Singer Featherweight - Cleaning the gold decal
 

Ooops! A steal, sort of...

Went to an estate sale and found a Featherweight. It wasn't in the best condition, but the case was in better condition than the ones that I owned. It had 4 of the feet that go with the machine. It is a 1935 machine, the wiring was a mess on the foot peddle and when I plugged it in, it wouldn't sew. I used my own foot peddle and it still wouldn't sew. I asked the lady, who was asking $175.00 for the machine, if she would take less. If the machine was running, $175 would have been a fair price. After much hemming and hawing we agreed on $95.00. I took the machine and ran.

I called two sewing repairmen that I knew and they said that it was a good deal, because the parts alone would sell for more than I paid. However, a new motor would cost about $112.00, plus labor. I figured that it would stay in my closet until I had the money to fix it.

Before I put it away, I thought that I would replace the felt pad, clean and oil the machine so it wouldn't be so smelly once I got around to having it fixed. I plugged it in one last time and lo and behold the machine worked. Now I feel sort of guilty for getting such a big break on the price under such false conditions.

Here is my question, finally: It looks like someone tried to clean the machine with turpintine or another strong chemical, because you can see a smear of gold across the black paint. Does anyone know what I should use to see if the smear will come off? I thought of using carnuba wax, but I'm waiting for other suggestions before sealing it with the wax.

Thanks for help.

It was probably alcohol, which dissolves pretty much everything coating the cast iron. That be a warnin'!
To get rid of the excess, I would use car cutting compound. It's a very, very gentle way to remove a thin layer of paint (or whatever). The harder you rub, the more paint it takes off.
Use (obviously) only with a very clean, soft cotton. Read the instructions, too. Sometimes the manufacturer recommends wetting the cloth first.

Whoa! I hadn't a clue that alchohol would do that to the gold. In fact, I've never thought of what to clean a vintage machine with -- what would you use? The most I've done to them is wax them with carnuba wax.

Thanks, very much, for the suggestion. I'll try it.

I have learned to CLEAN vintage machines with decals by using sewing machine oil and cotton balls or soft flannel cloth.

Only in the very very worst cases will I use Hoppes #9 gun cleaning solvent as it's mostly kerosene and to date has not damaged any decals for me.

Denatured alcohol and to a lesser extent rubbing alcohol are solvents of a different nature and I don't let them near the finish on older machines.

I really don't know what to do to clean the smeared decals on your machine.

Joe

congrats on the good deal! no guilt, it did not run till you worked on it, so no worries there.
I got the DVD and book by David R McCullum on how to care and fix your FW, best buy I have made in months, as I have 5 FW and taking them in ti be serviced would cost more than I paid for the machines, over time, so now even I can fix and care for my machines, am so not what one would call handy at fixing things, but this DVD really makes me feel even I can do it. I would not be with out the book and DVD now, he even shows how to fix the case and get rid of stinky smell!! just a happy camper here not in any way related or what ever, ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check with Glenn next week - he's at a TOGA for now.

Good to see you are doing better and back on the board. Welcome back.

Congratulations on your FW. Am glad the FW found a good caring home.

Here is a website for lots of excellent FW maintenance/repair information. The Tip of the Month (and index) is a great way to look up info that you are needing. www.novamontgomery.com

Hope the website helps you.