Glenn

Oil alone will not clean it but you can try. This looks like a standard machine and will sew great when you are finished with it.

miriam

You might be surprised at how much decals are under the gunk.

J Miller

Ewww yuck. I shoulda waited for the pics before opening my big mouth.

Joe

blueheavenfla

[QUOTE=origamigoldfish;6756080]Thank you for the advice; I was hoping to be able to clean it with oil left on for quite a while. It's simpler, and the strong chemicals intimidate me a little, but at least I will learn a few new techniques out of the deal!
I have just (nearly) finished cleaning a 1902 27, that looked like this photo, with TR-3 and it came off fairly easily with NO damage to the decals. I was surprised to find decals where I thought there were none!

miriam

Just go easy - I have found decals below the grime before.

origamigoldfish

I hope there are a few more decals underneath the shellac! I won't be broken-hearted if there aren't any, this is my first attempt at cleaning an old machine (and not having to worry about ruining lots of decals is a bit of a relief, to be honest). On the other hand, I found all kinds of photos of standard machines in better shape than mine, and with all the decals they are such pretty things...I just can't make up my mind!

I will be happy to have a working machine at the end of the process at any rate, no matter what it looks like.

I should be able to pick up my supplies and get started by the weekend; I will post updated pictures if I find anything good!