Cleaning my old Singer sm

My poor ol' 1950 Singer 15-91 spent 3 years in the garage with Missouri's
heat and cold and high humidity. It has this thick, brown-ish colored,
sticky, greasy feeling film on it- it's much like the cooked-on grease you
sometimes see on the bottom of frying pans. Any thoughts on some thing safe
to clean it- that won't mess up the lovely decals or the black paint?

I usually start with dish liquid and water, applied and wiped off a few times.
Then I follow with sewing machine oil.
Works well on all sorts of grime. Apply, let set, wipe off. See if that
gets you very far. Avoid ammonia-containing cleaners, as they'll silver the
decals.

How far do you intend to go with the cleaning? You might want to check
in at the yahoo group "wefixit", which has a lot of good files on machine
restoration. There's also a Singer 15-91 adjuster's manual in the
files section of that group, a subfile of "Leo's Manual Database". You can
get the parts lists/diagrams from Singer, too.

Kay

On Sep 15, 2:09*pm, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:
My poor ol' 1950 Singer 15-91 spent 3 years in the garage with Missouri's
heat and cold and high humidity. *It has this thick, brown-ish colored,
sticky, greasy feeling film on it- it's much like the cooked-on grease you
sometimes see on the bottom of frying pans. *Any thoughts on some thing safe
to clean it- that won't mess up the lovely decals or the black paint?

Also, I hear y'all talking about cleaning and lubing the old machines to get
them running well. * Can somebody tell me *exactly* how to do it? * Not just
'clean it well' but how do you get up into the innards, what do you use for
wiping and for removing the gunk, and how do you know if something up in
there needs help or special attention? *What product do you use to lube it
and where? *All the research I did some time ago really didn't say how to
get to the stuff- just a broad 'clean it' and 'lubricate it' statement. * I
need very detailed specific instructions, *please. *Help?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO

Leslie, can't help you with preserving the decals while de-gunking,
but wanted
to lend a tip about what happened to my aunt's 15-91 after spending a
couple
years in the garage in humid Dallas. Apparently she got some rust
issues
in some important places (happens to the best of us, ha). She had to
have a good going-over by a pro. Hope this isn't a problem for the
innards of your 15-91. Best of luck with it. I have such an affinity
for those
old girls.

Sherry

On Sep 15, 4:24*pm, "Polly Esther" wrote:
Leslie, don't do much until you hear from Irene too. *She may want to toss
in some other ideas. *And beggin' Miss Nancy's pardon, but antique and
vintage Singers are both valuable and beloved. *Tread gently. *Polly

...



On 15/09/2010 20:09, Leslie& The Furbabies in MO. wrote:
My poor ol' 1950 Singer 15-91 spent 3 years in the garage with
Missouri's heat and cold and high humidity. It has this thick, brown-ish
colored, sticky, greasy feeling film on it- it's much like the cooked-on
grease you sometimes see on the bottom of frying pans. Any thoughts on
some thing safe to clean it- that won't mess up the lovely decals or the
black paint?

Also, I hear y'all talking about cleaning and lubing the old machines to
get them running well. Can somebody tell me *exactly* how to do it? Not
just 'clean it well' but how do you get up into the innards, what do you
use for wiping and for removing the gunk, and how do you know if
something up in there needs help or special attention? What product do
you use to lube it and where? All the research I did some time ago
really didn't say how to get to the stuff- just a broad 'clean it' and
'lubricate it' statement. I need very detailed specific instructions,
please. Help?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

....not according to my local market or my antiqueing peers. A few
are; 90% are not. Typewriters fall into the same iffy category. But,
if she treasures it, that's all that counts. ;-)

N.

On Sep 15, 4:30*pm, "J*" wrote:
In fact, most Singer sewing machines have no value at all (in
terms of being "vintage" or "antique" - the term "boat anchor" comes
up frequently).

no value???
boat anchor????
so i guess they dont float your boat then.
the mind boggles.
boing boing
j.

"Nancy2" * wrote ...
I have a "de-gunking" product from my local Ace hardware store that
removes baked-on gunk without removing a colored coating (like on my
electric frypan). *It might be called, "Goop," but I'm not sure of the
name. * You could try mineral spirits first.

Whatever, I'd hesitate to use it over the logo, if that's important to
you. *In fact, most Singer sewing machines have no value at all (in
terms of being "vintage" or "antique" - the term "boat anchor" comes
up frequently). *If you like it and can use it, that to me would be
where the value is, and you don't need the logo in order for it work
for you. *That's just my opinion.

As to the innards, I'd take it to a pro....it may need some fine-
tuning and adjustments that you just aren't able to do yourself.
N.

