KEN

vht is a good paint.i plan on stripping it and painting.

SteveH

Cool, if you have not done this type before, just follow the instructions and you should be fine. (My biggest issue is trying it first, then reading....)

good luck! Let us see how it comes out.

Caroline S

Well of course, ONCE I FIND IT! How can one lose a sewing machine???? Oh, I know the answer. It is because one has too many and they are hidden/stashed/stored everywhere in the house and garage. I know what she looks like cuz I posted pics on the QB last October. AAAAARRRRG!

Sheluma

I have some old Singer motor lube (1950 or so), and I was wondering if metal ions from the tube might have migrated into the lube and if it would matter if they did. Also, about vaseline, Singer said (in one of their old manuals) never to use it as motor lube. Is that just a sales thing? I wouldn't hesitate to use it for gears, but I don't know much about motors.

J Miller

Sheila,

I have many old tubes of the Singer motor lube. I still use them in the Singer motors. However Singer no longer makes the motor lube. All they sell now is a gear lube, not suitable to motors.

Not too long ago in another thread someone made a post where they linked to a blog I believe where the blogger commented that the Singer motor lube and petroleum jelly were indistinguishable. I have done a wee bit of comparison and for the most part this is true. The Singer lube seems to be a bit thicker, but has the same consistency.

So, that I why I said if you don't have the Singer lube use the petroleum jelly.

Joe

Sheluma

Joe, I guess my concern with the Vaseline is that it doesn't seem as thick as Singer motor lube, as you said. I would imagine a thicker lube would be less "runny", or more viscous, when it gets hot. I googled "vaseline singer motor lube" and the first result was this: http://www.novamontgomery.com/singer...-the-month.htm
You have to scroll down quite a bit so I'll paste the excerpt here. She wrote (in Sept. 2012),

"One other thing I want to mention – I have written a lot about lubricating your Featherweight motor with ONLY Singer lubricant. Remember the the horrors of the ‘repairman’ who contacted me and divulged that he was putting Vaseline in Singer motors? Within the past couple of months the first motor filled with Vaseline has come through my repair shop. The motor was not running – not even trying. It took quite a while, but the extreme “goo” from the melted Vaseline was successfully cleaned out of the motor. It is functioning just fine again! Please be cautious if you are told you must replace your motor. My experience has been that most of the time the motor can be cleaned and will operate as intended once again."

I'm not sure what to think.

mlmack

The manual for my White Rotary 77 says to use "special motor lubricant or petroleum jelly" in the grease cups for motor lubrication.

Petroleum jelly working its way into the motor would seem to indicate a problem beyond the use of petroleum jelly.

Sheluma

Thanks, Mark for the info from your White manual. I had been wondering if the vaseline would become too runny and somehow get into the motor. I guess Singer's admonitions were based solely on money.

Now I am wondering if the old Singer tubes are made of lead, and if this could be a potential hazard. The metal feels very soft and malleable, like lead. I am thinking things like -- if there are traces of lead in the lube, will it vaporize at temperatures attained by the gears or the motor? If lube gets on your skin, could lead be absorbed by the skin? I confess to being phobic, in case y'all didn't notice that already.

mlmack

The motor grease/petroleum jelly just lubricates the spindle that runs through the middle of the motor, and doessn't actually get inside the motor. At least it shouldn't. There should be some sort of a wick system inside of the grease cups that efficiently distributes the lubricant.

I guess the real question is whether or not the properties of petroleum jelly have changed since the 1920's?

Sheluma

I was wondering the same thing. I would think that if it is different it is more refined now than it was then. But your White is from that era, so it was probably well refined at that point. I'm guessing that a low grade petroleum jelly would have particulates or be a different color, and you'd be able to tell by looking at it. Actually, now that I think of it, some of the Singer lube I've seen (newer stuff, in white and red plastic tubes) is an amber color and I'm wondering if it's not as good as petroleum jelly.