Blackberry

My original post on this subject got deleted by mistake so I am going to try and repost. I was cleaning my MIL's old treatle because I wanted to try and use it to sew on. It was pretty grimy and yucky because it had been setting in our garden shed for 25+ years and I am sure she did not use it for the last 20+years of her life. We began by wiping down the cabinet using Pledge Orange Wood Cleaner. We got the cabinet looking really nice and then we started on the head. We took off as many of the pieces as we could and proceeded to clean the machine hoping to get down to the black shiny finish. We should have used sewing machine oil and a soft cloth but instead we used Goop and you can see what it did to the gold decals on the machine head. So, please, do not use Goop. Only use sewing machine oil and cotton balls or soft cloth for cleaning. We are not done and I believe there are a few of the decals that we might be able to save. There seems to be a rather heavy coating of gunk on the machine head so there is the possibility that we won't be able to get down to the shiny black finish on the machine. I will post pictures when we get it cleaned and shined up as best we can. Here are some before and in the process of this project.

J Miller

Blackberry,

I know it doesn't help now, but someone here I think, made the comment that the gunk on these machines didn't happen over night. So it won't be removed all at once either. They suggested coating it with the sewing machine oil and letting it soak a while then using the cotton balls.

I almost ruined my 1919 Red Eye before I knew better too. Thankfully we stopped before we totaled the decals.

Joe

Charlee

That cabinet is gorgeous, and even with the damage, the machine is still pretty! I'm betting your MIL would be pleased as punch that you care enough to clean her machine and use it!

mighty

I also have a 1919 red eye in the same cabinet you have I cleaned up the machine with sewing machine oil also.

LindaR

Billy recommended kerosene so thats what I used...my lotus blossoms were completely covered with goop from a coal furnace, (I'm thinking)...so happy when they started to immerge from the film, didn't hurt them at all and she ended up shiny and clean

Charlee

Billy recommended kerosene for the mechanics of the machine, and non pumice GOJO or GOOP for cleaning the body of the machine. As you can see from Blackberry's photos...it's NOT a good idea if the decals are exposed at all! Blackberry isn't the first to have lost decals and decal quality from using those products, and because of that some of us requested that the tutorials be removed so that others don't make the same mistakes of following them.

Muv

Hello Blackberry - I was so sorry to see the damage to your machine.
LindaR - now you've seen Blackberry's machine you can see how lucky you are.

I remember having my heart in my mouth when I saw pictures a member posted on Billy's tutorial thread after she had taken a machine completely apart. She had never stripped a machine down before, and all the parts were pushed over to one side with nothing labelled or put in separate compartments so she could be sure she would put them all back in the right place.

As for soaking the machine in paraffin (kerosene), that is totally unnecessary unless you have a completely seized up old wreck, and even then, only consider it if the decals are already past it. Also (and I'm speaking English English here, so don't faint with shock), what if the neighbour comes round for a cup of tea and a fag and inadvertently flicks a bit of fag ash in the wrong direction when he pokes his head round the shed door? Who would get there first, ambulance, fire brigade or the bomb squad?

Billy used to fix cars and motorbikes, and, from what I could see, treated sewing machines in much the same way.