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Singer 27
No Decal Pattern
Manufactured: July
20, 1897, Elizabethport, NJ
Serial Number: 14538205
Needle: 15 x 1
Bobbins: Shuttle, long bobbins
Mechanism
type: Arc shuttle
Feed: must be covered
Feet: Low shank
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Repainting an 1897 Singer model 27
From This
Normally I wouldn't think of painting a machine, especially one that is from 1897. But this one stitches so well, I really hated to either use it for parts or worse, not use it at all.
To This
I asked a few people about the lack of decals on this machine. Graham Forsdyke thought it might have been an industrial model. I also have heard that during WWII, when Singer was producing rifles and other things to help the war effort, and sewing machine production was very close to stopped, they may have "re-fitted" some of the early treadle heads with motors and smaller hand wheels to market as portable electrics. Someone mentioned that some machines were rebuilt at the same time, and that a "rebuilt" decal might be on the pillar, or there might be a metal "sign" saying Singer instead of decals. My machine doesn't have either of those things. No matter how this machine got changed from the original treadle head, I felt it was worth preserving the machine.
Following the examples of painting a Featherweight on the Sew2Go site, I roughly knew what I had to do. Below are the photos of these stages.
I removed all removable parts, and taped off anything left on the machine that was not a painted surface I needed to strip. I was going to remove the Singer medallion, but it ended up being easier to leave it on and tape it over.
The paint had continued to flake off after I initially received the machine, even from just moving it around the room. The paint stripper product I used was Zip-Strip Original Formula, made to take off 5-6 layers of paint, and safe for metals. Follow the label directions on paint strippers as they are harsh chemicals. I doubled- up on the latex gloves, using medical latex gloves inside the rubber gloves.
Above, a back view
This is a good photo of how bad the paint really was. There was a red layer of primer under approximately 3-4 layers of paint.
Below are photos of the machine with the paint removed. You will notice that I did not worry too much about getting all the red primer off. It wasn't really a tangible layer, certainly not one that would have raised areas. The primer was almost seemingly part of the metal and perhaps it is a step in the original metal-finishing when manufactured.
This last photo is a closer view of the bed - the dark mosaic type marks are where the paint had been cracked.
This process of stripping the paint took one hour to complete. I did not strip the solid hand wheel because I think I will be putting back on a spoked treadle hand wheel. I did strip the belt guard, but not the bobbin winder. When I first considered doing this, the artist in me started to think of all kinds of wonderfully artistic things I could do in repainting the machine. I may still paint a floral motif on the machine. My original goal is to restore this to what it would have originally looked like, as closely as possible. So, I believe it will be repainted plain black, and as the black areas of the bobbin winder are so small (and difficult to repaint) I decided to leave it as it was. I also did not strip the machine past the bed edges, leaving the underside as it had been. It was in very good shape, and as long as I keep the line between the old paint and the new paint on the very edge of the bed, I think it will look fine.
The stripping product I used requires 24 hours to fully dry or evaporate off the machine. In addition, the removed paint and paint chips also have to dry completely before being disposed of. So, it will be a few days at the minimum before I move on to painting the machine.
Starting to repaint-
I will put one coat of primer, two coats of glossy black, and at least one coat of clear acrylic on the machine. The clear anti-ultraviolet ray acrylic will be applied after I have decided whether or not to paint a floral motif on the machine. I chose to use Krylon spray paints for the main finish. Professional repainting would probably be with automotive paint, but I have used Krylon before, it works very well, dries quickly. This particular machine I am painting is not very rare, and the value would be fairly low. Although I want to do a good job, the investment of a professional automotive-type paint job would out-value the machine. I bought one 12 ounce can each of Krylon semi-flat primer in black, glossy black paint, and clear coat acrylic. The glossy black covered the machine with two coats, if three coats were wanted, a second can would be needed.
Below are the photos of the machine as I repaint it.
Here is the machine after re-taping any areas I don't want paint on. I used toothpicks in the oil filling holes and screw holes so that paint does not clog them. There is masking tape still on there from the stripping, but I also taped areas with professional line-tape. Either tape works fine.
I chose to put a semi-flat black primer layer on. Below are three photos after the one layer of primer has been applied. Krylon dries in 12 minutes, and the object can be handled in one hour. I am waiting a couple of hours in between coats, and have the machine in a slightly breezy area so that it dries well. To make sure I reached under the arm, I used the spool pin as a point to hold and tip the machine as I painted.
Below are two photos showing the machine after two coats of glossy black have been added on top of the primer coat.
There are a few specks here and there- those are tiny leaf-hopper bugs that for some reason are attracted to the machine. The paint is almost dry at this point, so they are harmless.
The bed finish is not speckled as it appears in this photo, I think this was just evident as the paint was drying.
I also decided, hesitantly, to paint the face plate, the rear cover plate, and the slide plates. I can always re-strip these if I want to, but the chrome was more than gone and the metal was just continuing to deteriorate. Painted, they will at least be protected from more deterioration. Singer did use black face, rear and slide plates on some of their machines when chrome was in short supply, but my painting these items is not the same process they would have used, as far as I can tell. I can also purchase replacement items that are in better chrome condition. Below is a photo of the condition of the chrome pieces before painting..
I will next decide about any floral embellishments and then add the clear coat to the machine and to the chrome/painted pieces.
I decided not to add any decorations, but to keep the machine as close as possible to what it would have looked like. Below are two photos of the finished machine. It looks wonderful, and sews great. I think I will search for replacement face and rear cover plates in the same pattern as those I painted, but for now will use the painted set. I did not like working with the clear acrylic spray, as it tended to shoot random globs from the spray can, but by using very thin coats I was able to overcome that. The cost for the three cans of primer, paint and sealer, and the can of paint stripper came to about $22.00, but the investment was in the time it took to disassemble, tape off, and then reassemble the machine. If I had used a professional paint service or professional materials, the cost to restore this machine would have been higher.
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