Quiltingboard Forums - Cleaning and repairing the Shellac clear coat on Vintage sewing machine heads

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Quote:

Originally Posted by tropit (Post 6571092)

Well...wouldn'tcha know it. right after I discovered this thread, I bumped into a little FW that was just perfect except for one thing. It's finish is peeling away all around the lower part of the base of the head. I think it may have been sitting in water for awhile. The oil pan finish is a little bubbled up too. The inside gears and mechanisms look OK though...no rust. The bed looks almost perfect, except for a couple of light scratches and a small, bumbled touch up that the previous owner did. Those are easy fixes. However, I need some advice on how to repair the peeling paint. This is a 1951 FW and I'm wondering if they still used shellac finishes on them? It is seriously coming off of the body all along the 4 sides. It may be able to be repainted and then blended in at the top edge without being very noticeable. Please help...thanks. I will post some pix tomorrow.
~ Cindy

Hi Cindy, a pic would be helpful. Most singers used a clear coat of shellac. But you can test it to be sure. Use denatured alcohol in an area that is bas or will not be seen. Place a Q-tip full of alcohol on the area and if the finish melts or gets sticky then yes it is shellac. If it does not then it is lacqure. In either case you can sand the bad parts smooth an repaint it with black high gloss paint. You can use shellac by french polish to belen everything. If you need help just let me know and I will be glad to quide you thru the process.
Skip

Thanks for getting right back to me Glenn. I will definitely post pix tomorrow. I really appreciate your help. I'll be back in the morning with imagery.
~ Cindy

I will be waiting for the pics. I will be here most of the day tomorrow.
Skip

Thanks so much. OK, I've taken pix.
Then, the power went out. Fired up the Genny.
Then, my desktop decided to update a zillion Windows updates. Uploaded pix to laptop instead, which does not have Photoshop on it.
Then, the battery on laptop went dead. Got her plugged back in.

Are these all omens? LOL.

I'm going to try to upload these pix, but I'm afraid that they are all too big of files. If I can't do that, then we'll just have to wait for Microsoft to do it's thing with my desktop and I'll try again this afternoon. Thanks for your patience.

Pix to follow(?)

~ Cindy

OK, I'm back on the desktop and now have PS to work with. Here's the pix...

The peeling goes all the way around the base of the machine, but does not go over, onto the bed. The oil pan has some bubbling, but the inside gears look OK. IT looks like it was sitting in some water. Perhaps the former owner's water heater blew out. There's also a couple of places where the former owner touched up the black paint on the bed extension, which looks a little rough. Other than that, it's beautiful!

Here's a pic of the oil pan and one of the botched repair.
~ Cindy

I'd like to repair this machine to as close to original as possible. I'm really not into faking it, if possible. I don't really plan to resale it, but I love old, original stuff. I know that may not be possible, but I'd like to get as close as I can to original.

I think that I just said the word, "original" 3 times. You get the drift...LOL.

Hi Cindy,
You can sand the bad areas without the paint by by using wet or dry sand paper until smooth, Prime and then spray paint several thin coats of gloss black paint. If you can't remove all the pitted areas you can fill them in with car bondo filler. It is red and comes in a tube (from auto store) sand again until very smooth before painting. Let cure for a week and then you can french polish with shellac and linseed oil to match the rest of the finish. You can repair the bad patch job in the same way. Make sure you clean all surfaces first with naptha to remove any oils and dirt.
Skip