Originally Posted by
sewred
If you plan on selling her down the road cleaning her up will reduced the value greatly.
Seriously? It's the case with coin collections, but I didn't know it was so with sewing machines? I would expect a clean machine to be a pluss, not worked ovezealously though . I'm very careful with the paint and decals, but metal shines up with out anything affecting the surface. These old machines often have a nickle finish, it isn't as hard as chrome, and needs a bit more gentle treatment. These machines almost always show signs of wear and use, and a good polish cleans with out doing anything that can't be undone. Maybe it's the patina factor, what's just plain dirt, and what's honest signs of a century gone by.