Remove Old Oil And Rust Without Removing The Paint... Any Ideas

[alexitbe]

I have clean up old sewing machines before in a very amateur way, because I never really care about how it looks...

However, this time I would like to keep the pain on and do as little damage to the original finish as possible.

On other machines I have used, rubbing alcohol/ turpentine, alcohol (ethonal) and acetone. All damaged the original finish.

The pictures below is the machine I wish to clean.

Thanks for ay advice....

Alex

[Thor]

WD40 or Diesel and a Cotton cloth is what I would use.

[alexitbe]

Hello again, Thor

I will give the WD40 a go first and post the results... I am not really very experienced at doing refurbishments...I have accidently removed decals on several onld machines... Much to my disappointment,

Luckily, this one has nothing fancy on it and just needs a good clean. Do you think the rust stains will come out of the paint?

Cheers

Alex

[Uwe]

I'm using Marvel's Mystery Oil to clean my machines. It works well to dissolve old crud and dried oil varnish. It's basically diesel oil that doesn't look or stink like diesel oil.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Uwe

[Bonecross]

Coca-cola...

[Thor]

Alex, sorry I forgot you are in Germany like me. We have better products in the local building supplies than what I suggested. What Uwe suggested would also be found in the grocery store in the washing detergent aisle called "Waschbenzin". This basically is cleaned Diesel and the reason why I suggested it.

I can't judge from the pictures you provided whether it will all come off or not. Depending whether the paint itself contains metal or not. Most of it should come off. You may have to use a buffing wheel though. I'd take it apart anyways.

[Constabulary]

Alex, don`t you have the RECOLOR stuff form your 29K project?

[alexitbe]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for your responses....

Constab: I still have the Recolor, but it seemed to remove alot of the paint off the Singer 29k. That is the last thing I want to do. I only wish to clean up the outside.

Thor: I will try Waschbenzin, after the WD40. That's a new word for me to learn...

Uwe: Thanks for advice, I will look out for it over here in Germany. I have to wokr in my cellar, so anythin that doesn't stink is a bonus.

The most important thing for me is that I don't damage the paint that is already there... I only want to remove the old crud and hopefully the rust.

Cheers

Alex

[Constabulary]

Decades old oil and dirt is tough to clean some times. Maybe try washing soda solution and a cloth rag

Edited January 4, 2016 by Constabulary

[Bonecross]

The most important thing for me is that I don't damage the paint that is already there... I only want to remove the old crud and hopefully the rust.

Cheers

Alex

Yup Coca-Cola works better than you would think. It;'s mild but effective. Also a vinegar/water solution would neutralize the rust.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Bonecross

[Uwe]

Folks, please take a moment to update your LW profile so we can tell where you are located at! Don't make us guess and recommend products you can't buy.

[hyttogpine]

All most every one, on every different forum use nickname (at least the can).

I can follow if someone don't wish to add their portrait to their profile.

I understand members don't live their address and phone number to their profile (at least that attracts sales persons).

But can somebody lightning me up a bit, why would it be wishful to cover your region or country ?

[DrmCa]

Interesting enough I was looking at Coca Cola labels recently to see if it still contained ortho-phosphoric acid, but found no mention of that.

Ended up buying a bottle of the supermarket brand that stated on the label that it had the acid there, and it worked fine for the parkerizing project I was interested in.

It gave stainless steel a nice grey with a hint of olive drab.

Kerosene in WD40 (or pure, by itself) should not remove paint, only old oil.

The rust spots coming through the paint would not be removed by any chemical known to me without complete stripping and repainting.

[dikman]

hyttogpine, it's helpful to know where someone is from when offering advice and/or help, because there are many products that, while common in one country (the USA in particular) aren't available outside that country. For example, Johnson's Floor Wax is widely referred to on model-making forums, shooting forums, woodworking forums, just to name a few, but it is impossible to get here in Australia. DuPont Teflon spray is very popular amongst motorcyclists for lubing chains, but again it can't be bought here.

If we know where a member is from, then hopefully information can be given that is relevant to that person.

