Wow, Thank you all for such nice comments. Monroe, Joe, Nancy, Laura, Miriam, Chris, and Makeitmama, it is comments like yours that made me feel really good here.
I have a Facebook page for sewing machines that I do if anyone would be interested. The link is below in my signature. I put a lot of Before pictures and then some After pictures, after she had picked it up. I usually don't use anything really special to clean them. Car Wax without abrasives, Chrome wheel wadding polish, A lot of wooden tooth picks, Q-Tips, and a whole lot of elbow grease.
Sometimes I do have to use more specialized things for really dramatic changes like this rusty piece. It is half done here.
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Thank you all again for the kind and encouraging words. It meant a lot.
~G~