I'm 90% sure it is *not* mildew. Those are rust or corrosion spots on the meyal body underneath the paint. Like rust spots under chrome plating. And dirt on top of that.

I agree looks like rust dev under finish

Not much totally gets rid of it...

I wonder what's in those Mr. Clean erasers? It must be some kind of cleaner or solvent.

They have no chemicals. They're like sandpaper or a scrubby pad.

bkay

Oh yes they do. There have been numerous instances of children getting severe burns after using one on themselves, or an adult using one on them for whatever reason. They aren't like sand paper at all, they're like a huge pencil eraser, they disintegrate as they're used.

Cari

That's what I get for repeating information without verifying it.

Thanks, Cari

Magic erasers are great for walls and other things. Kids and sewing machines, not so much.

Cari

Did you get any where with it bkay? A resin type car polish with the gritty stuff can lift up dirt and grime like this from the finish. If you go to a place with a good selection of car polishes, there's some stuff called "rubber", "rubbing" or something like that, it's a product they use when they polish up cars thoroughly. It's usually in paste form on a tube, it depends upon brand and product. Some proucts are called lacquer cleaners, and they have the fine gritty polishing component that gentely polishes off stubbern grime and staining. There's lots of this stuff available when you find the right store. I'm mostly thinking of the stuff meant for cars, made to restore dull and discolored finishes.

Do be careful with mold and such. My friend died with 24 hours of being exposed to a basement that was laden with black and white mold. I saw it and it was so think you could scrape it off with a knife. Autopsy said double pneumonia. I got there but I was 3 hours too late.

I would suspect that the Magic Erasers have pumice in them. It is volcanic ash which are technically shards of glass. Don't know for sure.