ok, I'll see how it goes with the lighter fluid. I'm afraid of getting alcohol in contact with the decals, because I silvered part of the decals on the first machine I cleaned up that way-- an otherwise lovely Lotus. (Photos at the link- they don't seem to be posting at the moment.)

Hey Glenn and Miriam! I posted this in another thread. Canada being the nanny country that it is has banned or made it extremely difficult to get a hold of denatured alcohol.

Options at this point seem to be:

• Methyl Alcohol - this is nasty stuff for the nervous system and I planned to do this inside so it's fairly undesirable especially since I have animals who come into this room. I've also read that it can penetrate gloves and standard breathing masks rendering them useless as protection.
• Everclear 190 proof ethanol - yeah, this isn't banned in the province I live in but denatured is. Go figure! Apparently this is highly regarded by violin makers and such?
• Lee Valley's Shellac and Lacquer thinner which is a blend of Ethanol and IsoButyl Alcohols and specifically mentions french polishing on the bottle
• Isopropyl Alcohol - I'm sure that I read somewhere in one of these threads that it's not suitable for this use but a lot of the people on the Canadian Woodworking site say they use it. The main reason it's not recommended seems to be water content? I have a bottle here that's 99%
• Marine Stove or Fireplace fuel - I've read that some of these are mainly ethanol.

I'm leaning toward the Everclear or the Lee Valley product. Do either of you have any suggestions or recommendations about this?

you may have to experiment - let us know what works. Meanwhile I think I might stock up in case they outlaw it here - nah - that would be too dangerous.

I hope that she finds that Everclear 190 Proof turns out to be an alternative. I’ve been looking for an excuse to stock up on that stuff.....

CD in Oklahoma

The Lee Valley products work just fine and I have used them with no problems. Ever clear works just fine but in the south they drink it and would not think of wasting it on refinishing LOL. I use denatured alcohol because it is cheap here. Isoprop yl does have to much water and sometimes will cause cloudiness to the shellac finish if not careful.

I definitely will! The woodworking forums and some of the instrument makers seem to like Everclear, so that might be where we start. Since Lee Valley is available to us, but a little inconvenient. The everclear however, in a town of 9500 we have 5 liquor stores and 3 bars. I think it will be easier to get. ;) And as I read on one of the forums I was cruising - what you don't use, you can abuse. ;)

LOL! Here CD: Your justification:
"190 proof Everclear (or equivalent brand) works even better than denatured. I've used it exclusively for french polishing and touchup varnish for years." - From http://www.maestronet.com/forum/inde...tured-alcohol/
and another discussion: http://marfioneguitars.com/french-po...using-alcohol/ - He loves even the 151 proof and has used Vodka too.

ETA: Thanks Glenn! I will grab the Lee Valley stuff if the Ever Clear proves difficult to find. I will avoid the Isopropyl then.

OK, As I predicted, The Everclear was easy to find. The first liquor store we hit had it.

Without any basis for comparison, I think it did a great job. I've read where people say it's like working with butter or cream. I understand this statement now. I spent a lot of hours last night doing the cleaning stage with the alcohol and the linseed oil. This is because the finish on the 201 was poor. I mentioned in the other thread that it was almost like the gozilla finish but not. DH described it better - it's like someone threw a handful of sand in the final coat of the shellac. When I realized that with much elbow grease and liberal use of my very soft fingernails that I could remove the raised parts, I set about rectifying what was wrong with the finish so I spent a lot of time with the Everclear. (Locked the cats and dog out of the room for this step!)

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This is after cleaning and before the first coat of Shellac.

That everclear is great stuff. I use it a lot on fine antique furniture that needs a little french polish to bring it back to life.

PS: great work on the machine, looks wonderful.

Thanks Glenn! Of course now that I see this process working, I'm eyeballing all sorts of things in the house that can use a refresh. I have a fair bit of Everclear to use up! ;)

I have been given my grandmother's Featherweight. It was only ever lightly used and sews like a charm. I would like to clean it and make the finish look nice. I'm not sure it needs a lot of work. Any suggestions? Thanks!
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I can see why you would want to work on the finish. I would work on another machine first. I would go to Glenn's profile and read everything he has written. I have a few things on here, too - I get into my mistakes and that might be helpful, too. As far as servicing your machine here is a link: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...t-t174236.html I'm thinking there is a lot posted on QB about the FW machines.

The close up pics make it look much worse than it is. I was told to use WD-40 and black paste shoe polish on the finish. He said the shoe polish would fill in the scratches. Does this sound right? I am worried about it rubbing off on my fabric while sewing.

Does anyone know if there is anyone in the North Texas/Southern Oklahoma area that can work on the finish of a machine? I'm worried I'll mess up my grandmother's machine. Thanks!

