Cecilia S.

JBeamer, the first typo was not intended... but bummer and cheeky, yes, I was just playing ;-)

Joe, thanks so for mentioning the sandpaper; it made me realize I might not have been clear, and I would never want anyone to harm their machine based on something they tried due to my unclear writing! So, here is how clear I should have been:

With sandpaper, I did not go anywhere the machine body finish. (On the body, I used only cheesecloth and flannel and water and SM oil and at the very end, a titch of shoe/boot wax.)

When I used sandpaper, I used 600, also finer emery (1100 and the like) along with liberal amounts of oil, rubbing very lightly, so that the emery cloth or sandpaper was barely making contact with the rusty piece. I used this method on spots where I needed to lift very thick, gummy, caked-on residue. When near the metal itself, I go -so- lightly, sometimes even just using the back of the sandpaper, which is of course just essentially paper that will withstand oil without disintegrating.

I also will "shine" screw-heads this way. Not any of the screw shaft, of course, but the head itself, flat-down on an oily emery, this seems to be a very effective way of polishing the screw in a cosmetic way, whilst not touching anything to do with the thread.

I was taught this (using emery and oil) by a very experienced SMG as a great way to remove rust and buildup. If anyone has other suggestions, please chime in! There are times that white gas or other solvents would be ideal, but myself, I am not comfortable working with such flammable chemicals.

I don't know anything about pumice cleaners, but myself, I'll take a pass on that, too! Is that something used in the auto industry?

I should say as well, in case anyone decides to take a cue from me and try any of this, that the principle spots where I have use this technique are on exterior cosmetic areas, such as handwheel, face place, presser foot lever, bobbin winder... I would be extra extra careful (or not at all) when it comes to any fine, minimal-tolerance moving part. For example, that is why I did not get my bobbin case area Super Duper Clean; I did not want to risk changing any dimensions of those fine parts.

Thanks for pointing that out, Joe. I am sorry if I was unclear, but I am really glad you mentioned it so I could clarify just what I meant/didn't mean! :-)

Oh, and Tri Flow - not so far on this particular machine. So far it seems very free-moving with only SM oil. Quite amazing, really, considering how dirty and neglected the machine was! TF sure helped me on a handcrank that I am currently tinkering with; there were some -very- seized parts there! It is wonderful stuff for stuck parts, hands down, isn't it?