CLEANING OLD BLACK SEWING MACHINES
The old black sewing machines have a special finish on them, which is easily damaged, with the normal cleaning chemicals available today, so cleaning antique, old black sewing machines, takes special care and precautions, to avoid further damage to the original finish. Asphaltum (stove blacking), linseed oil, turpentine, are literally baked on, and after decals are applied, finally, a clear coat finish, of shellac. (Shellac is a natural thermoplastic resin from special lac insects, dissolved in alcohol, or solvent.)
Sewing machine oil and kerosene (deoderized kerosene, also known as paraffin, or lamp oil) are often the safest cleaners to use on these, since most other cleaners will silver your decals, if your machine has gold decals. Apparently, the shellac, is actually a clear golden tone, which is why if you use alcohol, you will silver the decals, because you will have melted off the golden shellac!
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| SINGER OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS For cleaning treadles and old black sewing machines |
TIP- Singer dealerships used a super cheater method of cleaning the old black Singer sewing machines inside & out, by dipping them in a tub of kerosene! Singer started doing this long before electric machines, and had to remove ALL electrical parts before dipping the black machines, once they started making electric models. I do not know at what stage they stopped using this method, but obviously, as they began using more types of exterior finishes, and more electrical parts built into machines, it wouldn't have been practical to continue this method.
Kerosene, or parrafin lamp oil doesn't harm the finish, but melts the dry sticky oil inside the machine, without having to clean it all by hand. Paraffin lamp oil is a deoderized kerosene, which can be used to safely clean these old machines. Elna sewing machines were green, but the manufacturer originally included a can of kerosene to use first, before oiling, to melt, or thin the old oil.
Kerosene, or parrafin lamp oil doesn't harm the finish, but melts the dry sticky oil inside the machine, without having to clean it all by hand. Paraffin lamp oil is a deoderized kerosene, which can be used to safely clean these old machines. Elna sewing machines were green, but the manufacturer originally included a can of kerosene to use first, before oiling, to melt, or thin the old oil.
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| Oiling points for the early black Singer sewing machines Link will take you to a japanning article |
Sewing Machine Japanning Article
I appreciate Ray Elkins of Sew Purty and Ray White's approach to protecting these old sewing machines, I believe they both travel the country, (U.S.A.), teaching hands on sewing machine refurbishing, for the antique sewing machines. They explain about how the finish was made, and why it is important not to use the wrong chemicals on cleaning them. If you get an opportunity to attend one of Ray Elkin's courses. He also has a Facebook website that is ONLY for former students of his courses. Ray White also teaches similar courses, with many happy fans in our community of antique and vintage sewing machine collectors, and fans.
There are many different ways people fix up old sewing machines & machinery, which has been left to rust, collect dust, grease, grime, & anything else that lurks in people's attics, basements, back porch, shed, garage, & any of the other million & one places where people banish unwanted "obsolete" sewing machines to, so I want to share a few links to some of the tips & tricks others have shared with me!
Singer Lubricant- old Singer lubricant, not the new Si ger lubricant, or, some techs advise the use of Vaseline (for early electric Singer sewing machines), but there is disagreement on whether Vaseline wicks the same way. Sew Retro Grease is a newer replacement, I believe sold by the Singer Featherweight Shop, online, and Nova Montgomery Featherweight's also sells their own newer lubricant/grease. I have only used original vintage Singerubricant, so far, because I have it, and it still works.
I appreciate Ray Elkins of Sew Purty and Ray White's approach to protecting these old sewing machines, I believe they both travel the country, (U.S.A.), teaching hands on sewing machine refurbishing, for the antique sewing machines. They explain about how the finish was made, and why it is important not to use the wrong chemicals on cleaning them. If you get an opportunity to attend one of Ray Elkin's courses. He also has a Facebook website that is ONLY for former students of his courses. Ray White also teaches similar courses, with many happy fans in our community of antique and vintage sewing machine collectors, and fans.
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| Front of the Singer 127 Vibrating Shuttle machine in photo above, also. I had already wiped the layer of overnight soak of sewing machine oil , to get the dirt off, with the paper towel, next to the paper towel. I then used Goop in a couple of difficult dirty spots, but didn't leave any on, because some people say it can silver the decals. GoJo (No pumice) is supposed to be safe with most decals, but I wouldn't leave it on more than an hour. When CLEANED &, it was able to sew as fast as 1,100 stitches per minute, which AMAZED ME! I now realize that the sewing machine manufacturers had to brainwash customers into thinking these old treasures, weren't as good the companies' newer machines, which must have taken some doing, because these amazing things just keep going & going & going.... ad infinitum, if properly cared for, and used!!! |
There are many different ways people fix up old sewing machines & machinery, which has been left to rust, collect dust, grease, grime, & anything else that lurks in people's attics, basements, back porch, shed, garage, & any of the other million & one places where people banish unwanted "obsolete" sewing machines to, so I want to share a few links to some of the tips & tricks others have shared with me!
