I really think that dealers like that need to be outed. Not here of course because we're not allowed but I had a lady contact me one time to sell a machine and she mentioned that it had been sitting so the timing would need to be reset. I told her that was wrong and explained why but she was adamant because her dealer had told her that. :(

Morganfam7, if you get a chance, try to take some pictures with the macro setting on your camera or phone. I'd love to see what this crud looks like now that you've been working on it..

I'd love to see the plastic brush on a dremel that you're using, too. It sounds like exactly what i need for scrubbing out bobbin cases and other grungy places.

I finished the first 66 and almost done with the 15-91 that I use all the time. The 2nd 66 and the Tuffany 27 are still being cleaned - the decals are so fragile that I went back to plain sewing machine oil.

I think I might try tinting the Tiffany decals with transparent oil paints after the machine is clean - the green and peach are very faded and I have a lot of paints leftover from my painting days. And with all this linseed oil, at least it would stick. :)

I'm half way through reading all these posts and just have a question - what are the pros and cons of using spray shellac from a can?

Good quality denatured alcohol is difficult to find in my area of Australia (ditto naptha) so if there is another acceptable solution i'm all for it!

Nothing wrong with using spray shellac but there is no substitude for the denatured alcohol when using shellac.

Thanks Glenn :)
So can the spray shellac still give me a nice coat? It's looking like the only reasonable option for me

What about the substitute (because Denatured Alcohol is banned in the province I live in) that I used just after Christmas? ;) It's popular with a lot of the people who do shellac on musical instruments.

I can't get Everclear in Australia with any ease either ;) our other option, Polish rectified grain spirit, is $60 a bottle and I'd rather spend that on another machine! :p

The Everclear wasn't cheap either but I figured I could use it on many machines and if needed, I could add it to recipes if I just had that much left over. ;) The funniest part is that I could find that within blocks of my house which was easier than denatured alcohol - which I would have had to go at least one province over for.

Tammi, Miriam, and all, I just had to make waves -- I mentioned to my son about the dealer saying that the machine, because it had been sitting unused for a while, needed re-timing. He said that's bovine scapology! LOL!

Jeanette

bovine scapology!
yup

Glenn could I use this to repair the black parts on the machine? http://www.liberon.com.au/?act=products&cat=17&prod=78

looks like shellac with the black dye already in it.

And if I'm buying proper shellac (I've found a source that pre-mixes it in alcohol then sends it to you) do I want super blond? Waxy or de-waxed please?

Yes you can use this product and you want the clear shellac(super blond) de-waxed.

tiny-umbrellas, the only thing I didn't like about the spray shellac is that it dried before it could level out very much, leaving a shallow pebble texture.

I tried for days to work that down with French polishing and finally resorted to wet-sanding to get it smooth. Next time, I'll apply all the spray shellac I'm going to do and go straight to wet-sanding. I didn't have any trouble with the shellac not sticking, or clouding up - it's really nice, and shinier than the hand-applied shellac. I wish I could have sprayed all of it, because it sure was easier.

With you being in winter, the temperatures may be cool enough that the spray might level out more before it dries. Here in Texas, we have about three days in January. ;) Exaggerating, but this really isn't the ideal place for spray shellac.

Thanks polyparrot,

I'm hoping the spray will be ok but I have found a source for flakes if it doesn't work out. Yes being winter here may retard the drying process, here's hoping!

I did finally after hours of searching find some aniline dye and some absolute denatured alcohol that can be shipped to me at a semi-reasonable cost, so there is that.

I did see on another forum someone complaining that he had to buy a quart of shellac for a whopping $15 because they didn't have pints in stock. Here in Australia Zinsser don't import the pint, the only readily available size is the quart for $32. This whole process is breaking the bank and i'm having to buy huge quantities of everything, to be honest I'm a little disheartened and thinking of just leaving the machines and if the exposed decals rub off so be it! The money I save not buying these materials will get me another machine easily.

Sorry if I sound like I'm having a whinge but in Australia everything is more costly because of transport.

Singer 201 here. After getting rust off the bobbin area and getting the tension adjusted it sure sews nice. Some one has already rewired it. DH checked it out and pronounced it just fine. I checked inside the motor and liked what I saw. The finish felt like alligator... This morning, I cleaned it with naptha. Then I used the alcohol and linseed oil. Then I spilled linseed oil all over the place so I mopped it up and spread it around. WOW. I think I need to quit. It is so smooth and pretty. I did use a little shellac on it after that. I suppose I should go back over it with more shellac but it looks so pretty...

