Hi Janey,
The machine was fairly dirty and gunky when I got it. I have not painted the irons. I prefer to just clean them thoroughly with sewing machine oil and a cloth, using a stiff brush if necessary. So many of these old machines have wonderful hand-painted gold accents on the irons that are hidden under the dirt. On the machine head I removed the slide plates, bobbin winder, tension assembly, and the table holds. I used sewing machine oil on the painted parts and silver polish on the silver parts and hand polished everything. Some silver parts were polished on the machine, taking care not to get polish on the paint.
Here is a photo of the presser foot.
Suzanne
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