BASIC CLEANING KIT-
Qtips
Cotton Balls
Paper Towels
Old Toothbrush- good for cleaning feed dogs, gears, screw ridges
Rubbing Alcohol- dip Qtip in, then clean old sticky oil off bare metal inside parts
** DO NOT USE ALCOHOL ON OUTSIDE OF BLACK SEWING MACHINES!!
** DO NOT USE ALCOHOL ON OUTSIDE OF BLACK SEWING MACHINES!!
Unscented Kerosene (also called Paraffin) CLEANING OLD OIL OFF inside & out
Sewing Machine Oil (good for both inside the machine, & the outside of it)
Singer Lubricant- old Singer lubricant, not the new Si ger lubricant, or, some techs advise the use of Vaseline (for early electric Singer sewing machines), but there is disagreement on whether Vaseline wicks the same way. Sew Retro Grease is a newer replacement, I believe sold by the Singer Featherweight Shop, online, and Nova Montgomery Featherweight's also sells their own newer lubricant/grease. I have only used original vintage Singerubricant, so far, because I have it, and it still works.
The new Singer lubricant separates, which will make early electric motors smoke. Early Singer lubricant was a low temperature melting lubricant specially formulated to warm up to oil consistency, only when the machine was running, for a few minutes, so your machine had wicks, which held the lubricant in place, and allowed the correct amount of lubrication to reach the gears, and motor, while running.
Flathead Screwdrivers- make sure the tip fits the screw slot or it may strip it
Offset screwdriver set- flathead & Phillips 4 head makes quick work of needleplates
Rubber mallet- occasionally, a gentle, but firm rap on a screwdriver, in a stuck screw, helps loosen the old oil holding the screw locked in place, allowing you to remove it.
Pliers- the old thumbscrews are often stuck, or frozen, to free up, oil the threads, cover the thumbscrew with a towel, to protect it from the pliers, then gently, but firmly, attempt to turn the thumbscrew.
I use a lot of Qtips, which I dip in alcohol (denatured, NOT liquor), or the unscented kerosene, and use these on the INSIDE only, to clean off the rust & grime a little at a time, with machines that aren't too horribly nasty.
I have cleaned the outside of this Singer 127 with sewing machine oil (I do use new or even old sewing machine oil, on the outside of a dirty machine), to revive the paint & clearcoat, & to help lift dirt out of the paint, so it doesn't require scrubbing, which would damage the decals & finish on the sewing machine. It depends on how dirty the machine is, however, & what kind of grime is built up on it.
*(Do not use old sewing machine oil on the inside of your sewing machine, because it may have already begun to evaporate, so it will gum up the machine sooner, only use new oil on the working parts of the machine, for the longest & best lubrication of moving parts.)
Rust like shown inside the back of this Singer 127, can usually be removed relatively quickly, some, just by the cleaning described above, but some parts, on some antique machines, are rusty enough to require a short bath in Evaporust, or a homemade equivalent, of vinegar & table salt.
*DO NOT leave metal in Evaporust, or the homemade version of it, for too long, sometimes, just a half hour to an hour takes care of pretty bad rust, but it can literally dissolve the metal, if it is left in too long. You must take care to clean the Evaporust from the parts completely, after removing the parts from it, even if it is with a rinse of clean water, then dry thoroughly, & I like to rub a drop of sewing machine oil over the entire part, after it is thoroughly dry, to help protect it from rusting again, particularly since I live in North Carolina, with high humidity levels.
NOTE- Many sewing machine parts are made of an inexpensive metal, then plated with chrome, or nickel, to give a shiny, smooth, glossy appearance. One badly rusted presser foot had the chrome plating rubbed completely off, & pitting in the metal, in several places. It actually broke, after being left in Evaporust overnight (about 12 hours), because the base metal was not strong, particularly due to the pitting & rusting, I just wanted to try to see if it was possible to save such a rusty part, but it was actually a pretty good learning experience, about the strength of even natural acidic FOOD, which has such a powerful effect on something I usually think of, as being a strong, solid object, impervious to damage from such things! I found myself wishing that I remembered school science & chemistry better!
Andrea Geldart says "Cleaning and oiling are not too hard. The nice thing about these machines is once you take the back cover off you can pretty much see everything. I have one of those cheap hand pumps to blow balloons up and I dust as much dirt and loose stuff out as much as I can. Then I put a cloth over the motor and clean the inside with kerosene, a tooth brush and a straw brush. I soak up the excess kerosene with cotton balls. Let it dry for a few hours and then put a couple of drops of "smo" (sewing machine oil) on all the metal in metal moving parts. And a little grease on the gears. Then I run the machine full speed for about 10-15 mins."
