I have recently picked up a couple of older singer machines that my wife has wanted for awhile. After cleaning all the old grease out and re oiling they function really well. My biggest problem is removing all the old oily grime from fifty years of use. I’ve used kerosene, lighter fluid, soap and water, jo-jo hand cleaner and probably a couple others. Do you have anything that I haven’t tried?
Using a little bit of a modern sewing machine oil as a solvent is good for a lot of the kinds of grime that build up on machines and will rarely if ever strip anything it shouldn’t. I’ve also had good luck with dilute non-abrasive degreasers, either the industrial sort (purple power, simple green, etc.) or just degreasing dish soap for some other tasks, especially on the large unfinished mechanical bits. On a lot of parts I also did very well with Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) though there are some finishes that will dissolve so be careful where you use it.
what did you use to clean the machine? plz
I have recently picked up a couple of older singer machines that my wife has wanted for awhile. After cleaning all the old grease out and re oiling they function really well. My biggest problem is removing all the old oily grime from fifty years of use. I’ve used kerosene, lighter fluid, soap and water, jo-jo hand cleaner and probably a couple others. Do you have anything that I haven’t tried?
Using a little bit of a modern sewing machine oil as a solvent is good for a lot of the kinds of grime that build up on machines and will rarely if ever strip anything it shouldn’t. I’ve also had good luck with dilute non-abrasive degreasers, either the industrial sort (purple power, simple green, etc.) or just degreasing dish soap for some other tasks, especially on the large unfinished mechanical bits. On a lot of parts I also did very well with Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) though there are some finishes that will dissolve so be careful where you use it.