What should I do ? (Singer 28K)
 

Hello,

I bought this 28K because it came with a hand crank, totally rusted but usable. She was totally frozen, I must say that she was outside under the remains of her bentwood case since years. The price was low (5€, 5.5$), and after some discussions I could bring this piece of rust for 3€. According to Ismacs she is from 1909.

I own another 28K in good condition, so I ask you an advice about doing something of this machine. I oiled and clean the mechanism and now all move freely. The only missing parts are the tension assembly and the front plate, but I have some modern in my toolbox, and find a vintage one is not too expensive.

So, there is some options :
- keep it as is with varnish on rust.
- sand it and repaint, in blue, or in green with pink dots.
- use it as a door stopper or anchor.
- trash it.
- ...

I am open to all advices.

Many Thanks
Philippe
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Steampunk is in style.
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This machine was gross. I scraped all the rust and garbage off but the base looked bad - see pic. I put shellac on it and it evened out - felt smooth - sewed smooth. I put it in a wooden frame. My husband put some dots of velcro on the frame and some on a sheet of thick plastic. You can watch it make stitches. We put a steering wheel spinner knob on it. I took 10 machines camping with me. That one sold first.

Since it works, put a tension on it - you can get by with a spring, two disks and a nut. Put a little shellac on the base, then put plastic down and watch it sew.

Nice save.
Option one or two are both good. I think it looks pretty good as is. On the other hand your machine isn't exactly rare. No one would feel put out by someone repainting a machine in that condition. If you want a custom painted machine that one is a good candidate.
You got a bargain in my opinion. The hand crank alone goes for much more here.
Rodney

I have ony just like yours and I like it the way it is. I use it for decoration. It does have a shuttle bobbin, a needle in it and does crank freely. I am missing a front cover like yours. Keep it just like it is.
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My 28 was missing the front slide plate and I got it from Sew-Classic.com. Some of the newer ones may be longer, but can be ground down according to a well-respected, local SMM. I like the repaint ideal with new decals from Ebay on "Singer decals" They come in different colors too. If money is the most important, then leave it as-is, except do get the plate.

If you are ever forced, by circumstance to grind down a plate, be sure to grind the back, the part you can't see. Thank you for saving another machine.

Many thanks to all for your replies. I think I will sand and repaint it. Rust is very deep and I found some under paint. I already buy some new plates from sew classic, they were not too long but a little bit too large and after a little grinding they fit perfectly. The plastic one is also a good idea, I must find some acrylic glass but the one I could find locally is a little bit thinner.
I will post photos of this restoration here, but first I must finish a 48K.

The plastic I used was some I was supposed to throw away at work. I had more than enough for my work so I took the rest home. It is the clear stuff I put between magazines. Nice and heavy but not bulky.

Paint it and refresh the whole thing and get the parts, it is a treasure, antiques can not be replaced. Save the machine to pass down too or sale, just don't trash it please!!!!!!

I began to work on this machine two weeks ago during my holidays, now I am back to work and it may be more difficult to find time ...

Here are some pictures.
First removing many of the moving parts :
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Then move it to the garage, the driver is my son :)
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Then polish visible, and sometimes hidden parts, I use a nylon brush on my drill, then polish with paste on fabric discs and "mirror" to finish, I think that for you it's something like Brasso. On the large plates I will make more polishing to try to remove the black spots, in facts they are less visible that on the photo.
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Last Saturday, I strip the paint on the body with an horrible chemical thing, but the result is pretty good :
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So now I will continue to sand it to remove all rust spots and begin to paint with a first coat of paint.
I will put some pictures as soon as possible.

Have a nice day from Brittany

I can't wait to see how this turns out!!!

Looking good! I am glad you decided to go for the restoration/repaint.

What a wonderful job you're doing on the sewing machine.

How cool! You have your own train line!

I love the older wheelbarrows in the background.

You have a very handsome son - (and I have a beautiful, single niece that is about his age - and she sews!) Just being an involved, meddling auntie!

Looking good so far!
Rodney

It amazes me what you can do with an old rusted machine! I have bad hands so can't do all of that work so won't buy one in that condition, but I have seen so many that can make them beautiful again. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

First, many thanks for your encouragement, it helps me to go further.

Here is a photo of the actual state of works, I do some masking and now there is two layers of primer.
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Unfortunately I forgot to mask the shuttle race and the needle plate support, I will have to sand these places carefully.

I choose the final color, it's a metallic blue.

Philippe

PS : For Caroline94535 it's not my train line, it belong to two close friends and I stay in their large garden during my holidays. You could see some other photos here : http://www.forum-train.fr/forum/view...hp?f=8&t=13742 . It's in French but Google translator is your Friend. I also transmit your message to my son :)

Just a little update
 

The 28K is now blue !

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Now I will put some layers of varnish. I must also continue to clean and polish all other parts.

Almost finished !
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I reassemble all the parts this afternoon, and now she sew a very fine stitch. Some of you could not like the new color, but it was not a rare machine, and I have another one in original condition.
I name her "Séphora", Zipporah in English, because she was saved from water. There is a Flickr album here : https://www.flickr.com/photos/132390...57655892765234

Now I have great projects for this machine, but it will be another story. Many thanks for this board and all participants it's a great support.

You did a great restoration and the color is beautiful!

Cari

i have bought so many vintage sewing machines and have restored all of them and have never repainted any of them. cabinets i did but have never done any painting on the machines. not to be a d....d or anything but i like the before picture of your machine than the after (especially the color) and you could have retained the value of your machine if you kept the vintage look. but at the end of the day it's your choice and your machine. good job but i just had this crazy feeling and would have done something to save your machine from the blue suede shoes (ha ha ha)... congrats...

on a side note you did a fantastic job in repainting your machine. good work mate. maybe a second hobby for you ???

PS - did you forget to paint the hand crank as it still has it's original black paint or you did it on purpose ?

blue suede shoes ha ha ha..........
I'm thinking I would polish off paint from the hand wheel. It is a bit too blue for me. And painting the HC to match would be a nice touch. Maybe I like the steam punk character, too Singerguy.

In fact I began by the hand crank. It was totally froze by old oil and rust and I don't find any black paint on it. And because I only own two hand crank for three machines I painted it in black, but now I am seriously thinking to make it blue.
Concerning the wheel, it was a "poor" machine, no grapes on the plates, and a totally black flywheel. We had a discussion here and we decide to paint it blue, perhaps it was a mistake ...

You did a very nice job - we just like to throw rocks at things that shine..........

I think it looks great! Not all machines can be or will be a great black machine. Lots of work goes into painting these, good for you.:thumbup: Some day I may have one painted. Better than them going to the dump or recycle yard.