This next blog shows a Singer 31-15 industrial sewing machine & table & motor, & how the owner fixed it up, from a worn out mess, to a great looking setup!
http://www.theprojectlady.com/2016/07/industrial-singer-31-15-sewing-machine_7.html
This particular post is NOT finished, I continue to learn more, & find new websites & sewing machine support groups, & intend to share more information, over time. Please feel free to check back, you never know what new machines & information I will have added, & enjoy cleaning up & fixing up your own vintage sewing machine collection, & save these treasures from the past, which are MUCH better quality machines than those made & sold new, today!
Rust like shown inside the back of this Singer 127, can usually be removed relatively quickly, some, just by the cleaning described above, but some parts, on some antique machines, are rusty enough to require a short bath in Evaporust, or a homemade equivalent, of vinegar & table salt.
*DO NOT leave metal in Evaporust, or the homemade version of it, for too long, sometimes, just a half hour to an hour takes care of pretty bad rust, but it can literally dissolve the metal, if it is left in too long. You must take care to clean the Evaporust from the parts completely, after removing the parts from it, even if it is with a rinse of clean water, then dry thoroughly, & I like to rub a drop of sewing machine oil over the entire part, after it is thoroughly dry, to help protect it from rusting again, particularly since I live in North Carolina, with high humidity levels.
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| Singer 127 inside back plate of sewing machine pillar, lots of dust & rust, but it cleaned off quickly, easily, with just Qtips & alcohol, then oiled. |
NOTE- Many sewing machine parts are made of an inexpensive metal, then plated with chrome, or nickel, to give a shiny, smooth, glossy appearance. One badly rusted presser foot had the chrome plating rubbed completely off, & pitting in the metal, in several places. It actually broke, after being left in Evaporust overnight (about 12 hours), because the base metal was not strong, particularly due to the pitting & rusting, I just wanted to try to see if it was possible to save such a rusty part, but it was actually a pretty good learning experience, about the strength of even natural acidic FOOD, which has such a powerful effect on something I usually think of, as being a strong, solid object, impervious to damage from such things! I found myself wishing that I remembered school science & chemistry better!
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| Singer 127 Vibrating Shuttle Sewing Machine, with the Sphinx decals, looking, & running much better! ( I did not use the bottle of old sewing machine oil on the moving parts inside, because the oil is too old- as oil ages, moisture evaporates out of it, & it eventually dries to a point where it becomes like a strong GLUE, causing the machine to freeze solid, so it cannot be used. This doesn't mean it is broken, it just needs the cleaning treatments, either with the alcohol Qtip routine mentioned in this blog post, or the kerosene one, described below, then only 1 or 2 drops of NEW sewing machine oil, to lubricate each of the metal moving joints, both in the machine, & the treadle mechanics. After I had this machine back running smoothly, my hubby suddenly brought home 3 more Singer 127 treadles & another 127 out of a table, which were in much worse shape than this one, so I gifted this machine to a friend from church, who had been dreaming of having her own treadle machine & table, so I had more room so I could work on the other ones. These incredible mechanical marvels were designed to be the BEST machines, not disposable machines, like those made & sold today. |
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| Singer 101, with it's self oiling wicking system, which hides beneath the metal plate, which is the bed of the sewing machine. Note the calibrated stitch lever dial, the size of a quarter, remains on the machine, it does not need removed, to remove the bed for cleaning the underside of the machine. This is Singer's first electric from the start, sewing machine, it was not made in a treadle or hand crank version, first, it has a "potted motor", & is direct driven by steel gears. |
Andrea Geldart says "Cleaning and oiling are not too hard. The nice thing about these machines is once you take the back cover off you can pretty much see everything. I have one of those cheap hand pumps to blow balloons up and I dust as much dirt and loose stuff out as much as I can. Then I put a cloth over the motor and clean the inside with kerosene, a tooth brush and a straw brush. I soak up the excess kerosene with cotton balls. Let it dry for a few hours and then put a couple of drops of "smo" (sewing machine oil) on all the metal in metal moving parts. And a little grease on the gears. Then I run the machine full speed for about 10-15 mins."
This next blog shows a Singer 31-15 industrial sewing machine & table & motor, & how the owner fixed it up, from a worn out mess, to a great looking setup!
http://www.theprojectlady.com/2016/07/industrial-singer-31-15-sewing-machine_7.html
This particular post is NOT finished, I continue to learn more, & find new websites & sewing machine support groups, & intend to share more information, over time. Please feel free to check back, you never know what new machines & information I will have added, & enjoy cleaning up & fixing up your own vintage sewing machine collection, & save these treasures from the past, which are MUCH better quality machines than those made & sold new, today!
RAY ELKINS SEWPURTYWORKSHOPS.COM KENTUCKY
RAY WHITE WHITESEWINGCENTER.COM MISSOURI
