Anybody ever painted a hard plastic sewing machine?
 

My white Brother - about 20 years old - has yellowed (as plastic does) and just looks dirty.
As this is the one I drag to classes, I think it needs to be gussied up a little.
I have used the Krylon spray paint for plastic with great results but I am a little chicken.
Thank you!

I would check with the head guy in the paint dept at any hardware store. They are the ones I always search out for when I have questions like yours. You might even try calling customer service at Krylon. Good Luck !

I think I remember someone here painting a machine a light lilac color. I think I her husband had sort of made her a homemade long arm, and the lilac sewing machine was the finishing touch. Sort of a vague memory though. Not sure how to do a search and find that.

Dina

I would go for it. Maybe test on the bottom first to see how it holds up. If you paint it, please post pictures, I would love to see the results - before and after.

Best of luck!

There are numerous articles on the internet about how to whiten yellowed plastic. Why not check some of those out before you resort to paint. Most use bleach or hydrogen peroxide and sunlight to de-yellow.

If you don't have any decals try a little Dawn dish soap on one of those Magic Erasers. Smear a little on the machine with the eraser or your finger and let it sit a little. You could also spray some window cleaner on a rag and dab the machine with it and let it sit. Then spray it lightly and wipe down. If you see it drip a little color you know it's doing it's job. Often just the damp eraser itself will work. The dirt on the machine is usually just body oil.

One of the Saturday morning crafting shows has hosted a woman who has a machine covered with flowers. They look like appliques.

Clare Rowley of Creative Feet is the one who paints sewing machines. She sells a DVD showing how. Personally, I would find it distracting to sew with one, but they are works of art, and still work as sewing machines.

You know what?? Try setting it out in the sun for awhile. The lid to my Janome yellowed, and when I called the company they told me to set it out in the sun for a few hours. Worked wonders - went right back to white! Might be worth a try!!

a magic eraser by mr Clean may work on it. but if it's really old, painting may be a good idea. i'm sure there are paints out there for plastic. craft stores may have some.
sunshine? really? wonders never cease.

if it peels, try stickers or paint it with flowers. be creative. did you see a few yrs back, a lady re did hers in buttons.

Or put some sweet decals on it!
https://www.urbanelementz.com/shop/category/decals/

there is spray paint for plastic. same shelf as the spray paint for metal and everything else.
I used it a lot when I was red hatting, we painted a gazillion plastic things. Go for it.

I have gorgeous rhinestones on my 6600 Janome machine and on my mocha singer 401 I found some lovely tea colored rhinestones. Card making isle is where I found them.

I've never understood why machines computers office equipment has to be black or putty or what....with a million colors in the rainbow and obviously plastic can be made in any color.

no but claire rowley does it all the time and has a video for sale on how to do it

Yellowing plastic is not caused by surface dirt or body oils, it's a chemical reaction to light and can be easily 'cured'.
http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?/...ent-after-all/

I think if you're wanting it to go back white I would try the methods in the link ghostrider provided. If you're wanting to paint it a different color I say go for it! I've used the Krylon fusion paint for plastic before and had great success. Some of the decals I've seen look nice too but I wonder about their longevity with the heat of a machine that's used a lot. I have often wondered myself why the machine's don't come in different colors or at the least with a matte finish.

You can chalk paint it, no prepping, Annie Sloan paints.

So Fun, I would do it in a heartbeat, but afraid I would make a mistake and couldn't correct it, just call me kelly catious.

Thank you for the link ghostrider. I've saved it for future use.

Prepping before painting is probably the most important step. Ask at Home Depot or Lowes, the best way to prep and then the best paint to use. Then go for it!! Sounds fun!!

I know when they paint the little metal Featherweight, they strip them of all mechanical parts first (remove anything that moves) in preparation of painting. Not sure if you will be going that far but do you know how to put it back together? Make sure you tape off anything that actually moves or that you do not want painted.

As one who loves to cover old things with duck, not duct, tape and puts stickers on everything I'd definitely paint it. First I'd make a search to find the paint that would do the trick and adhere to the plastic; but then I'd be "full steam ahead." I just made a platform for my machine out of a piece of plywood, a cushion from an old typewrite stand and covered it all with duck tape that has an owl pattern. My machine is as steady as a rock and it looks super cute. So be creative and go for it. The suggestion to put it in the sun has merit, but not as much fun.

What about covering it in a fun fabric, handle and all? Maybe monogram it first, embellish it. Possibilities are endless for customizing it!

We spray painted a machine, by using twisted tissues to block all holes, taping all metal, and still hated how it turned out. I would not even attempt it again. If you decide to, there is a viseo on youtube that is a pretty good start, but to each his own.

I saw her and her painted machine at a quilt show once and she does a beautiful paint job! Thanks for posting her name---I couldn't remember it.

Thanks to all replies!!! I am going with the suggestion to let it sit outside in the sun for now - two days and it has lightened noticeably!!! Thrilled to learn why it darkened: heat + sun! Can't let it ride around with me for weeks in the car. Not in the south in the summer! Thanks again!!!!!!