oldtisme

What's the best water soluble cleaner to use on the outside of a ?vintage? machine to use so no damage is caused?
jeri

Cari-in-Oly

You are likely to get a different answer from everyone who reads this. It can really depend on the machine itself. I never use water based cleaners on my machines but other people do. I use a soft cloth like an old diaper to gently wipe all the loose dirt and crud off. If it's still really dirty I might go over it next with a slightly damp paper towel then if it's a black machine with decals I'll gently pat it dry. After that I get a big bag of cotton balls and a can of TR-3 Resin Glaze and follow these instructions- http://www.mckennalinn.com/cleaning-...-machines.html

Cari

foufymaus

I like to use dawn dish soap. Dampen towel with a bit of soapy water then dry it as you clean. Work in small areas don't get it dripping wet. Then wipe dry repeat as necessary.

J Miller

Depends on just how "vintage" you're talking about. If you use water or water based cleaners on some of the old black Japaned finished machines with shellac or varnish clear coats the water can turn them milky white. On the other hand the newer "vintage" colored machines were painted with paint and aren't normally damaged with water based cleaners.

For the old black ones I use cotton balls and sewing machine oils. For the newer ones I try to stick to a mild cleaner.

Joe

KenZ

I also start cleaning painted machines with Dawn dish soap (damp cloth)and use Meguiar's #10 mirror glaze to finish the cleaning. I just tested a strong cleaner for a plastic case that was very dirty and had black shoe type marks. It is Krud Kutter from HD, my wife uses it for cleaning tile grout. The results was remarkable and the case now looks nearly new. It worked so well I plan on testing this product on a machine in the future. I will post results once it has been tested.

crocee

If there are any decals I would only use sewing machine oil to clean with. Cleaners, water based or not, will strip the decal color and turn them an icky shade of silver. Cleaning a vintage black sewing machine is not a quick process and to speed it up is likely to cause damage.

KenmoreRulesAll

I've read that Gojo is a good water-based cleanser for sewing machines. I've never used it, though. I've used damp sponges for really caked-on dirt: I moisten the layer of dirt enough that it softens so I can gently wipe it off with as little rubbing as possible. But I imagine that sewing machine oil would work in exactly the same way.

TR3 is one I use and I've found it does a good job on all kinds of machines and their surfaces.

oldtisme

Thanks everyone for your responses, I don't know a lot about the vintage machine but bought a White machine very dirty inside & the outer cover and my daughter gifted me with a treadle Brother machine the very next day!, I've been reading the Vintage section since I got these machines from one day to the next. I have a couple of contacts to help me with each one (from here on the board) one of them was to be sure to use a water based cleaner for the outside of the machine, since Greased Lighting is my Go To Cleaner I thought I'd better ask & was told about using a water base cleaner so that is my quest as I don't want to ruin anything on either machine.
To my helping hands that have given me advice...my husband is home now to help me get some pictures of them so I can post them and will be sending pic's to my advisers or should I said my teachers since they have graciously offered to help me all they can. Again Thank You all for your help. Maybe someday I will know everything I need to know about vintage machines, but I'm getting older and I am Happy with the 2 oldest machines I have acquired in the past week.

oldtisme

One more question, since I really don't have any experience with older (antique) machines, is it very common to find someone in your area (where-ever that might be) that would clean up the insides of the machines. I know it would be difficult to give a good estimate but what on average would you wonderful QB members charge to clean the compleate insides of these machines? I am so hoping to get pictures to post and then the hardest part......figuring out how to post the pictures. Thanks in advance again for helping this completely lost antique machine lover.
Jeri