It is nowhere in this tutorial

Don't use WD-40. It can silver the decals if they're at all vulnerable. That calls into question the other advice. I think shoe polish would rub off on fabric until it was gone then the scratches would reappear.

I've seen far better suggestions for refreshing a finish that isn't in dire need of rehabilitation. I am however the wrong person to ask about the best chemicals to refresh a machine. I get cloud out of wax unless I use a power polisher and the FW is way too small and complex for that. ;)

I'd be curious what a good coat of wax would do. Wax can fill the scratches creating the optical illusion of a flat surface that reflects evenly - i.e. shine - and it's a lot safer than the 2 products you've had recommended.

Shoe polish is fine for the case.

I'll start with waxing. Thanks!

if the wax is water based it can ruin the finish

Right. Carnauba wax is what Dave McCallum recommends.

I bought Meguiar's deep crystal carnauba wax. Is that ok?

My game plan is this:
1. Clean machine with sewing machine oil. All the store had was Dritz.
2. Wipe off with naphtha.
3. Apply a little shellac over the decals to protect them.
4. Wax.
Am I missing anything? Thanks!

For best results read everything Glenn has written, be very careful and do what he says to do.
NEVER LET A SEWING MACHINE KNOW YOU ARE IN A HURRY.

One more project I am considering. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking mild, soapy water and a soft toothbrush, and maybe some metal polish for the decal. Any other ideas? What about the case? Thanks![ATTACH=CONFIG]504096[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504097[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504098[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504099[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504100[/ATTACH]

So, after three hours of cleaning with denatured alcohol and linseed oil I'm not sure im making any progress. The machine feels the same but now I have streaks and scratches. Help, please![ATTACH=CONFIG]504111[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504112[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504113[/ATTACH]

I think it looks like you are doing well. Remember this is not a new machine, she has lived a long time. You don't want to remake her just refresh. Let her rest a day or two.

read everything Glenn has and try to understand

I went back and compared pictures this morning. I do think she is looking better! A couple of places are a little cloudy, and one place really shows marks where I worked on it. I went back but can't find the post where it says what to do. Do I keep at it with alcohol and oil or should I move on to oil and shellac? Thank you so much for all your help, miriam!

Also, I never really had any old shellac on my rag. Should I have had a little?

Do I use denatured alcohol and shellac or boiled linseed oil and shellac?

This might be easier to follow:

Then after the Naptha just put it away.
Next use the linseed oil and denatured alcohol - go light - just go over it.
Then you can go over it with some denatured alcohol and shellac.
You do not need to repeat the Naptha.
You can repeat the alcohol and shellac a couple times
you might need to go over it with the linseed oil and denatured alcohol if it doesn't go smooth any more.

This is a fair question. In some places, in this tutorial or the other one, it says the llinseed oil and shellac and some (like this one) say alcohol and shellac.

Shellac flakes are disolved in alcohol to become usable. Most of us skip this step and buy the premixed shellac. I think I saw such a thing in one of your pictures. To spread it evenly - we add a little linseed oil. It helps it glide. Shellac wants to stick.

Thanks, ArchaicArcane!

Bear with me, I have a couple more pics.[ATTACH=CONFIG]504130[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]504129[/ATTACH]The first one shows where an area of yellowed shellac has come off. The shellac actually pilled up into pellets on the machine. The second pic shows two more yellowed areas. Should I keep going until it does like the first pic, or am I removing too much. It seems like the whole bed of the machine would eventually do this. Is this what i am wanting to happen? Thanks!

My husband just walked in and says it looks awful! I'm fairly certain it's ruined. IS there anyone I can send it to to finish the process? It was my grandmother's.

Can anybody point me towards a restoration person? [ATTACH=CONFIG]504145[/ATTACH]

You just have not gone far enough. You still have old yellowed shellac on the bed. You have not damaged anything. Take some alcohol and oil and cont the process. You can use shellac with linseed oil if you like but it will be slower. The last process is to french polish with shellac and a very little linseed oil. You just have not yet blended the old shellac with the new yet. Use a soft rag and go in circles and then straight lines. The scratches are from to heavy a hand. This takes a while to do and is not a quick process.
Skip

Also Asgardner go to the first page of this thread for the comlete instructions. Just click on last and it will take you there.

Glen, I did wonder if the really smooth spot was where all the old shellac finally came off. I am not comfortable doing any more at this point because I am afraid of harming the decals. :(

If you read you will see that the idea is NOT to remove the old shellac but to blend it.

Now I'm confused. I've read and read the thread. I even printed the instructions out before beginning - both Glen's and miriam's. I didn't set out to take ANY shellac off but apparently that's what I did. According to Glen I need to keep going. . . I am not going to do anything else to it myself as I obviously don't understand what I am supposed to do well enough.

Maybe this is her way of telling me she's supposed to be lilac. ;)