I was doing some research on my great nan’s sewing machine while I am staying with my aunt and I got very excited. It has a rare paperclip decals design and is apparently a design that is only on re-japanned machines that are from the factory or something (I am still a little unclear and wary of the sources) either way there aren’t many with these decals and I want to refurbish it, or at least help preserve it.
I am attaching some photos, and any advice would be much appreciated
Japanning is a tough one… When it’s on planes I tend to leave it alone completely (although handtoolrescue on YouTube has made his own and talks about different recipes). To cure it you’d need to put it in an oven though which might not be the most practical approach.
If it was just about preserving the decals then a clear lacquer might be the least intrusive option? I’m always wary of that though, as they can yellow with time depending on the formulation, and when dealing with a nice old piece like this I’d want whatever I did to last about as long as the previous finish.
