Originally Posted by
Cecilia S.
Suze, I have no idea! But, so far, I am certainly enjoying hearing everyone's responses! I like it that we all have different experiences and can share and learn and even change our minds from time to time. And hey, if your LiquidTofu works, I will be keen to hear about it! :-)
What is the brand name of your LiquidTofu?
OK, that made LOL for real.
I personally wouldn't use it, because it hasn't really been tested by someone else. I prefer not to be the guinea pig. Plus, I wonder what that would smell like if it goes off in a few months. I -like- synthetic in this case. No aromas to assault me with when the best before date is up.
Originally Posted by
miriam
I think I have tried all kinds of oil. One of the worst machines I worked on was an old Singer 401G. I used 3-in-1 oil on it. Initially it worked. Then it set for a few weeks. The machine acted like it was encased in concrete. I think I tried everything to get the 3-in-1 oil off. Maybe it was a combination of the 3-in-1 oil and the dried up SM oil. I believe I tried kerosene with some success but I wasn't happy with the results. I heard of Tri-flow and Kroil but I couldn't find it locally. I had a couple really stuck machines and used kerosene or brake cleaner or xylenol to get the old gunk off, then re-oiled with SM oil. It was a lot of work. Then I found T-F at sew-classic. I had a machine that was pretty much frozen up.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t169127.html In a matter of minutes we had it unfrozen. I experimented with the T-F after that. I used it on the 401G and let it set for about a year. At first it was a little stuck but then it was right back to where it should be. I'm thinking the teflon is just like the stuff on your cook ware - I won't use it for that because it doesn't stick to the metal. I don't see any long term setting up from the T-F but I do from stuff like 3-in-1 oil and SM oil - lots of paraffin in it. I think it is the machines setting around that freezes them up. Use the machines. Turn them once in a while. You can always oil a machine with SM oil and another with T-F and see what you like best. For me, I'm liking the ease that they turn when the T-F is used. PS I agree with Joe.
Some of the people on the Vintage Sewing machine facebook group were talking about using 3 in 1 oil on a few machines. I -think- I caught them in time. Oi. I told them cement in a swimming pool or on the garage floor is great, but it sucks on a sewing machine.
I had 2 401As and a 301A that convinced me on TriFlow. Both 401As were seized solid. One I picked up from an estate sale, like yours Miriam it had not used for years. It had also been in a house fire. It remained in the house while it was waiting to be rebuilt, and the moisture did it no good at all. When I got to it, the handwheel turned, but the main shaft didn't. Nothing moved on this machine. You couldn't push the zigzag mechanism with both hands, the throat plate wouldn't budge.
The other 401A belongs to a friend. He bought it at a garage sale, and didn't even turn the handwheel. He bought it because it was the same as the one his mom had when he was growing up. Then he sat it in the closet for years. When I got to it, it was really sluggish, but the motor was "seized". 2 drops of TF on the top motor bearing to loosen the hardened grease, and a basic oil of the machine and it was running at full speed and quiet (ish) in under 5 minutes.
Similarly the 301A didn't turn, because the motor was "seized". I broke that one free with a little gentle rocking back and forth of the handwheel, but it felt "gritty". I dropped the TF into the bearing, and oiled the machine and the grittiness went away.
Originally Posted by
Vridar
I would be interested knowing why Tri-Flow is better than other solvents dissolving paraffin and other hydrocarbon based lubricants than, let's say kerosene. A post in another thread mentioned the contents and I saw nothing better than the normal solvents. Does the Teflon have something to do with it? I can understand T-F, i.e., Teflon, being a good lubricant, but a solvent? May be.
I suspect that the teflon, and the lubricant properties help the solvents penetrate further than they might on their own. Sort of slips on itself to help it get further. Like watching water roll down a window. Where the window is already wet, the water travels faster.
It's also possible that TF, being a synthetic oil, like synthetic engine oil, may have a smaller molecule than its dinosaur equivalent, which lets it get further.