Originally Posted by miriam

I've been reading over the info on cleaning machines. I must have known about them, I posted on them some.... LOL Wow. I've come a long ways. When I first found my 401G in the trash I had no idea how to make it work. My sister kept telling me I had nothing to lose. She kept saying use some kerosene. I did - I saw on line where you put some kerosene in a can and then paint it on the moving parts that don't move... Then I used 3-in-1 oil to oil it. It worked - briefly - but the machine moved briefly so I had hope. The next was to get the 3-in-1 oil off that machine. Kerosene didn't do so well. After a lot of trial and error, I think I used denatured alcohol to clean off the 3-in-1 oil. It is a wonder the paint hasn't all come off that machine. I learned to stuff cosmetic pads in there to absorb extra solvent as it hit and cover the base. I've worked on a LOT of machines. Most of them didn't need that much kerosene clean up, just quite a bit of oiling & adjusting or a couple parts to sew correctly. Recently I have found some older machines in rougher shape and I am pondering how to tackle them. I think actual soaking is not necessary. A lot of dried on oil set like a varnish is on a couple. I think that varnish may be what has kept them from rusting. I see no reason to remove the varnish from anything but the moving parts. Maybe I'll shoot some oil on there and see what happens. If it works, cool and if it doesn't move, heat and oil some more. If not then some kind of quick drying solvent on the spot - when I can work outdoors of course. There is a bit of rust on the plated parts. I've not removed a long bobbin winder before - is that necessary? How hard its it to get one back on? Can I put a bowl under it and 'paint' some rust remover? Seems like a bit of machine oil or dish soap cleans off a lot of dirt - seems prudent to test an area first. I really don't want to expose myself to any more chemicals than I have to. I'm waiting for spring to arrive so I can do things outside - my 'shop' is pretty ventilated and that equals cold this time of year. I guess you could say my 'shop' is climate controlled..........