I haven't seen any reference here to Marvel Mystery Oil and am wondering if anyone else uses it for a cleaner/lubricant? When recently cleaning up an old dirty machine, I came across a bottle of the stuff in my auto chemicals stash and thought, "why not?" It's a "miracle" oil or fuel additive that claims to clean and condition all kinds of engine components. So, I figured it must have some good cleaners and penetrants in it. I tried it and it seemed to work well to clean up old oil and grease. Dissolved all the crud. I wiped it all off and I followed up with Triflow.
In a later search, I learned that there is some sewing machine lore found in the history of this product. I found this on the Brian Sews site and wanted to share it:
http://www.briansews.com/2009/09/int...pfaff-138.html
"For me there is almost no better fun than getting an old sewing machine home for the first time and opening it all up and seeing what it's about. This Pfaff 138 was was dry as a bone! No oil or grease anywhere which means it was very stiff to turn. I use Marvel Mystery Oil as my sewing machine oil and when applied to this dry machine you could actually see the metal wick the oil like a sponge. It was most satisfying to feel it loosen up with each oiling point until it was smooth as silk.
Speaking of Marvel Mystery Oil, Steve DeCosa passed along this 
story told to him by an oldster at a gas station which I find fascinating:
"During the Depression, when I was in high school, I worked as a mechanic in a sewing shop in the Garment District in NYC. Those old sewing machines had visible oilers on top, and when it got hot the oil would stink, and the ladies who ran the machines would complain. The owner, whose name was Marvel, (pronounced Mar-VELL) told me to go down a few doors to the candy factory-I think it was a 'LifeSaver' type candy- and get a couple of gallons of Oil of Wintergreen and some food coloring. We mixed it with the 10 wt. sewing machine oil to make it less offensive to the ladies. It became popular with the other shops, and Marvel made more money with that oil, than with the sewing. Whenever anyone asked what was in the oil, Marvel said, 'Don't ask... It's a MYSTERY!' and that's how the name came about!"
Works for me! From what I hear it's mostly kerosene anyway which wouldn't you know it can be used as a sewing machine oil and degummer. It does a great job of removing the old yellow oil build up that you get a lot on old machines. You can pick it up at Walmart or any auto parts store, you can put it in your gas tank also however the benefits of such use are debatable."
I have one of the small bottles and I think it'll last a lifetime. I'd love to hear if others use it or of any caveats I should heed.