Parfektionisto

Hi Dikman, This is getting more interesting!!! At first I was thinking that local repair shop owner sounded logic, I was thinking decals probably didn't exist that long ago, and stencil and hand painted seems like a primeval method of the past. Moreover I restored my machine with crinkled finish, which I thought decals might be hard to stick on, until Jimi said singer machines were not spray painted, trash treasure and WoodysWorkshop taught me more about decals which caught my interest, but now u say it could be painted.....maybe I should do more research on this. Tony

Hi Uwe, Did u make those decals yourself? Where did you get the decals reference from? Tony

Decals were invented in the 19th century, so sewing machines produced during this period should be using decals and not painted. Tony

Hi WoodysWorkshop, I was once told by a local sewing machine repair shop owner that in the past old machines were painted and not decals, but I'm not sure how true was that info. Maybe have to find out when was decals first invented. Tony

Hi constabulary, Oh your decals is actually gold colour, I thought they are silver. If you notice your decals typeface beside the gold colour, it's has a black colour shadow, but the original 45k decals is without the shadow, so I think your decals is meant for a certain model. Tony

Another interesting find on the floral motifs decals. I realise there are differences in the floral motifs used on the 45k1, see the pics I have attached for the differences, and Keeler's floral decals is also slightly different. The first 3 pics are from original 45k1, 2nd pic is from Jimi, and the 4th pic is Keeler's decal for 31k. Tony

Hi Constabulary, Just done with the tracing from your original decal, although the original decal condition is not very good but I tried my best to trace as close as possible. The problem with keeler's decal is the proportion of the typeface is off, which I guess he might have created it base on existing fonts as there isn't any real reference around. Thanks to your original decals which makes the restoration work possible and a great help to those who wants to restore their machine as close to the original as possible. Most of the old singer decals were in gold colours, but yours is in silver colour, very rare, any idea which old singer models used silver colour decals? Tony

Hi Constabulary, I tried tracing the decals you sold the Evo160K and keeler's decal and I found out the typeface is different, as your decals is an original vintage piece, I will use yours instead of keeler's. Now I need to complete my tracing then I will sent it to print as decals. Tony

Hi Constabulary, Thanks for the input on this, I know both 31k and 29k decals are the closest and available decals that I can use on my 45k1, the only difference is probably the size as you mentioned the 31k seems quite bold. I was thinking of custom printing the decals locally, it's faster that way and probably cheaper too. LW member Evo160k sent me a copy of the decals he bought from you, so that I could trace it, I'm really grateful to him, and I also found out I could copy the image from keeler decals on eBay too. I didn't know 45k came in crinkle finish until Jimi sent me a pic of 45k100 in original crinkle finish. I think crinkle finish only came in the 50s, and you are right it's without the floral motifs. I'm not sure if the floral motifs will fit well on the crinkle finish, but I'm tempted to try it. Below is a link or the crinkle finish 45k100 posted by Jimi. Tony http://needlebar.org/cm/displayimage.php?pid=6337

Hi Jimi, That means the 45k1 originally did have the acanthus floral motifs, do you think 29k or 31k floral motifs will work? Thank you for the pics. Tony

Hi Evo 160K, Got your list, will find out for you when I drop by the shop the next time, will keep you posted. Tony

Hi Yetibelle, The deck-plate looks awesome, may I know what subclass is this 45k? Does the deck-plate fits all 45k cylinder bed? Tony

Another thing I will be interested to find is the original treadle base for my 45k1. I saw another LW member found one for his 45k, but since I already started a post on the restoration of 45k1, I shall just start a search from here. Anyone with info on this will be a bonus for me, and I'll be very grateful for that. This part of the world I'm from is hard to find such things, they are mostly sold to the neighbouring countries long ago or already modified before they were even sent here. Just a little info, the 45k over here were used for making military boots in the past, but they already stop the production. I manage to find another 45k1, and a 45k25, both in working condition and I'm still considering whether to get them, both machines will need restoration work in terms of the appearence. I found a local store that still have some 45k parts, mainly the feed dogs, plate, presser foots... anyone looking for something can let me know, I can help to ask the seller. Tony

Hi Constanbulary, Thanks for your input on this, and I really appreciate everyone that shed some lights here in helping me to finish up this restoration work to get this cast iron back in action. You are right, restoration work has a lot to do with individual preference, I'm someone who likes old stuffs not just sewing machine alone and I like bringing old things back to life preferably in their original form if possible. I was hesitating to repaint it a shinny black finish or crinkle finish at first, but seeing a trend in some restoration work online with the crinkle finish really caught my interest. I begin doing research online on crinkle paint and it seems like crinkle spray paint is supposedly easier to use than normal spray paint(trying to get that perfect smoothness). The crinkle paint I got is called VHT wrinkle plus, it's a product from Australia. I used about 2 cans for this restoration work, it was my first attempt, but if someone who is good at spray painting, 1 can might do the job, hope this help. Back to the decals, Iike I mentioned earlier beside the paint work I would like to restore the rest to its original form thus I started this topic to find the right decals. Right decals to me is in terms of the design, the typeface and the size(the right measurements), so you mentioned the one you used was meant for a 31k which is bigger, so could 29k decals be closer to the original 45k? I will check out Pinterest as well. By the way, why are you called folker? Tony

