Cleaning and repairing the Shellac clear coat on Vintage sewing machine heads
07-16-2012, 09:32 AM
#62
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Location: Huntsville, AL
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This is a great debate...
But...Shellac, especially French Polishing can be touchy. especially for the beginner. If, and we have all gone through a bad shellac experience, it has to be removed, the process of removing to shellac to redo will fade or destroy the decals because they are not happy with shellac being "rubbed" off of them. Then you have nothing but a mess and destroyed decals which in most cases cannot be replaced. Glenn is an expert....so the likelihood of this happening is lessened, but for the average person trying to restore a machine for the first time it will end in disaster. If there is a lacquer base, you can rub shellac off and on the machine all day with no fear of damage because lacquer is not dissolved by the alcohol. With that said, I do very much respect Glenn's expertise and he could work on one of my machines anytime
. I also agree that shellac is very forgiving. Just one note as well, by lacquer I do NOT mean automotive clearcoat which is basically plastic. I mean regular lacquer. As noted, I will post my latest project as a hybrid of Glenn's technique.
But...Shellac, especially French Polishing can be touchy. especially for the beginner. If, and we have all gone through a bad shellac experience, it has to be removed, the process of removing to shellac to redo will fade or destroy the decals because they are not happy with shellac being "rubbed" off of them. Then you have nothing but a mess and destroyed decals which in most cases cannot be replaced. Glenn is an expert....so the likelihood of this happening is lessened, but for the average person trying to restore a machine for the first time it will end in disaster. If there is a lacquer base, you can rub shellac off and on the machine all day with no fear of damage because lacquer is not dissolved by the alcohol. With that said, I do very much respect Glenn's expertise and he could work on one of my machines anytime
. I also agree that shellac is very forgiving. Just one note as well, by lacquer I do NOT mean automotive clearcoat which is basically plastic. I mean regular lacquer. As noted, I will post my latest project as a hybrid of Glenn's technique.Skip
07-16-2012, 10:32 AM
#63
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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I have only used "The Method" on one machine so far, and with that one, knowing that shellac was missing over the decals, I cleaned and then dabbed shellac over the decals before I started the French Polish...that was I knew I wasn't going to be messing anything up!
07-20-2012, 12:11 PM
#64
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 19
Hello there. I am a beginner to working on old sewing machines, and quilting as well. I am not quite a beginner with sewing, my mom started me out with her sewing machine when I was maybe 9 or so. My mom had an old Singer treadle when I was little. I used to love it when she would open it up to show our friends how it worked. We had to sell it when we moved, unfortunately. I don't claim to be an expert, but I know enough to be dangerous!
Anyhow, this week I did something completely crazy and brought home a Davis treadle vertical feed machine... the belt is gone, there's a bit of rust here and there, and the finish is of course a lovely orange-peel texture on the bed of the machine. The good news is when I turn the hand crank the needle and foot move like they ought to, and the shuttle also.
I'd like to make this old beauty shine again. I may be overly optimistic, but I think I can get her working again. Should I use this technique with orange-peel textured crackled finish? Or is there something I should do first to protect the remaining decals? I've cleaned off the head some with sewing machine oil and gently wiping with a soft cloth. I just really don't want to damage the decals. I know my chances of actually damaging the body are laughable, unless I did something evil and left it outside in the rain.
I don't have a vast selection of old machines to practice on, so eventually my only choice will be to make a decision:
jump in with both feet and see if cleaning it works OR leave it as-is with regards to the paint, and just work on getting the mechanics running smoothly. I want to make sure when I choose, it is an educated decision. Any personal experiences or links to more Davis-related resources greatly appreciated!
Anyhow, this week I did something completely crazy and brought home a Davis treadle vertical feed machine... the belt is gone, there's a bit of rust here and there, and the finish is of course a lovely orange-peel texture on the bed of the machine. The good news is when I turn the hand crank the needle and foot move like they ought to, and the shuttle also.
I'd like to make this old beauty shine again. I may be overly optimistic, but I think I can get her working again. Should I use this technique with orange-peel textured crackled finish? Or is there something I should do first to protect the remaining decals? I've cleaned off the head some with sewing machine oil and gently wiping with a soft cloth. I just really don't want to damage the decals. I know my chances of actually damaging the body are laughable, unless I did something evil and left it outside in the rain.
I don't have a vast selection of old machines to practice on, so eventually my only choice will be to make a decision:
jump in with both feet and see if cleaning it works OR leave it as-is with regards to the paint, and just work on getting the mechanics running smoothly. I want to make sure when I choose, it is an educated decision. Any personal experiences or links to more Davis-related resources greatly appreciated!
07-20-2012, 02:16 PM
#65
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 2,609
Hello there. I am a beginner to working on old sewing machines, and quilting as well. I am not quite a beginner with sewing, my mom started me out with her sewing machine when I was maybe 9 or so. My mom had an old Singer treadle when I was little. I used to love it when she would open it up to show our friends how it worked. We had to sell it when we moved, unfortunately. I don't claim to be an expert, but I know enough to be dangerous!
Anyhow, this week I did something completely crazy and brought home a Davis treadle vertical feed machine... the belt is gone, there's a bit of rust here and there, and the finish is of course a lovely orange-peel texture on the bed of the machine. The good news is when I turn the hand crank the needle and foot move like they ought to, and the shuttle also.
I'd like to make this old beauty shine again. I may be overly optimistic, but I think I can get her working again. Should I use this technique with orange-peel textured crackled finish? Or is there something I should do first to protect the remaining decals? I've cleaned off the head some with sewing machine oil and gently wiping with a soft cloth. I just really don't want to damage the decals. I know my chances of actually damaging the body are laughable, unless I did something evil and left it outside in the rain.
I don't have a vast selection of old machines to practice on, so eventually my only choice will be to make a decision:
jump in with both feet and see if cleaning it works OR leave it as-is with regards to the paint, and just work on getting the mechanics running smoothly. I want to make sure when I choose, it is an educated decision. Any personal experiences or links to more Davis-related resources greatly appreciated!
Anyhow, this week I did something completely crazy and brought home a Davis treadle vertical feed machine... the belt is gone, there's a bit of rust here and there, and the finish is of course a lovely orange-peel texture on the bed of the machine. The good news is when I turn the hand crank the needle and foot move like they ought to, and the shuttle also.
I'd like to make this old beauty shine again. I may be overly optimistic, but I think I can get her working again. Should I use this technique with orange-peel textured crackled finish? Or is there something I should do first to protect the remaining decals? I've cleaned off the head some with sewing machine oil and gently wiping with a soft cloth. I just really don't want to damage the decals. I know my chances of actually damaging the body are laughable, unless I did something evil and left it outside in the rain.
I don't have a vast selection of old machines to practice on, so eventually my only choice will be to make a decision:
jump in with both feet and see if cleaning it works OR leave it as-is with regards to the paint, and just work on getting the mechanics running smoothly. I want to make sure when I choose, it is an educated decision. Any personal experiences or links to more Davis-related resources greatly appreciated!
Skip
07-20-2012, 04:38 PM
#67
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