Get That Silver Shiny!

Today we'll cover cleaning up the shiny, silver parts of your machine. I've had very good results using Maas Metal Polish, which kind of smells like lavender. It's the first metal polish I tried, so I can't say if it's better than any others; if there's an alternate product you recommend, please let us know in the comments.

Here's a 201-2 with a not-so-nice stop motion wheel. That's the knurled silver dial unsexily referred to in the Adjuster's Manual as the "clamp screw."

Now let's get down to work.




Before we remove it we'll take out the "stop screw," which you'll also hear referred to as a set screw, though the first description is more accurate. You can see why I like using the Brownells bits, here I'm using one as a mini-screwdriver.

When removing the stop motion wheel you normally just loosen the stop screw as opposed to removing it all the way, but I take it out completely here because it will get in the way of our polishing. Put it someplace safe, you don't want to lose this one.

I loosen the stop motion wheel with just two fingers, but I'll quickly change my grip. See all of the paint chips denoted by the red arrows?

Those paint chips happen when people remove the stop motion wheel and it suddenly falls out, and the knurled edges chip the paint. I know this because it happened to me on my second 15-91 (though I'm not responsible for doing the damage you see on this 201, I learned my lesson).

That's why as soon as the wheel is unscrewed a bit, I grab it with all four fingers and unscrew it the rest of the way, carefully letting it fall into my fingers. It's awkward and slower using all four fingers but safer for the machine.

I also remove the stop motion clamp washer. We don't need to do anything to it, but it's gonna fall out anyway, so might as well. I remove it by grabbing one of the little protrusions. You'll find this tricky to do if you've just cut your nails.

Here's a close-up of the stop motion wheel so you can see the lousy shape it's in. I've seen far worse, but this one is beginning to rust and there's copious scratches.

I've not found a product that will remove the scratches and gouges, but the Maas will get the rust and dirt off and make everything nice and shiny.

All you have to do is apply it with a Q-Tip and rub it into the surface.

After just a minute or so of wiping it off, either with a clean Q-Tip or a cotton ball, it looks like this. Scratches are still there, but all the brownish splotches are totally gone.

Here I'll do a needleplate from a different 201. Doesn't look so hot.

Get some polish on the Q-Tip...

...start rubbing it in...

...and buff it off with a cotton ball.

Whatever you use to buff it off will start turning brown or black.

The cotton ball's sacrifice is not in vain. Now we've got a nice, shiny mirror polish. Tricky to photograph but hopefully you can tell.

I should reiterate that it will *not* get the scratches out, but very effectively removes the splotches and light rust. Here's a shot from a different angle so you can see the light catching the scratches. I haven't figured out a way to remove those yet, but if I do, you'll see it here.

Here's a link where you can order the polish:



That's the smallest I could find, the 4 oz. size. You barely need any of it at all, so one tube will probably last you forever. Note that the photo of the tube might look different here than in the photo up top, but that's the exact same link I used to order it.

I've also tried using this stuff on faceplates and inspection plates, the striated kind on 201s and 15-91s, but I haven't found a good tool for wiping out the very thin striations between the larger stripes. A Q-Tip just can't get in there, and if you can't get in there to buff, the polish can't do its job. I'll keep working on that problem and let you know what I come up with.

How to Restore Your Stitch Length Indicator Plate

Okay folks, today I'm going to show you how to get those pretty gold numbers back onto the stitch length indicator plate, so you can actually read the darn thing. Here's your typical "attic fresh" 15-91 that's seen better days:

The stitch length indicator plate's numbers have been worn away by time, making the numbers illegible.

Now I'm gonna show you how to fix that.

Go to an art supply store and pick up some gold paint. The smallest tube you can find, because it doesn't take much. Make sure you get acrylic paint--not oil, not watercolors, not pastels, nothing but acrylic. Acrylic won't bond to the metal plate, which is what we want, for it not to bond. You'll see why. Here's the brand of paint I bought.

I wasn't sure which type of brush to use, so I bought three different kinds: A pointy brush, a fluffier pointy brush, and a wider flat brush. Yes it was a waste of money buying all three, but I knew I'd print the results here, and tell you the right brush to use after testing them all out, so at least I saved you a few bucks.

I put the quarter in the picture both to demonstrate scale and my vast personal wealth.

Remove the SLI plate. It comes out with two screws, top and bottom, then unscrew the silver knob. You can take the screws and throw them in the carpet somewhere, or carefully place them in a jar for safekeeping. Guess which one I recommend.

Next, clean the surface of the plate. I used just a Q-tip and water because it was already decently clean. If it's covered in oil or grease, you'll need to clean it with a solvent like kerosene (or lighter fluid, which is the same thing but a bit easier to manage). Do not use rubbing alcohol, it will take the paint off.

Once the plate is clean and dry, we can get down to painting. The flat brush is the right one to use. You don't even need to squeeze the paint out, just dab the brush on the tube and save yourself a step.

If you're a klutz like me and you got too much paint on the brush, just wipe it off on something unimportant, like an envelope or your roommate's birth certificate.

Now we start slapping the paint on. Move quickly--we're not painting a Picasso here, just laying down a quick, thin layer of gold over the number depressions. I find it easier to do one side at a time.

Immediately after applying the gold, take a clean Q-tip and gently wipe it across the surface, back and forth, turning it often and working quickly. Do not press hard, but work fast. It's better to do 100 fast-and-light strokes than 20 strong-and-hard ones.

At first it will seem like the paint is not coming off, but within 30 seconds your strokes will begin to pick up the paint. The reason you don't want to press hard is because if you do, you'll dig the fresh paint right out of the number grooves. You just want to gently wipe the stuff off of the top and let the paint settle in the grooves underneath. Fast-and-light, fast-and-light, keep at it and don't press hard. Keep changing to clean Q-tips as they get loaded up with paint, otherwise you'll undo your own work.

While you're cleaning off your first coating of paint, it will look like crap, like in the photo below.  The numbers are only partially filled in and it looks terrible so far, but don't be discouraged.

It takes several coats for the paint to sink into the number grooves and fill them evenly, so after you've wiped off that first coat, apply another, and repeat the whole process.

After about four coats and a lot of wiping, it starts to look like this shot, below. The numbers are starting to pop, no?

By the time you're finished, you'll probably have built up a lot of paint on the inside edge of the slot, as seen here. Don't forget to Q-tip that off too.

Acrylic dries pretty quick, so you can put the plate back on your machine just about immediately. Here's a before-and-after shot:

Not too shabby, huh? And now you can actually read the numbers without having to stick your face right up on the machine.