Cecilia, I use old white T-shirts. Yes to the first question. Let dry for a couple of hours and then wipe down with naptha, this will remove the excess linseed oil. Then start the french polish and this can be done the same day. you can French polish the entire machine a couple of times with about 30 minutes wait between. Wait a day and do it again. You can do this as many times as needed to give a nice even piano finish shine to it. Yes you will need patience this is not a fast process. I have been know to spend a couple of weeks getting a nice finish. It all de[pends on how bad the finish is on the machine. Did you ever post a pic of the machine. I would like to see it again so I can advise accordingly. You are most welcome.
Skip

Glenn,

I started a separate thread to show my project-in-progress; I don't want to hijack this thread of yours! My new thread is:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post6404733

Mr. Glenn,

I have read this entire thread, and will be trying your method out :) I have searched and searched and haven't found the tut on restoring the cabinets. ALSO, I have a Pink Atlas that has some paint chipped outta her, what color aniline dye to you recommend for her? oh, and THANKS so much for taking the time to do all this, the tutorials and the question answering is most appreciated by us newbies or in my case...Old Brain Syndrome LOL :D

I have sewn the better part of my almost 50 years, but have just recently gotten the vintage machine bug, and now want to do all things restore, repair, refinish, revamp, revitalize, and yes, when necessary repaint. ALL the re words! :) I have a 66-16 that I rescued from a scrap metal heap and it is pretty shot, decals gone, bit beat up, rusted, just bad. So, it will be my learn to paint a machine guinea pig. Have a couple of old motors to learn how to do the re-wiring. Have a 15, that I am SURE will benefit from your tutorial :), and several others, that I believe just need a good old polishing. I'm like you, I'd rather keep em' in their all natural state if possible, cause, well, they earned every ding and chip...just like me! :D Thanks again.

Teena,

Your pink Atlas is no good anymore; you should just mail it to me.

:)

Teena, I am sorry but you can't use aniline dye on the pink machine because it is enamal paint. You can get some paint in small bottles made by testors for model makers. You may find one that will match or mix colors to match.

Where is a good place to buy Tester's Paint?

Hobby Lobby etc. Walmart may carry it in the toy department where the model cars and such are.

Thanks Glenn! Didn't even Think about it actually being paint...see there's that old brain syndrome! lol But, you missed my first question...where is the tutorial on restoring the cabinets? I have searched and searched and can't find it! Took me Forever to find the Muv video...:/

And Cecilla, sorry chick, no can have! lol She's one of my great thrift store finds! $14.00!!! :D

Here ya go Teena,
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ight=restoring

Thank you crocee! I will bookmark this for sure!

That was the only way I could find it. I bookmarked it the first time I read that tutorial. I was afraid it would get lost in the massive amount of information.

This site can be searched. In the upper right and down an inch or so there is a search feature - it looks like a little white blank. There is a magnifying glass next to it.

Wonderful tutorial.... I have a 1910 Singer treadle to work on.....

SOS
I have an old redeye Singer - someone put a piece of surgical/white tape on the bed maybe 60 years ago. I got quite a bit of the residue off with Naptha and some acetone but it seems like it is imbedded in the paint. More black/brown coming off at this point than white can this be gotten off or stained over?

I don't know maybe it's just me, but when I search, invariable it will point to the sticky with 43,000 replies (as well as others). No matter where I click on the search response, I don't get to the specific item. There is some great info in those stickies, but as for searching, if it's in there, it's lost. Did I miss something??

it might depend on your key words

would heat help?

I doubt if heat would help - it seems to be into the paint - it is coming off with the white anyway - I had to quit and wait for an answer from Guru Glenn.

Miriam try spray and wash and let it soak for awhile on the tape residue. Sometimes tape that has been on a surface for a long time the glue will melt into the shellac and can be hard to remove. I have good luck with spray and wash with tape glue. If in the paint then you will have to use alcohol and Q-tip only on the mess. Once removed you may want to shellac the area. What we are trying to do is remove the contaminated shellac.

I'm not sure there is much shellac left on that machine. I'll keep spray & wash around once they clean the ice off the roads.

Good news - I got the white off
Good news - no decals damaged
Bad news - it took off a lot of black
Bad news - there is a line around where the white WAS.
Bad news - dull place around that line

glenn how did you figure out to use spray n wash? What would even make you think of that. my mind just boggles up on you knowledge on how to clean these ol' SM

I think I heard this from my mother a long time ago and yes it does work. I learned a lot thru trial and error over many years and you only hear of the success not the failers LOL
Skip

Miriam lightly sand the line a dull area with very fine wet or dry paper using a little turps as a lub, clean with naptha and then french polish the area to bring back the shine
PS the sanding will level the line out.

fine sand paper or steel wool?

I never mentioned steel wool anywhere LOL Sand paper wet or dry, the sandpaper used on car finishes. I use 400 and 800 grit. I never use steel wool on the machine except the shiny metal parts.

just my blonde streak - makin' sure

You are forgiven this time.:o

I SO understand this. When I do shows with my Armor, I get lots of "wow, i tried like 4 or 5 times and couldn't get that right". I have started taking my box of failures showing the evolution of the attempts, 15 maybe 20 iterations to get it right... People are shocked that i failed so much. I said any "master" has...

My Great-Grandfather was a carpenter and used to tell my Grandfather that the only difference between a craftsman and a failure was quiting....

The only real failure is the failure to try.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.

I would have never learned if I had not all the failures. Failures bring good results.

Thanks for posting this information. This thread should really have a "sticky" on it. I have an old black Necchi with a lot of crazing on the bed only and this sounds like exactly what I need to fix it.

John

Be patient.

Amazing thread! Thank you so much for all this information! I have been sewing on my various Singers for many years and I now have lots of tips on how to spiff them up and make them glow.

I wonder if any of you have tried to restore the cases for the portable Singer models? I went looking for replacement cases and found that they can cost more than the machine heads...YOW! I have 2 cases that need restoration. One is for my 1950s, Singer 403A...a trapezoid style that has lost its vinyl skin and is coming apart. The other case is for my 1955, 99K that is starting to show some fraying on the (varnished?) cloth skin, near the edges. Any ideas?

Jmiller has done a lot with the old cases

Thanks, I'll look JMiller up and see what has been posted.

Hi, bit nervous about using your techniques (not that i don't trust them it's more trust in my self) The central decals are flaking, the metal parts are coming up well although being in the UK I can't get the brands you talk about (unless someone can point me in the right direction) I would appreciate some pointers before showing this 1919 lady some care and attention

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Glenn uses the 'naptha' to clean the machine of dirt and oil. Naptha is not a brand it is like lighter fluid. Then it is gone over with a a little rag on the finger dipped in a little 'denatured alcohol' then the same rag is dipped in a bit of 'boiled linseed oil' - any brand will work - keep the rag tight. Then it is gone over with some 'shellac' thinned with denatured alcohol. You might put a little shellac on the decals to keep them intact. The items are not bought by brand but by 'chemical' - the photos are just so you get some idea what to ask for at a hardware store. So when you go to the store ask for Naptha, denatured alcohol, boiled linseed oil and shellac. The rag needs to be clean and lint free. It is a bit scary at first - once you have done it you will find it is pretty simple.

Looks to me like it could benefit from a real good Sewing machine oil cleaning first..... you do not want to mix the dirt in with the shellac.

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