Best oil and lube to use
10-01-2020, 11:15 AM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,823
Originally Posted by Mickey2
I somehow ended up describing Triflow as a pure sewing machine oil, I meant to write, "you could get something like Triflowr, or a pure sewing machine oil", In other words, two good alternatives. Sorry about that. Triflow has a few additives that work well with vintage machines. Not all oils do.
Bkay, a thing I recently discovered about old type writers, is most of them were meant to run on nothings, at least the joints and arms that hit the paper. They should ideally be totally clean, maybe some parts used lubricant.
Bkay, a thing I recently discovered about old type writers, is most of them were meant to run on nothings, at least the joints and arms that hit the paper. They should ideally be totally clean, maybe some parts used lubricant.
I don't know exactly what he uses it for, but it has to do with cleaning the really old ones. It is a three step process and one of the steps uses sewing machine oil. I would assume he knows what he's doing.
bkay
10-01-2020, 11:37 AM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,963
Bkay, he probably knows all about it. I don't know much at all, I was just given the advice to clean with spirit, a brush and compressed air on an old Remington porotable I had for a while. I was told the parts was made to run clean and dry, oil would just gather dust and grime. I whish he told me before I used spray can oil. This was from an old guy who sold color ribbons and who had a service shop for them in the 1970s, so I guess the advice wasn't totall off beam. I should look more into it though.
The tricky thing with oils for sewing machines is the additives, pure acid free oil and just the right thickness are the basic. Either synthetic or basic mineral oil should be fine. I guess teflon or ptfe is the additive that gives extra smoothness, and the rest can be dubeous. Only a few solvents may be benefitical and detergets should ideally be flushed out if used when cleaning. I don't thinck clock oil can be that bad, I assume they are made to dry clean, not get sticky, and easily clean off. They are probably a bit to light to be ideal for the heavier loads gears and joints on a sewing machine get.
The tricky thing with oils for sewing machines is the additives, pure acid free oil and just the right thickness are the basic. Either synthetic or basic mineral oil should be fine. I guess teflon or ptfe is the additive that gives extra smoothness, and the rest can be dubeous. Only a few solvents may be benefitical and detergets should ideally be flushed out if used when cleaning. I don't thinck clock oil can be that bad, I assume they are made to dry clean, not get sticky, and easily clean off. They are probably a bit to light to be ideal for the heavier loads gears and joints on a sewing machine get.
