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jan,
Be careful of your GOLD accents. If the kerosene gets on it or any of the other solvent cleaners, it may cause the gold to come off. My grandmother's machine was cleaned by a "professional" and he bathed it in solvent and all the gold on her machine came off. :( |
I have seen that happen only if the shellac or varnish was deteriorated really badly.
Kerosene is an oil based product and will dissolve some shellacs varnishes but you have to soak it for a long while for that to happen. If you are careful and try not to get it on the japan for an extended time then you should be alright. Just wipe off what gets on it as soon as possible. Leota is right the decals are very fragile on these machines and you do not want to risk hurting them. Thats the reason behind using the hand cleaner and cotton balls. :wink: Billy |
There are good sites on the web on how to restore and date machines such as International Sewing Machine Collectors - ISMACS for short, Treadle On and Needlebar. Treadle On has lots of pics on how to restore the cabinets. Also quilt projects to do on treadles. You may find this machine took old longer needles, you can drop the needle down slightly in the needle holder and it will then make the connection to form the stitch. Lovely old dolly you have there - good luck with the restoration, you will find it is actually great fun to get them going again. Do show us pics when you finish or perhaps during the restoration would be really interesting too!! :)
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Happy belated birthday. What a wonderful thing. I always wonder about the person who sewed with it and what treasures it produced. Look forward to it all shined up and the first project.
Congratulations, I want one too. :mrgreen: |
Originally Posted by Lostn51
Originally Posted by ai731
If Billy or anyone else who has restored a treadle machine has any tips on how best to clean it (it has almost no rust, just a lot of dust and age grime) I'd really appreciate them!
Jan The best way to clean it up is to go ahead and remove the head from the treadle and go from there. It will make life easier to clean the machine and cabinet separately. Also go ahead and remove the face plate, needle plate, bobbin winder, shuttle plates so you can get to everything and you can polish those out with Mothers Mag Wheel polish or SemiChrome. Look in the needlebar area behind the face plate and see how much goo and lint there is. If you want to clean the mechanics up (I highly recommend this) use a Kerosene in a little pan or tray and a cheapo 3/4" paint brush and give it a good wash along with the underside of the machine and any other places you can get to the mechanics of the machine. The old oil and crud will melt away and the kerosene will act like a lubricant/penetrant while you are using it. After it dries you can oil the machine now or wait till you finish cleaning the rest of it. For the machine use a Non Pumice hand cleaner like Go Jo or equivalent. Grab a bag of cotton balls, a box of Q- Tips and a roll of paper towels. Test a small area on the back of the pillar to see if the hand cleaner is compatible with the finish. I have never seen it not be but then there is always a first. Work in small areas with the hand cleaner on a cotton ball going in a circular motion with light to medium pressure. You can wipe off the area before moving to the next and use the Q Tips for the tight areas and more precise work. After it is all cleaned up then you can polish it with a good sewing machine oil or Liquid Gold furniture polish in the pour can. Be sure to test the polish on the back of the pillar to make sure it is compatible with the finish. All in all after all of this your machine should be good as new and ready to use once again!! Be sure oil the machine and to oil the treadle with sewing machine oil and hit all the spots that metal rubs metal when moving. I hope this helps you and if you need any more help with it just let me know and post some after photos so we can see how it came out!! Billy |
She's beautiful! Happy birthday.
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Originally Posted by Wings
There are good sites on the web on how to restore and date machines such as International Sewing Machine Collectors - ISMACS for short, Treadle On and Needlebar. Treadle On has lots of pics on how to restore the cabinets. Also quilt projects to do on treadles. You may find this machine took old longer needles, you can drop the needle down slightly in the needle holder and it will then make the connection to form the stitch. Lovely old dolly you have there - good luck with the restoration, you will find it is actually great fun to get them going again. Do show us pics when you finish or perhaps during the restoration would be really interesting too!! :)
Thanks again! Jan |
Happy Belated Birthday!! Congrats on your new machine!! She's a beauty!!
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Originally Posted by ai731
Thanks very much for the pointers to those websites! I had already found Needlebar (and noticed that Billy is a member there too - Hi Billy!) I'm planning to take the restoration very slowly so that I don't mess anything up.
And Patience is the key to restoring and preserving the integrity of your machine. Billy |
Wonderful treasure. Post pics once you've finished restoring & show us something you sew, please.
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