I found one in the street with a free sign attached to its box. Its a beautiful machine and I imagine someone cared about it very much and wanted it to bring the same happiness to the stranger that picked it up that it did for them. I just feel completely full of gratitude.

My grandma had a Singer just like this. A salesman came to their house and my papaw bought it for her. She sewed many shirts and quilts for her family on this machine. She used to let me sew on it sometimes and I loved it! I thought it was long gone but my 91 year old mother said my brother had it. How he ended up with it is a long story. He said I could have it and that it works. I have recently got into quilting since retirement and I sometimes feel my grandma with me when I sew. I believe my grandma set things in motion for the machine to come to me. So many memories!

I am very encouraged by this video. I just bought a vintage singer treadle machine, and found out after I bought it that it was kept in a cow shed for 20-30 years. I'm hoping to get it ready to sew again.

Excellent tutorial and I will be applying these tips to a 1913 Sphinx machine I found at the local antiques mall. My favorite is how detailed and knowledgeable your explanations are! Thanks for sharing your passion for preservation with us!

Nothing beats these beautiful old black ones. I think the paint process is called japanning. I watched a documentary about Singers Kilbowie factory in Bonnie Scotland. It showed the machine getting made from a lump of iron to getting packed onto ships. Brilliant doc but no sound. 😊

Love the preserving aspect. I want the original beauty but the use over the years to show.

Thanks for this video, bought my wife a singer 15k with treadle table for valentines day which was looking very grubby, cleaned it up using the techniques you showed in the video and it looks great, got a nice shine to it, the decals on the upper part are in excellent condition, the ones on the base are well worn, so think it had a lot of use before being left in a garage or shed to get mildewed and dusty - still seems to run perfectly, not bad for a machine built 100 years ago!

Thank You Vintage Sewing Machine Garage; your instruction has saved the finishes of my three, well worn decal and paint finishes. I didn't touch them until I found a credible restoring video! I've been informed that one was manufactured in the 1800's, and the paint finish looks like it too. All I wanted to know when shopping was "Does it run"! I love the control of the sewing needle with my foot and the power it has. I do not have to replace the motors either. (Just a $14 belt) Also the fact that I have an incredible machine which reflects an era long gone yet very revolutionary compared to the fact that people used to have to painstakingly hand sew one stitch at a time for centuries; we've come a long way baby!

I'm bringing my Great-Grandma's Singer 66 back to life. Thanks!

Thank you for this tutorial. What a difference! Its those touches of TLC that make the diference. I had to learn to care for my 1930 kitchen wood stove via my grandmother. I keep the top lightly oiled. If I plan to put toast directly on the cast iron surface, she taught me to take a ball of wax paper and buff the stovetop when it is cold. Nothing sticks! But that is another video topic altogether. I rarely see tutorials on restoring and using a vintage cookstove...

Very informative. Thank you. I’m in the process of restoring my first machine. It’s a Singer 15-91. I have found your videos very helpful.

Thank you for your videos! I recently cleaned a Singer Model 66 (1921) following your tutorial. Also restored the parlor cabinet that came with it, I couldn't be happier with the results.

Great advice, they're only original once. Lovely to see respectful preservation.

I watched all your video's on maintenance to give me some idea on cleaning up my 1951 15-91. I tried your trick of using sewing machine oil to clean the paint. It worked fine but I decided to follow up with Mothers Carnuba cleaner and wax intended for automotive paint and it did a fantastic job. It left a beautiful protective gloss after rubbing out with a clean cotton cloth.

Thank you so much for sharing all of this valuable information! I can't wait to get started cleaning my machine that my Mother gave me.

About to clean up my great grandmothers Singer 127 from 1925. Probably hasn’t been used since the 60s so want to treat it with care. Thank you for the very informative videos!

My Singer Featherweight came with a "Singer" metal oil can. Took me 12 years to find her. Patience is your friend. Thank you.

🤦🏻‍♀️ I had planned on doing lots of chores today. Now I found this video, now I‘m going to have to watch all of them, and there goes my day. Subscribed.

The neck is where they are carried, lifted, lowered into cases etc. Skin oils, dirt and dust eventually wear away the finish. The nicks on the neck can also be caused by rings when handling the machine. Just think about how often we move them by grasping the neck

I am so glad that I found this video and watched it before I do anything to my new vintage 1920 Singer! Thank you for all the information, easily explained and it is amazing what the sewing machine does!

Most helpful video. Very well presented and described. My ' new ' hobby project ( 1898 Treadle Singer ) arrives tomorrow, and now I know how to clean it ! Thanks very much, Colin UK.

