Grant
Would you share your cleaning & polishing method with us?l

Miriam,
What do you use if not car wax?

This is from my page.
~Grant~
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It should also be noted that not all waxes are equal. A high quality pure Caranuba Wax should have little to no water in it and should do little to no harm to even a shellac finish assuming a good application method. A low cost wax often has other substances in it to "cut" the wax and cut the cost and those will almost definitely do damage. All of the good waxes I've used have been thick and waxy feeling.

interesting... I buy 100% pure Caranuba in flake form in a 10 lb box (to mix with beeswax for hardening leather armor) I wonder what it would take to make it into a usable protective wax for sewing machines.....

Grant
Thanks for sharing.
It is amazing how clean you get the underside. Is it safe to use the metal cleaner products there also? I have been reluctant to use steel wool, wire brushes, polishes etc. on the underside of a machine. I generally stick to kerosene there and get of the gook, but it never looks like yours! Am I being overly cautious?

I have never been successful in using just oil on a sewing machine head. Will have to try it again.

I would definitely be interested in hearing what you figure out. :) I Have a bottle of Mequires or Mothers or something here that will last my lifetime. Used to use it on the bikes til I discovered the Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish. That stuff is scary good. Scary because it liquifies bugs on contact and still polishes even scratches that I thought would never go away. The liquifying part is why I won't go near a sewing machine with it though.

Yesterday I did this on a Singer 128. I used a small wire wheel on my Dremel to clean the metal and Meguire's wax on the painted surfaces. I put some SMO on a Q-Tip to get in the corners where the casting was rough. I think that the results speak for themselves. This is before and after, and yes, it is the same machine.
~Grant~
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Grant, WOW. You are amazing! And you are not taking it apart? How do you reach all of those nooks and crannies? I can't even do so with a toothbrush and kerosene! Do you do any special cleaning to make sure the little wire pieces and cleaner are not left, especially on moving parts, joints etc? I have had a setup ready to do that, but those wire brushes losing pieces scares me.

If I understood you correctly, you implied that the electric Dremels are too fast. I have a multispeed with a flex shaft. Is it that it would still be too fast, or is there something else about the rechargeable that I am missing?

Thanks for your time and patience. I realize this is your business and I am taking you away from it.

Wow, thank you for such kind words. I did remove the two bolts that hold the Feed Dog actuating arm (don't know it's proper name) to be able to clean it properly. It also makes it a lot easier to clean the underside of the bed too. This is a picture as I was working on it. It also allows you to get at that bearing. Quite often they are seized up like this one was.

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As for the Dremel, I believe that about 10,000 to 15,000 RPMs is about right. So you should be ok with what you have. Most corded single speed Dremels run at a much higher speed, about 30,000 RPMs and that is too fast. Most of the cordless ones at a much slower speed. Polishing compound flies off and makes a mess when you use a buffing wheel at that higher speed. And the wire wheel spits out the wires faster at that speed. And those small wires HURT (!!!) when they get stuck in your foot. Occupational hazard. ;) I just keep my tweezers handy.
And you can always PM me if you have a question. I am always happy to help.
~Grant~

Grant,
Thank you, so much, for your offer.

Think I need to buy armor for when those wire pieces go flying. Already have a face guard:)

I am generally not one to disconnect. Not really mechanically inclined! When you disconnect the feed dogs, don't you then have to retime?

Can you please share where you buy the buffing pads. The ones I purchased are fluffy and/or cotton. The ones you use look denser. Cannot seem to find them.

Thanks,