* "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." * wrote:



My poor ol' 1950 Singer 15-91 spent 3 years in the garage with Missouri's
heat and cold and high humidity. It has this thick, brown-ish colored,
sticky, greasy feeling film on it- it's much like the cooked-on grease you
sometimes see on the bottom of frying pans. Any thoughts on some thing
safe
to clean it- that won't mess up the lovely decals or the black paint?

Also, I hear y'all talking about cleaning and lubing the old machines to
get
them running well. Can somebody tell me *exactly* how to do it? Not just
'clean it well' but how do you get up into the innards, what do you use
for
wiping and for removing the gunk, and how do you know if something up in
there needs help or special attention? What product do you use to lube it
and where? All the research I did some time ago really didn't say how to
get to the stuff- just a broad 'clean it' and 'lubricate it' statement. I
need very detailed specific instructions, please. Help?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Antique sewing machines don't actually float my boat, but I'm speaking
of a general antique market, not just me. Believe what you like. I
guess if you find a market, that's great for all concerned....if you
want to sell one, that is. My impression was that she wanted to use
it herself, in which case, make it usable, whatever that involves. We
can agree to disagree. ;-)

N.

i know little about antiques of any kind.
it may be a small market but there is a market for these, of that i am sure.
i just made a simple statement on my view of old singer sewing machines.
i'd love to have an old treadle. i actually have a handturn but it needs
some work and finding what i need here in nz aint gonna happen.
so i'll just hang on to my grandmas or my aunts, i'm not sure who
owned it, just for the sentimental value.
i'm not sewing anyhow so makes no difference.
i'm curious now why you replied to my reply when i really have no knowledge
of the issue.
i just know they are highly prized by a lot of us quilters in cyberspace
from what i've read and a few chats with a few of them.
so why me?
surely replying to Irene makes more sense, she is a restorer/reseller of
those wee beautys.
ya know what, dont even reply to this, just reply to Irenes reply.
going back to facebook now.
j.

"Nancy2" wrote ...
Antique sewing machines don't actually float my boat, but I'm speaking
of a general antique market, not just me. Believe what you like. I
guess if you find a market, that's great for all concerned....if you
want to sell one, that is. My impression was that she wanted to use
it herself, in which case, make it usable, whatever that involves. We
can agree to disagree. ;-)
N.

"J*" wrote:
In fact, most Singer sewing machines have no value at all (in
terms of being "vintage" or "antique" - the term "boat anchor" comes
up frequently).

no value???
boat anchor????
so i guess they dont float your boat then.
the mind boggles.
boing boing
j.

"Nancy2" wrote ...
I have a "de-gunking" product from my local Ace hardware store that
removes baked-on gunk without removing a colored coating (like on my
electric frypan). It might be called, "Goop," but I'm not sure of the
name. You could try mineral spirits first.

Whatever, I'd hesitate to use it over the logo, if that's important to
you. In fact, most Singer sewing machines have no value at all (in
terms of being "vintage" or "antique" - the term "boat anchor" comes
up frequently). If you like it and can use it, that to me would be
where the value is, and you don't need the logo in order for it work
for you. That's just my opinion.

As to the innards, I'd take it to a pro....it may need some fine-
tuning and adjustments that you just aren't able to do yourself.
N.

"Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote:
My poor ol' 1950 Singer 15-91 spent 3 years in the garage with
Missouri's
heat and cold and high humidity. It has this thick, brown-ish colored,
sticky, greasy feeling film on it- it's much like the cooked-on grease
you
sometimes see on the bottom of frying pans. Any thoughts on some thing
safe
to clean it- that won't mess up the lovely decals or the black paint?

Also, I hear y'all talking about cleaning and lubing the old machines to
get them running well. Can somebody tell me *exactly* how to do it? Not
just
'clean it well' but how do you get up into the innards, what do you use
for wiping and for removing the gunk, and how do you know if something
up in
there needs help or special attention? What product do you use to lube
it
and where? All the research I did some time ago really didn't say how to
get to the stuff- just a broad 'clean it' and 'lubricate it' statement.
I need
very detailed specific instructions, please. Help?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO- Hide quoted text -

For cleaning and restoring the innards and other working parts, look he
http://www.tfsr.org/publications/tec...machine_manual

It's the clearest and most comprehensive set of instructions for restorung
this type of machine to use that I've seen.


I second that link, Kate. If I find old round bobbin machines they go to
TFSR, a very worthy cause.
I've got a bit addicted to old sewing machines; no built in obsolesence and
they actually get better and better over time. I'm in awe of the
engineering and the stitch is perfect, albeit only straight stitch. Now I
just need an old Singer overlocker....... and a bigger house!
Carrie