So glad I found your video... inherited my grandmothers 110 yr old peddle machine! It’s been stored in concrete block structure, so wood and machine are in rough shape, but cabinet/frame/ drawers look ok! I don’t think I could get it working but would like to clean it for display in my home.. thanks again!

Your way works brilliantly using the sewing machine oil. Thank you so much, now have a nice clean, shiny machine.

Wow - so helpful. I am just beginning to think about cleaning and using my grandmothers 1922 Singer, and Im so glad I came across this before touching it. I will look forward to the others in this series.

Thank you. I found your instructions to be very helpful. My daughter gifted me a vintage Singer Sewing Machine for Christmas. It's not in very good condition and I would like to restore it. You have given me a starting point so I'm off now to start the process.

Wow! Am going to sit at Nanas 201, and replay and clean. Thank you! Cleaning with oil, that’s genius.

The second sewing machine you were cleaning is my dream sewing machine. I've been looking in my area for one with the decals in good shape for years and the closest I found was a 1927 singer. The one your cleaning is beautiful.

As a sewing machine restorer myself, I am thoroughly enjoying your videos and picking up several useful techniques for my own use. Thank you. One thing is confusing me in this video. You say that the black finish is black lacquer decorated with decals, then clear coated with clear lacquer. My research suggests the black finish is japanning (a mixture of asphaltum, linseed oil and turpentine baked onto the machine) the decorations were lithographed industrial transfers (a process where only the paint is applied, there is no clear backing as in decals) and the clear coat was shellac, not lacquer. This last is easily checked by shining an UV light on the machine. Shellac glows yellow-green. Lacquer doesn't. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm concerned that my research is in error and if so I need to add corrective notes to many of my videos so I don't mislead anyone. I would greatly appreciate any clarification you can provide. Thank you for your time. Now I'm off to watch more of your videos.

I just got my hands on a 201-2. It's in pretty rough shape. I'm so glad I found your videos to help me bring her back to life! Thank you for such an informative video!

I just purchased a 1923 red eye Singer, and I'm so thankful for your video!

What a great video! I love your obsessive attention to minute detail. So informative! I can't wait to restore my grandmother's machine. I believe it's a 1904 and has the exact paint design as shown in the 2nd machine.

I feel the same way about these old girls. You clean them up. Give them a drop of oil where needed and they’ll run forever. They sew one stitch and they do it very well.

Thank you so much for all the great information. You made it really easy to follow, and I've disassembled and cleaned up the 301 that I just got and I know that it's ready to go for a good long time! Also thanks for the video on the hand wheel reassembly. :)

Initially I thought your idea of cleaning with sewing machine oil was crasy. I had a basket case 92 year old Singer so I tried your cleaning method. Outstanding!

Great video! Very useful! I have a 1936 Singer machine and I just started restauring it, hopefully it will make a great piece for the living room!

I seriously just love your videos. They’re all so helpful and informative. Thank you!!! 🙏🏻

Well, I guess it was a good thing I watched this. I just got a 1924 66, and the first thing I was going to do, was douse it with WD 40. Thanks.

My husband just got me one from a yard sale, it looks in great shape and now I'm super excited to clean it up even more and start using it. I hope I have all the parts needed!

This is a great informative video! My husband and I found a Singer model 66, I think from 1910, at an antique shop today, and we’re hoping to restore it. The big issue is that the treadle is missing, so we need to find one, but the machine looks to be in good condition. And I do have plenty of sewing machine oil!

I’m a preserver too. I like to keep her as original as possible. I think all these gals have earned their bumps and bruises.

This was very educational and entertaining. I have a Singer 1947 201-ish series. (I got my daughter a sphinx model). I want to take as good care of it as possible. Thank you.

Thank you. You sound passionate about old vintage machines. So well made and back when manual labor was polished with Sweat and Lacquer and cigarette Smoke! Common Sense ran the world, back then. Ai would have been "Active Inventors". So much better engineering, back during the Industrial Revolution. Thank-you for your video. I subbed. Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸

Thank you. What a beautiful machine!

I’ve just got a 1910 (I think!) machine with gorgeous coloured decals so hoping this video will help me clean it up a bit- thank you!

thank you for this video! i recently acquired one myself, i've been looking to get it to work again. i'm an archaeologist, so preserving the machine to the best of my ability is something i strive for and a lot of information out there on cleaning the decals specifically seemed so hit or miss to me & were typically without pictures, or videos having no instructions. this helped a ton, especially being able to see the clear difference, the attention to detail, and, of course, the lack of destructive methods to these beautiful machines.

I found my great grandmothers Singer 103D in the barn just last week. Cleaned her up, gave her oil and she is a real beauty. Only con is that parts for that machine is really hard to find (at least in Europe) as it was made in pre-WWI Germany. So I am really careful with the old lady when I'm sewing on it

Hi! I just got an absolutely beautiful 1915 Singer model and I had no idea how to really make it shine, so this channel popping up on my feed is a blessing. Gonna be binging this so I don't accidentally destroy the finish or operation of the machine.

