Bathilda
09-07-2016, 06:04 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 36
Bathilda
... is the name of the Singer 403 that I scored for cheap at a local yard sale on Monday. Named for Bathilda Bagshot, in the Harry Potter series, who was (in the last book) a very old lady with a serious odor problem, inhabited (as it turned out) by a nasty magical snake. Substitute "disgusting roach" for "nasty magical snake" and there you have my Bathilda. (Seriously. That was gross.)
The horrible funk is going away as I clean her, and aside from the smell and the gritty, greasy film she's in remarkably good shape, just a few flea bites to the paint job. I have taken apart, cleaned and replaced the light hood, the stitch length lever, and the tension assembly. First time for me for all of those, and I'm enjoying the process.
Couple of questions for those with more experience: I have been using isopropyl alcohol to clean the sticky oil residue from easily reached areas, and it works well, but I have seen references to kerosene often. Any thoughts on that? Do you just brush it on and wipe it off as best you can, in the deeper recesses of the machine? Also, since these machines are by definition used and may or may not have been stored in the most hygienic of places, do you have any kind of quarantine you follow?
The horrible funk is going away as I clean her, and aside from the smell and the gritty, greasy film she's in remarkably good shape, just a few flea bites to the paint job. I have taken apart, cleaned and replaced the light hood, the stitch length lever, and the tension assembly. First time for me for all of those, and I'm enjoying the process.
Couple of questions for those with more experience: I have been using isopropyl alcohol to clean the sticky oil residue from easily reached areas, and it works well, but I have seen references to kerosene often. Any thoughts on that? Do you just brush it on and wipe it off as best you can, in the deeper recesses of the machine? Also, since these machines are by definition used and may or may not have been stored in the most hygienic of places, do you have any kind of quarantine you follow?
09-08-2016, 02:30 AM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,963
The old advice on kerosene was to squirt a few drops on all gears and moving parts, run the machine and follow up with oil; but that was for sticky machines; not unreasonable amounts of grime. In extreme cases I have read of people soak the entire machine head in kerosene (motor and lighs taken off), with or with out disastrous results to the finish. I don't think I would risk it, even in the most horrible case. There is a youtube video on a guy using a steam cleaner in combination with degreasers to save a machine, but that's when there's literally an inch of dried up grease and grime internally. It turned out well.
Personally I have sorted to thin spray can oils of various kinds, they dissolve and flush out grime very well and are easy to get into difficult places with the thin straw they usually come with. They should in theory be more effective than kerosene, none of them are any less, but a bit more expensive if you end up using half a bottle. The beige 401 isn't shellac; I've had very good results with those velvety microfiber cloths wringed up in warm soapy water (on a beige 201K23), but that was the exterior. I don't think you need to worry about disinfectants; spend some time on it, use lot of cloths and when they get dirty take a clean one (if you are extra fuzzy, don't rinse it again in the soapy water, take a new cloth all the time). Bacteria don't like dry clean surfaces, I'm sure your 401 will be improved by the US health department
Personally I have sorted to thin spray can oils of various kinds, they dissolve and flush out grime very well and are easy to get into difficult places with the thin straw they usually come with. They should in theory be more effective than kerosene, none of them are any less, but a bit more expensive if you end up using half a bottle. The beige 401 isn't shellac; I've had very good results with those velvety microfiber cloths wringed up in warm soapy water (on a beige 201K23), but that was the exterior. I don't think you need to worry about disinfectants; spend some time on it, use lot of cloths and when they get dirty take a clean one (if you are extra fuzzy, don't rinse it again in the soapy water, take a new cloth all the time). Bacteria don't like dry clean surfaces, I'm sure your 401 will be improved by the US health department
Last edited by Mickey2; 09-08-2016 at 02:32 AM.
