum rot can be rehabilitated. To buy one that's cosmetically in decent shape to repaint, I wouldn't do it.

It's a big job. I have one in pieces at the moment. It's been in pieces for a year and a half. DH just finished stripping the shellac off it. Dave McCallum suggests using the black base paint as a base to paint on, so we may not strip further. The body shop at the dealership he works at now has said they'd paint it, and he wants to go that route so I'll have a "perfect" one. They've painted a few sewing machines before, and he knows how much "orange peel" makes me crazy. I guarantee I'll spray orange peel, I did it to a couple of motorcycle panels and had to sand it all out before I could clear it, then again to get it out of the clear, etc.

One tip: Ask whoever's doing the painting, if it's not going to be you, if they want to prep it, or if they want you to prep it. If I was painting your machine, I would want to do the prep so that I knew what was done. If you sand too much or too little in one spot, vs another, it will show up in the final product. A professional will have the tools to do it more quickly than you can, and while you'll pay more for them to do the prep, there's a good chance that unless you have done this prep before, professionally, that they will turn out a better result.

The paint and materials cost under $100. You're paying for the skills and the tools of the trade. Just like we would like people to pay for our skills, so should a bodyman (or woman) get more than a living wage for their work.

sjdal

There is an eBay seller who does a beautiful job of re painting for much less than the above link. Currently she has a retro red for sale. I bought a retro red 301 from this seller and was very pleased with the quality. Look closely at any of the re painted machines for flaws, often around the badge which needs to be removed from the inside of the machine.

joycet

I so agree with you Candace. Never, NEVER would I repaint a machine..any machine unless it really needed it. But like you said..that's just me too.

KyKaren1949

Bonnie Hunter has had her Featherweight repainted by a man named Gerald. His information is on her website/blog. The average price for a paint job is $300 plus shipping. This is his website: http://home.cablelynx.com/~rambo2/Colors/index.htm I'm planning to send one in poor condition to him after the first of the year. I want a PLUM CRAZY colored one! It's my machine, I love purple, and I'm doing it!

vmaniqui

if any of you want to do a DIY repainting job, here's a LINK ON HOW TO DO IT .

ArchaicArcane

"So I got out my favourite 3in 1 oil" NOooooooooooo!!!

Calls the rest of the article into question within about a half paragraph...
It also looks like she's got a lot of sanding to do - drip lines and what looks like a fair bit of orange peel.

If you're going to do it yourself, there are some "2 part" clear coats in spray bomb format that you can get nowadays. I'm told (by a bodyman I respect) that they work pretty well. You're pretty much always going to end up with orange peel out of a can though.