New darling!
 

Can anyone help me with this new beauty? I found her and could not leave her by herself. I have named her Ms Faye. I would appreciate any advice or help. I plan to get her cleaned up and give her back her glory.
:)

Nice! Damascus machines were made for Montgomery Wards by National in the 20's and 30's. Here's a manual for your machine if you need it. :)

http://www.clawges.com/sewing/damasvs_manual/index.html

And an interesting article about "Damacus Annie", who is probably the leading authority on the Damascus machines. :)

http://www.antiquequiltdating.com/no...ewmachine.html

Thanks Charlee - I needed a manual too

You're welcome Miriam! :) Those Damascus machines are so pretty!!

Thanks Charlee, I need to get busy!

What procedures do you go thru to clean her up? I have a sphinx that needs lots of TLC. I have tried everything short of sandblasting & just can't seem to get the "glow" back. Any advice?

Interesting articles. I have one treadle...so far!

:D I'm thinkin' that sandblasting might not have the desired effect!!

Car wax. LOTS and LOTS of car wax. After you've cleaned the machine, and most of us recommend using sewing machine oil to clean with, start layering a resin based, non abrasive car wax. Apply, dry, buff, repeat. Sometimes it takes a lot, sometimes only takes once....but you can have a pretty, shiny, machine with it...one that has a durable finish. :)

Even in her state of being now, she is a lovely machine. Congatulations on finding her. I couldn't have left her behind either.

Pretty neat accessory, the wasps nest.

I've oiled and cleaned several of my machines to the point there's nothing left to clean off. However I've not tried the car wax yet because I keep asking myself, how do I make positive sure I've got all the oil off of the surface?

Plus the fact that once I get them cleaned I'm usually sewing with them by then.

My modis operondi (sp)goes like this:

Buy
Take home
Examine, diagnose
Take apart
Order parts
Clean
Fix what's needed
Clean
Adjust something
Clean
Oil
Clean
Oil
Clean
Test
Clean
Oil
Wipe down
Sew with it
Sew some more
Brag to my wife I got it fixed ......


Joe

sounds like you've been reading Billy's tutorial

Joe, once you have the machine clean enough to look good, what difference does it make?
In many cases, the protective clear coat is gone from the machine and the decals are exposed. The more you rub on those decals, the sooner they go the way of the clear coat and all you've got left is a dull black machine.
Of course, if/when you're into repaints, then I guess that's not a bad thing.

[QUOTE=terisail;4992449]Can anyone help me with this new beauty? I found her and could not leave her by herself. I have named her Ms Faye. I would appreciate any advice or help. I plan to get her cleaned up and give her back her glory.
:)[/QUOTE

She is a real beauty. Once you get her cleaned up she will be a gem.

What brand of wax do you recommend Charleee? I have tried a liquid Turtle wax & the machine looked worse after I waxes & buffed. Should I use a paste wax - maybe I didn't do enought coats. After the first coat & it ended up looking worse I was afraid to use more. I appreciate your advice - you are a great resource.

I would love to hear what car wax Charlee recomends. Please let us know your secret.

I've used TR3 Resin Glaze, but usually on machines that obviously have their clear coat intact. When the clear coat is damaged, you can still use it, but be really gentle going over the decals...I dab it on, let it dry completely and gently rub it off.
My newest favorite is Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus Premium Liquid Wax. GREAT, slick shine! It's totally awesome, altho I did have a bit of a scare when I was working on my Davis! I had put the wax on, and in a few places it was kind of thick...I walked away to let it dry while I did other things. I came back, started to wipe the excess off and there were places where the black paint had turned GREEN!! OMG! Did I ruin my machine's looks? Not that they were stellar to begin with, but dang!! I went ahead and gently buffed it out, bemoaning my stupidity, and then walked away again to mourn... when I came back, the green was gone, it was black again!! This stuff really does soak in. I put about 10 coats on the Davis, and it's still not got the shine that I'd like it to have, but I wanted to move on, so will get back to it another day.

The reason I like car wax as opposed to furniture oil (Liquid Gold) is that the car wax is meant to protect a car's finish from the elements and damage, I think it's a stronger, more protective finish.

Joe, I like your modis operandi!

I like your R&R list Joe.:thumbup:

I should have finished the thread before I sent Charlee the PM, duh the question was answered.

I don't clean my machines until the decals are compromised, most of them are already. I clean them until the surface grunge is gone and pretty much stop there. I have a couple with some nice decals that are still ambered because I just can't get the last coating of grunge off of them. Or, because the clear coat has turned amber and I don't want to rub through it.
It's really hard sometimes to tell the difference.

The old Singers seem to be the worst for this. My best Red Eye is my #2 treadle and I haven't even tried to clean it yet.
I want to but I'm really paranoid about damaging the decals. They are not perfect, but still they are very nice.

I recently did my new to me SEWMORE and she shines, so a coat of wax would really do wonders for her. After I touch up some pre-existing scrapes and nicks to the paint.

Joe

I have two well worn redeyes - I cleaned off the shiny metal to not much avail - probably plating is worn off... I used machine oil to clean and it looks ok but with dings and broken up decals, I think some machines just never look like new. I'm not into taking them apart except as I work on cleaning and then only if necessary. And if necessary, only as long as it takes to take it apart, clean it and put it right back on. My old 66s do turn very well though and sew fantastic. They would be workhorses once again, not some kind of show piece. I think it is a matter of what is the bottom line - a show piece or a work horse. I guess they could be stripped down and repainted to look like a hot rod - maybe I should research how to do that.