Well, guys I fiddled with a black 301 here too. I got most of the inner workings cleaned and have the motor in pieces but ready to reassemble tomorrow. Then I'll give it a test sew.
The insides have been pretty easy to clean the outsides on this machine are going to be more difficult. The finish is awful on some parts of the machine and seems fine on others. I don't have a firm plan laid out yet for how I want to handle it. The bed was the worst and in trying to clean it up I completely removed the damaged clear coat and the decals along with it. I am planning to replace the decals. I need to really evaluate the rest of the machine and spend time pouring over Glenns tutorial.