Step 1: Remove japanning
I bought some Dollar General brand oven cleaner to remove the black paint and decal remainders. It worked well and didn’t damage any metal parts, including the brass Singer badge. After removing the paint, there was some rust to remove and the moving parts needed to be treated from water exposure. Here is the machine completely stripped:
I think the polished metal is pretty, but that isn’t what we’re looking for this time. Maybe later. The next step is to thoroughly clean the metal, apply primer, and sand. To help distribute the oil, I put the machine in the cabinet and installed my new belt (after wirebrushing the treadle drive wheel). It turns out treadling is very easy and surprisingly precise. I can’t wait until I can sew with this machine. And I love the mechanism for putting the belt on and off the drive wheel. So simple yet so elegant.
Step 2: Prime
Not much to say here. It’s all primed and ready for enamel. Kind of looks like it’s covered in bandages.
more to come...
