I think those of us who truly appreciate the functionality of the vintage/antique machines have a hard time wrapping our brains around the "creativity" of the repurposed ones.
I have the same problem with layers of paint on an oak dresser. Never did get it all out of the grain of the wood. It was painted and cutesy decals added sometime in the 40s or 50s since we got it (used) for my little brother's room in the mid 50s. I tried to restore it in the 70s when my boys were little. Ended up looking like a bad whitewash or "antiquing" job. Very sad. But we used it anyway. They didn't care what it looked like. Lol!