Hi Jimi, Thank you for sharing your 45k1 pic, im really looking forward to it. Mine was made in 1918, if I'm didn't make a mistake. In your humble opinion where can I find a suitable decals for my 45k1? Should it go with or without the floral motifs? Beside the paint work, I'm trying to restored it as close to the original as possible, so any suggestions, opinions are welcome. Till now I still have no idea where to purchase decals that's suitable. Tony

Hi Mikesc, Thank you for the info, I knew them from eBay, the closest decals they have is either a singer 29 or 31, which I'm not certain which is suitable for 45k1, like if the size is correct? Even within the 45k there are a lot of subclass, different subclass models had different decals design depending on which period they were made. I bought my 45k1 without any decals and it was already repainted, so I have not seen how an original 45k1 decals looks like, the only real ones I saw are pics I found online and there are different decals design among the 45k1 machines that were made, I guess that has to do with the period it was made as well. If someone could post clear pics of their 45k1 with original decals, or with a restored decals will be very much appreciated! Tony

Hi WoodysWorkshop, Thanks for the info, it seems like decals is the way to go for my restoration, but I'm looking for a ready make decals for my 45k1, not customising one yet unless I really can't find one that's suitable. Still hoping someone could kindly shed some light here.

Hi Dikman, After hearing the advice from Trash Treasure, I did look up a tutorial on YouTube, and I knew this solution is commonly use on plastic modelling, but thanks for the highlight. As for stencil for spray paint, I was thinking of printing a die cut sticker to stick on the surface before spraying but I wasn't sure what kind of paint to use. It would be nice if someone can advice me where I can purchase a suitable decals for my 45k1, that will be very much appreciated. Tony

Hi Trash Treasure, Thank you for the advice, I have not use a decal before, so first of all I need to find out how to use it.

Hi Jimi, Thanks for the info, didn't know that 45k was made with crinkle finish, or was that repainted like mine? I'm aware that you have 3 45k, and one of them is a 45k1, will be great if you can post some pics as I would like to see the decals design on your 45k1. By the way, where can I get a decal that's suitable for 45k1?

I have attached 2 illustrated pics of 45k1 in 2 different kind of decals design, is it because they were made in different period of time? Beside the 2nd pics had the floral motifs on it, the "Singer" letter R on both decals is of a different typeface.

Hi, To all the cast iron lovers out there, I have been following this forum for quite a while and it really helped me a lot, so now I'm writing in seek for help regarding my singer 45k1 restoration. I'm almost done with the restoration and I'm at the last stage of putting on the decals. I have seen a few different version or design of the decals use in various 45k1(saw them online in real machine pics and illustrated pics), but I'm wondering which is the actual decals for this particular machine? The closest I could find is decals use for models 29 or 31, but does it really suit a 45k? Or anyone has any idea where can I find a suitable decals for 45k. Another issue I'm facing right now is because I sprayed my 45k1 in crinkle finish, so with the rough texture does decals stick on it nicely(by the way I have not use a decal before). A local sewing machine seller adviced me to create a cut out stencil and spray over it instead of using decals, is that a good idea? What sort of paint should I use? Has anyone tried using spray paint instead of decals? Really looking forward to hear from the experts here. I have attached some pics of the restoration, from the wear out look to the final re-paint work.

Hi Trevor, Ok this is my second time posting on this site but my first post wasn't answered and I can't seem to find the link anymore. Anyway, I recently found a singer 103 sewing machine at a local store and I like to find out more information about this machine(I see here, it's one of the machine in your collection), may I know is this a domestic or industrial machine? What is it capable of sewing? What kind of needle and thread can I use with it? Does it sew leather? How thick of leather can it handle? I would like to hear from you or anymore with information on this machine. Cheers!

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum and I had reading some of the conversation here and find it very useful. This is really an amazing site and there are so many experts here who are willing to help and share their knowledge and experiences 👍🏻🙏🏻 Ok, I saw a Mitsubishi LS2-130 machine at a local store and it has maximum stitch length of 7mm, but when I go online to search for more information about this machine, to my surprise the maximum stitch length is only 5mm, why is there a difference? I mostly sew on duck canvas, denim and some leather, usually heavier stuffs not those thin shirting fabric, I know a walking foot will be best for what I'm doing but I'm wondering if this Mitsubishi is up for it? Any help from the experts will be greatly appreciated. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