Oooh good point about the cigarette tar! I have my grandmother’s machine and want to restore it and its cabinet. However, I also have a mid-century rocking chair and multiple photo albums and they STINK of decades of cigarettes. She never smoked, but my aunt did and all the other adults. I opened an album the other day and instantly felt like I’d had a pack of Benson & Hedges menthols. They both passed in the 1990s and these things were stored in my non-smoking siblings’ cellars (!) all this time but the stink remains! The machine, like everything else, is probably thickly lacquered in tar.

Thanks for the great video, have several machines that need restoring-- so glad I viewed this video before I ended up destroying the beautiful finishes!

P.s. that machine is a BEAUTY!! Thank you for sharing

this video is a God send. I just bought one of these and trying to figure out how it works, cleaning, etc.....The mechanics work and the bobbin and case had me flipping out!!! Thank You!!!

I am so grateful for your videos. I just got my Singer from 1908, and she is so beautiful, but I really was a bit at a loss how to handle her. I will take my time to watch your videos before I do anything with her.

Just won a vintage Packard on EBTH, so this will definitely help. Thanks so much.

This was an incredibly interesting video. I have loved watching it. Thank you for generously sharing your knowledge!

if u have a canister vacuum cleaner, u can purchase a micro tool set to attach to the vacuum hose to vacuum the dust out of your sewing machine. or if you attach your vacuum cleaner hose to the exhaust end(with the micro tool attached), u will have "canned air". with the micro set, u can more or less pin point where u want to vacuum or blow out. micro sets are under $14.00.

Very good advise. Thanks for posting.

Beautiful work!

Thanks for the video. Just what I needed.

Awesome video! I just got an "Free No. 5" from my grandmothers house. its in great shape but the table/cabinet needs cleaning and conditioning!

I don't use water on my vintage machines, only sewing machine oil. Water can silver the decals. I use t-shirt scraps, much softer than tissues.

I restore antiques frequently, working on an old Miami sewing machine right now. For non lacquered parts I've found Zippo lighter fluid works great. lacquer was applying with denatured alcohol. Thanks for the video.

Good information, I have a 127J that I want to clean up and make lovely again. I have subscribed to learn your methods... thank you for sharing... That is beautiful and there sure is a difference.

Lots of good information, thanks for sharing.

Thank you for this video. I bought a Singer 1928 99 sewing machine. This video will be a big help to me.

Wow thank you for sharing!!!

Hello, thank you for your detailed answer, I think it's a sort of dilemma, because if I prefer wax I have no chance to change my conservation strategy, if I choose oil, I possibly rub bit by bit my nice ornamentation, I fear. But you are right, this is a lasting process and yes, it's one period of using this machine and normal traces are unavoidable and I'm OK with it. I like your kind of working, your endurance, your sensitivity your fine motor skills ;-) By the way, I've a nice tool for cleaning the place between the front linkages and the housing: there is no word at "LEO". There are felt balls with a thin long wire to coat color onto leather (shoes a.s.o.) You can buy it in different dimension (in UK?) you can bent it in position Great respect, Mathias

I am excited to find you here on KZfaq, since I would like to know much more about cleaning and properly caring for a vintage Singer Treadle sewing machine-- Black with decorative decals. Your recommendations as to what types of products to use for cleaning made a huge difference, because I know that in the past I've chosen the wrong types of products. So, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

Great information. Thank you.

I just acquired a 1955 model Singer... Had no idea how to clean it... Thank you!

Just got one with the table from what I think is 1904 today. It appears that someone tried to clean it with something harsh in the past because the finish is messed up. Going to do my best though. I'll be bingeing your videos !

I just found you after getting a machine from a friends family. Seems it’s dated 1906. I’m looking forward to watching and hopefully bring the machine back to life for myself and daughter to use. I believe it was stored in the house I got it from but the house hasn’t been lived in for a while and not the best condition. But I’m hopeful. The wood of the desk isn’t in the best shape but I’m sure with research I can figure that out as well. Thank you for this series.

your conservation methods are appreciated. 💚

I’ve just bought a 66k with lotus decals, made in 1924, it’s been converted to electric from hand crank. Needs a lot of cleaning and tlc, but nonetheless works well. Beautiful.

Thank you for this video. I just acquired a beautiful 1918 Singer treadle machine. Now I have some idea of how to restore it.

