Need to Clean a Singer 201
 

I have my mother's old 201 which I am giving to my GD. I've had it serviced but the head needs to be cleaned. It's in great shape but just a little dusty. No rust and the decals are in excellent shape. What would be the best way to clean it? Would soap and water be OK? Surprisingly, when I tested the machine before taking it to be serviced it worked. I know it hasn't been used in 40 to 50 years so I was amazed it worked. The service guy said all he had to do was oil it and adjust the tension. The case needs to be repaired. It has a bentwood case that came apart but my GD's husband does woodworking so the can repair the case.

Don't use water and soap. Sewing machine oil on a rag will wipe all the dust off nicely, and give it a shine.

Thanks for your help. I knew someone would know the answer.

Old grime has to come off and sometimes we just have to get inventive. Shellac can handle a damp cloth, but it can't leave any dampness on the machine. These days many of us have polishe up the black machines with resin based car polish, even dull machines shine up impressively, it lifts up grime and dirt even after a good cleaning. If it's in very good condition it should clean up easily.

I'm happy that your machine is running well but personally I'm not impressed with your service guy. This machine should have had a much more thorough going over. My 201-2 was just fine when I got it, I thought, after being oiled, but it didn't take long for issues to show up. At the very least he should have cleaned and regreased the motor and taken the bobbin case out and cleaned under it.

Cari

I agree with Cari. I inherited my mom's 15-91, which is from the same era as the 201-2 and has the same motor. That motor has two cups that wick a Vaseline type lubricant to the motor. He should have checked those as well.

Mother had paid a serviceman to come out to the house and service her machine every few years. She didn't sew much, just a hem every now and then. When I got the machine, the cups were almost empty.

bkay

I agree. A 201-2 that hasn't been used in 40-50 years should also have it's grease pots cleaned out and new grease wicks and grease put in. My MIL has a 201 that I serviced for her, after being untouched for 40 years, and it had dry hard grease and the grease wicks were unusable. It also needed rewiring.

On any vintage sewing machine that hasn't been used in a long time, or I pick up and don't know it's history, I also take the motor apart and clean the laminations on the armature (motor shaft.)

These machines are beautiful after the initial service, but the service should include more than just an oil.

Oops, we were posting at the same time, bkay. So I ended up saying the same thing.

Well, hopefully, when it was serviced at least some of those things suggested were done but all the tech said was it was oiled and the tension adjusted. Since it's going to FL and I'm in NC taking it back to them if I have trouble won't be an option. I'll try to check it out more before taking it to FL.