Along the line of painting sewing machines, is it possible to just touch up a couple of bare spots on the machine? I have a 403 that is in good condition. The only thing is that there are 3 spots on the bed of the machine where solvent or some chemical was dropped on because the paint is soft and bubbled in a small ring (little bit smaller than dime size). I really don't want to get into stripping/repainting the whole machine (I did see the link for sew2go for a description of the FW restoration - very interesting).

So - is it possible to patch the paint? I realize the paint might not be an exact match, would try to get it as close as possible. I am not bothered by slight variation on such small parts. But I do want to have the metal covered.

Any suggestions?

Far be it from me to differ, but I'd say leave it as it is.

I need to peel the paint off those 3 small sections since it is bubbled and soft/tacky. If I leave it be - should I put any sort of clear coat over the metal to protect it? What type of paint is on these machines?

I've decided to hold off on painting her another color, probably only because I'm afraid of botching the job myself, and I'm a 'do-it-yourself' kind of gal, or (more than likely) just too frugal to pay the $$$ to have her re painted professionally. So, on the couple of bare metal spots I used black automotive paint to touch her up. First I used 600 grit sand paper, to carefully sand down the spots, then I applied a coat of primer, then sanded the primer, careful not to disturb the surrounding 'good' paint, then applied several coats of the black automotive paint, drying and sanding between each coat. Again, careful not to disturb the 'good' surrounding painted area. Apply layers until the 'new' paint is just slightly raised above the old paint, then sand spot carefully until it is even with the old original layer of paint. It's a lengthy process, but it turned out well. The paint, basic black, I purchased at the local auto store in a small application tube (see sample pic).

I agree!! It's your machine. You got it at an excellent price and its yours to enjoy!!!!