Hello Glenn and All! I'm new and thankfully haven't started cleaning and restoring before reading all this wonderful info. I got to page 15 of this thread then headed to Auto Zone for some loot. Still need to go to Home Depot or Lowe's for more things and am wondering if I'll find shellac there?

Thanks Glenn and everyone for your help! - Tori in Loveland, CO

You should find shellac at Lowe's or HD.

Thanks Miriam. I just came from Home Depot with a bag full of chemicals. :) Including shellac. Now I'm all set.

Question Glenn - should I use a hard wool Dremel polisher or a soft flimsy one? I just bought a Dremel recently and this will be my first project.

Thnaks so much! - Tori

While I was waiting for hubby to wag home the chemicals from work I tried the sewing machine oil and it made some progress on the dirt. It wouldn't touch the brownish yellow gunk covering the decals. This machine has a lot of wear on the decals, especially on the bed.
Being very cautious of the decals, I tried some of the Dairy Du we use to cleanup our milking equipment. It is a powdered detergent designed to cut through milk fat. I have used it to cleanup some pretty icky vintage milk equipment.
I mixed up a batch in hot water and dabbed it on the gunk. It softened up the old oil, dirt, and lint, but stopped at the shellac. I started on the bottom and then tried the area over the decals on the treadle belt cover. I had excellent success on the really thick stiff using a frayed bamboo skewer and a very light touch over the decals. After I wiped the machine down with a nearly dry rag, I oiled it all over with the SM oil. It looks a lot better, and if I ever get my hubby to bring home the rest of the chemicals, I'll finish the process Glenn's way.
Just so you know there is another gunk buster out there that will help us clean up these beauties with out damaging them. (I would still not soak a japanned piece or an unprotected decal with it, just in case, as I haven't tested it on multiple machine surfaces.)

Toggpine - Welcome and thanks for the share! I'll see about ordering some and doing a few experiments

Thanks for not running me out for trying something differently!
Dairy-Du is made by AN-FO manufacturing. It comes in a powder form. You may have to order it in larger quantities than is handy. Depending on your proximity to dairy cow farms, it can be hard to get. I buy it in 15# pails and it takes me a couple of years to go through it, even using in the house for regular dish washing. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll figure out how to mail you some.
Has anyone tried warming these formulas when using them? (Not direct heat, but by placing in hot water bath to warm it.)
Hubby brought home the Naptha last night! Whoo Hoo! One more checked off the ingredient list!

Toggpine thanks , I know a few dairy farmers I might be able to get some from.
Helenann

Wow, this is an amazing resource for restoration newbies such as myself!

A friend recently picked up what appears to be a Singer 66-16 at a thrift shop for me. It's dirty, but not the worst I've seen after hours of reading about restoration. Needs a new power cable (and probably motor), slide plate and spool pin, but seems intact otherwise. Surprisingly, the mechanisms all move fairly smoothly and there seems to be only minor rust on the access plate.

The thing that concerns me a bit is that it appears that someone has painted over the mechanism on the underside of the machine. The bars are not silver (or even dirty brown) - they are matte black. I can't imagine that would be the original finish on them.

There are also a few pits on the bed where it looks like the japanning cracked and flaked off and was painted over. Otherwise, decals are intact and the head seems to be in decent shape. Any thoughts on the odd finish on the underside? I took photos of the machine, but forgot to snag one of the underside.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]535856[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]535857[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]535858[/ATTACH]

It's dark outside, but I snapped a few photos of the underside with my phone. Original finish? Paint? Old oil making the bars look black?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]535862[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]535863[/ATTACH]


My apologies for posting twice. Just hoping to give good background!

Looks like the original finish. The mechanics need to be cleaned. Nothing to worry about.

Glenn,

I have a question about the my chipped paint around the base. I'm thinking about using testor's gloss black enamel to cover the bear metal and then adding a light coat or two of shellac. good as any or is there a better way. I'm not looking for a show machine just a good looking work machine with my 15-90

David Hair

Yes this will work fine for that David. You can build up the layers of paint level with the original finish just let paint dry before adding more coats.

Thanks Glenn,
I've just got through reading all 55 pages going back to the first page often. I thought I had read some where in the thread you had used that paint for the edges. I have the 15-90 I'm just wanting to clean well and use. My 31-15 is a different story. Someone has painted it with a brush a nice gloss black with ridges somewhere in it's past. I think I'm just going to strip it then prime and paint with auto enamel. Maybe a coat of shellac on top, but most likely just a coat of wax for protection. Since this is to be used as a heavy sew machine I just want it clean. The problem I think I'm going to have with it is the taking it apart to strip and not getting it back together where it will sew. Do you know where I can get a good service and adjustment manual for the 31-15. Is there a generic manual that tells you the principles of the vintage machine working.