[Darren Brosowski]

0000 steal wool and kerosene.

Normally paint only comes off if there is rust underneath and that is unavoidable.

The pictures may not be showing everything but mostly what I see there is oil staining.

[hyttogpine]

@dikman

I oncs again realize my poor English that leads to misunderstanding.

My two last lines was meant as: can somebody explain to me, some reason why members hide (cover) their country/region.

[dikman]

My apologies, hyttogpine, it was my interpretation that was wrong. And don't feel bad, I was told by my language teacher, many many years ago, that English is actually the hardest language to learn, so you're doing well.

I, too, wonder why some don't include their country .

[Constabulary]

@ hyttogpine - don´t worry I sometimes even don`t understand what some native English speaking member are writing - must be the difference in grammar. And I´m also sure my grammar is not always correct, too. We all are learning something here - hopefully.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Constabulary

[Thor]

There's no point someone should have to disclose his/her location. If a person feels a need for it he/she can will or does it. If a brand isn't available in whatever country that may be sad, but no reason to disclose the location to every yahoo on the internet. Those in a desperate need to know can ask... the moderators and the admins will be able to identify it by the persons IP if it isn't hidden, masked or spoofed...

If a certain brand isn't available in a certain country there's usually a good reason in the cause of DuPont Teflon spray the reason may be that GT85 is providing the same effect.

Other reasons in regards of a product may have to do with environmental and health related reasons... and so on. So just because one can't get a specific brand it doesn't mean there isn't an equivalent to that in the persons country.

So back to the location. When you guys signed up here you probably noticed mandatory fields and non-mandatory fields. Disclosure of a location isn't mandatory and even though it may be helpful at times it's solely up to the individual whether he/she wants to disclose it or not. In my case, the relevant persons know where I'm from and where I am at the moment. For all others - it's not in their business.

[hyttogpine]

So to people who don't know from where you are or been at the moment, are irrelevant people.

I was actually not asking if is legal or not, for members to cover, from witch contry the work.

This was all ready clear to me.

I was asking of some ideas - based on reasoning - why someone disclose their locations.

We are all learning something here - hopefully.

[Wizcrafts]

If you identify where you are located, it sometimes makes answers to your posted questions more meaningful, if the responders actually note where you live. In most cases, it means little to nothing. But, if somebody in Europe makes a request for where he or she can buy parts or machines and a person in the USA thinks that this person is also in the USA, his or her answer may not apply to the person asking for assistance.

One way to avoid confusion, which is used by a lot of members living outside the USA, is to simply mention "I live in {your country} and am looking for a supplier of parts for my {brand / model} sewing machine. This way, a person replying in the USA will not necessarily refer you to a US dealer (who may or may not be willing to handle the paperwork and packaging required ship overseas). Americans are not always familiar with European import taxes and the VAT that gets added to all parts and machines imported into these countries. The prices that we are used to paying in the USA can easily double or triple when shipped overseas.

[Bonecross]

[hyttogpine]

A pecullar contribution !

[thunter9]

this might be I left field , I ran into this product a year ago liked it so well the wax I used is called renaissance micro-crystalline wax polish the company sells a rust remover no sure whats it called amazon sells some of their products. theirs a distributor in Florida . if google the product their are come video and things you can read about I suggest you look it up no harm done.

you should be able to find it was invented it england

[dikman]

Thor, at the risk of being berated for keeping off-topic, I have no idea what GT85 is, never heard of it out here. Dupont Teflon spray was brought into the country some time ago but was discontinued. When queried about it by people constantly looking for it they were told that there was no demand for it so wouldn't bring it in! As for Johnson's Paste Wax, many have looked for an equivalent but again, there is nothing that is quite the same out here (I have compared the MSDS on many products and can't find a match).

With regard to the OP, rust stains can be a problem due to the fact that they often get into the paint surface. Sometimes they can be polished off, but with anything other than kerosene/WD40 type stuff you run the risk of the paint lifting too. Electrolysis is a good way to remove rust without damaging the metal, but if the rust is under the paint then again the paint will probably lift.