Cleaning the painted finish of an antique sewing machine

 

Part 1 of the Vintage Sewing Machine Garage's series on cleaning antique sewing machines.

The important points made:

• Never (never) use anything abrasive to clean the painted parts
• First, use a soft brush (e.g. a paintbrush) to dust the machine, then spray a Kleenex tissue (not a paper towel, which is too abrasive, or even toilet paper) with a bit of water and wipe the paintwork, then a small amount of sewing-machine oil and cotton ball or wadding -- note that while you should never spray any liquid directly onto the machine, you can drip the sewing-machine oil straight onto the paintwork
  
• Sewing-machine oil is one of the best and safest ways to clean the painted parts of an antique sewing machine
• Don't rush -- take the time to do it right
  

Is sewing-machine oil always the best thing for cleaning? --