Mine is 1923 Singer made in Scotland with a Lotus decal. It’s easy to look up online and date your machine by the number on it. Mine had an easy life and was kept out of the sun as the decals and wood cabinet was in very good condition. I love domestic antiques, I think about the people who used them and their lives and families.

Very informative and easy to understand. Great video.

I just got a Victoria nutzstich zz-570, wich has a YMK-40 motor. I will clean it and can’t wait to use it

Good video. I just picked up a nice 1941 singer in a small table. Table needs TLC but overall the paint and decals i can tell looks good.

Thanks for the information. I had a hard time to find a good lacquer cleaning video for my Remington Typewriter.

untreated, scrim-free quilt 100% cotton batting scraps are ideal for cleaning

I have a treadle Singer 66 that I need to clean and restore. The cabinet has some lifted and broke veneer in places. I am watching your videos t assist me in cleaning it. The machine looks to be in good condition, the cabinet needs some minor work and the treadle needs a refinish. But overall I think I can restore it and use it. It was my grandmothers.

What do you recommend putting on as a protective coat? I have seen some videos of people putting Shellac on it after they have cleaned it. I recently got a Singer 12k from the 1880s and I would like to protect it from wearing away any further. Thank you!

My cousin gave me that one!! Just married it to a 5 drawer treadle base, that's in 3.5 out of 5 condition! I should have it, hopefully, running tomorrow, with leather belt. Has bullet shuttle & spindle bobbin! Only surface rust on metal, tiny chips on edges. Want to clean the black iron, most of the art is still there!! So, I want to reseal it all, after cleaning chips, just below the edge trim! I've dusted it, blown it.

Wish I had seen this video 3 hours ago. I just "cleaned" my 1914 singer with foam window spray and paper towels! Crap. I'm not doing anything else until I see your next video on the metal parts.

I have this exact machine. I just got it. 🤩

Very informative, thanks!

Thank you for this Video.. I just buy Singer "New Family" from 1872. On Garage sell for 30€..i can tell decal is in very good shape.. I want keep original shape..without restoration...because this is Beautiful piece of history.. And this Information is very helpfull because this is my first shewing Maschine..

Oh man, thank you; I just got a Raymond treadle, and have been very nervous about how to clean it without damaging the decals any more than they already are.

I got a Singer Model 28K today from my workplace for free, it's in good condition with manual and everything.

Can one repaint a clear coat of lacquer to seal everything and protect it longer? My decals are starting to come off when I got it. I have a 128-3

How did singer do the red color on the end cap and side cover on1906 Singer 27 Sphinx Treadle Sewing Machine? Was that a paint or what? Thank you

So I have recently bought one of these at a re-store. It's not the exact same, it is one made by Standard and has Model N on the side and at the top it says "Howe Improved" and has the table and foot pedal mechanism. I originally bought it because I wanted to use the base as a stand for a coffee table. The wooden table/housing part is in very poor condition. I just want to know if it has some kind of historical value or if I can go ahead and give it a new purpose? I can email you photos too if you'd like.

Thank you so much, an amazing transformation.

I didn't have any sewing machine oil, so i found out gun oil worked great for cleaning up mine! Just an alternative option..

When applying oil to the paint finish will it completely soak in and dry? I was just wondering because if you sew with it you don't want oil on the fabric.

For my birthday my mom shipped me our family singer and i found out shes from 1913!! She was in active use from start of life to 1980, then every few years through 2000, and is in great usable condition. Im in the process of putting "Lady mary" back into service and shes a gem 😁😁😎

What happened to the free arm Kenmore? I believe it is a model 158-1941. I have the same machine. A very solid workhorse. Other than my Singer 201, it's my favorite.

Thank-you for this useful video. I became interested in these older machines last month when I was sewing pleated masks. The 8 layers of cotton challenged my Husquarva Viking, and I was directed toward and started to appreciate these machines- which I had previously disdained as a “gramma machine”. Soon after I acquired a “Precision Super Deluxe” with an ARROW badge. The tension knobs is on the front of the machine, the same as it is in your 15-91 video. It is very heavy and looks well maintained, but It has a mildew odor that I never believed possible for a large metal object. I wiped it down with warm water and soap ( before viewing this), and have been airing it outside for almost 2 weeks. It is a lot better, but if I bring it inside and put in my sewing room it, the musty smell rapidly disperses from the machine. Any suggestions?

Beautiful, thank you! Just bought a lovely Singer 66 with Lotus decals, which is in pretty good condition, but I'm sure this will still be helpful to bring it back to its full glory.

Thanks for this video! I have recently been given a White Rotary which I believe is from 1929. It's in some pretty bad shape so I don't know how far I can restore it. I do want it to be original and so I don't want to redo decals or sand the table. I will not be using it, it is just for display. Could I use other oils or should it only be "sewing machine" oil?