Cleaning outside of machine: dirt, dust, grime, nicotine?
 

Just got my free Singer 306K back, will need to cleanup more than repair guy did. Was going to use rubbing alcohol + Qtip. Good idea? Better ideas? Vinegar?

I think you are suppose to use sewing machine oil only so you don't remove any of the scroll work while cleaning. That's what I used on my 15-91 and it did clean it up nicely. Better wait for the experts to chime in before you do anything though. They can steer you to the right place to look on this board or you can put your search words in the search box at the top right of this page and you will find lots of info.

I would not recommend using rubbing alcohol at all. What you can use without fearing damaging your machine's cosmetic appearance depends on what type of surface is on the machine. If you have a shellac finish over gold decals, you certainly wouldn't want to use anything other than SM oil. I suspect your machine does not have a shellac finish, but I can't state that with any certainty. That's the first order of business -- what surface is on your machine?

Jeanette

Your repair person didn't clean the machine up? My repair always sends my machine home clean.

Definitely NO NO NO rubbing alcohol. Just sm oil should clean it up nicely. Hope you didn't pay a whole lot to the guy-- he should have cleaned it up.

He cleaned it okay... but there's still grime visible in the hard to reach parts. Thanks for the tip on not using RA, will stick to SMO.