Trying to Remove Decals
 

The Singer 27 I own has 75% loss of its decals. Underneath is black paint... It is a repaint candidate for sure, so what are my alternatives?

I know, it seems like blasphemy, but what if I remove all of the decals? How can I remove them?

Yesterday, I tried rubbing compound and now parts of the bed SHINE like new, including what was left of the decals. LOL! Suggestions?

If you're going to repaint the machine, you need to strip it down 100%. I used Jasco Paint Remover and it took everything right off. I brushed it on, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then used a wire brush to rub it all off. Stubborn bits gave in after a second treatment, scrub, and sandpaper. I wouldn't try to just remove the decals; you'd likely take the paint off or damage it enough to make it not worth trying to salvage.

I'm trying to avoid a total repaint. There are sections of paint missing in all the usual areas and I can sufficiently touch those up to "make-do". This is being turned into a "teaching" handcrank sewing machine that will be moved a lot. In an effort to try and improve its appearance, I figured taking the the kind-of-here-mostly-not decals off would be somewhat of an improvement.

Thank goodness it works just fine (or will once I can find a handcrank that will fit it).

Since the worn-off bits were . . . well, worn off, I wonder if you might have any luck with a very fine "finishing" sandpaper.

DH uses my hand held hair dryer to remove decals on the car -- I wonder if that woule work on the machine decals.

actone or lacquer thinner on a rag will wipe them right off and not hurt the paint....

These are some great ideas! Last night I tried the heavy-duty rubbing compound. In some cases the decals got cleaner! As far as the Japanning goes, it is removing most of it which leaves the paint underneath to shine. For the most part, this is truly cleaning up a ratty looking machine.

I'll try the super fine sandpaper and lacquer thinner today. Pics to come.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]340830[/ATTACH]This is how it looked when it arrived. My goal was to learn about Singer treadles and how they worked since all I have ever fixed were Nationals or NewHomes.

Try WD 40, Goof Off or Goo Gone. Any one of those should work and not damage the underlying surface.

Nancy/Ohio

Try spraying with WD-40. It will loosen decals on most items. Don't think it would hurt the paint job.