Thanks
David Hair

David, I would not recommend taking the machine apart. I would take all the shinny metal bits off the machine including the hand wheel. You can wet sand the machine smooth using wet or dry sand paper. I use mineral oil for the wetting agent on the paper. Use finer paper (800 grit) for the final sanding. Last step would be to rub it down with fine rubbing compound. When it is smooth to your liking you can then repaint and clear coat. If smooth enough and the paint is all there you can just clear coat it with shellac.

There are a couple of US military manuals I found that detail some care and feeding. The machine itself has few differences (other than the size) from a 15. Find one adjuster's manual for a 15 and you have the basics for both.

One main difference with the 31-15 is that it's timed by the needlebar only as far as I saw. The Adjuster's manual for the 15 says the timing is factory set but people say they time them. I've never had to. Those suckers take a beating and don't go out of time. I've had them show up with just a 1/4 of a needle left and the needleplates looking like they've been used for target practice.

Glenn,
The reason I wanted to disassemble the machine is I was going to use electrolysis to clean and remove the paint. I've had very good results doing this with the Craftsman 109 lathes I rebuild. It cleans the lathes to the case iron. It even removes all the rust. All I have to sometimes do is fill pin holes in the cast with Bondo and sand before priming. I really wouldn't even think of going this way if the finish on the 31-15 wasn't such a homegrown mess

ArchaicArcane, About the Army manuals that detail care and feeding, could you tell me where to find them.

Thanks
David Hair

I do agree with Glenn for the disassembly. I have a featherweight in pieces - for painting as well - and I'm not looking forward to putting it back together (I can but it will be a chore) I'm about to leave the house right now so I can't find right away the docs and search the names but it was a weird site, I remember that - actual army site if I recall. I'll try to remember when I'm home again.

David,
The choice is up to you. If it is going to be a heavy work machine and it sews well why bother redoing it. I do understand the need for a nice looking machine though.

I've seen a few factory machines - paint goes from scraps of paint and bare metal to repainted with a brush. All they wanted was to move fabric. I'm not sure some ever had shellac....

Mirlam, I think you just described mine. If I knew how to attach photo's I'd post a couple. I think I may have it.
David Hair

Well I'm betting it passes the 5 test. At 5 feet away walking 5 miles an hour it looks great... But I'm betting it isn't very picky what goes under the feet. Those are like roaches... You can't kill them... Use it and make something very cool. Some of them don't have shiny finish. I don't know why.

I'm also admiring your table legs. Neither of mine look that cool.

The only problem I find with the table legs is rust and the D&D is broken on the right side. Part of the wood table that supports the left back of the machine is broken. I'm gluing it back and sanding the table before putting a coat polyurethane. I also plan on replacing all screws with flat head bolts as most of the holes are near stripped. As far as the paint goes I may just sand a little and wax for now. It all depends on how well the 31-15 sews now. I have the old style clutch and a 1/4 HP motor that came with the table and the machine turns freely. Before I do any thing but fix the table top and oil the machine well I'm going to do a little test sewing.

Alright. They used to be here:

https://www.logsa.army.mil/index.cfm...tion=home.main
Publications -> ETMs On Line
Use the "Pub Title Text" field to search for "Fabric Repair""

It looks like they're gone now though. I don't get anything for that search.

Soooo,... the titles you're looking for are: _Navy Sewing Machine Repair Manual.pdf, _Navy Sewing Machine Repair.pdf, _sewing machine adjustment survival.pdf,
_USNavySinger111WConsew225REPAIR.pdf and _Industrial Machine Maintenance.pdf

ETA: Some of them are in the Industrial Sewing machines Yahoo group
Also: 4 docs specifically related to the 31-15.

Google/Bing some of those names in quotes and hits do come up. More than this though, I think we should take the rest out of Glenn's finishing thread. If you start a thread though, PM me with a link or I won't see it for a couple of days til it shows up on the digest. I recently re-wired my 31-15 and others here have taken things on more recently than I have. We'll all have input.
Well by that standard even MY french polishing looks good. ;)

I'm so glad you added the word table in there. I missed it the first time and it was.... weird. ;)

https://books.google.com/books/reader?id=2P8XAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output= reader&pg=GBS.PP1

http://keysew.com/Webpages/DemoImages/USNavySinger111WConsew225REPAIR.pdf

I would send the manuals, but too big. So here are links.