Midnight: Singer 404 Restoration

Midnight

How do you like this for a complete restoration? I think he's beautiful!

It's been a while since we restored and painted a sewing machine. We bought this guy from Goodwill for $45 in December 2021. It was a cabinet model manufactured in May 1960. The motor was frozen, paint spotty and filthy with dings and chips.

Before

My resident repairman went over it, replaced the handwheel clutch spring, oiled, lubed, cleaned and polished. After that TLC, the motor freed up. He took the machine completely apart, ordered a few parts, and worked on it off and on between other projects in 2023.

Fast forward to May of this year. We decided to paint since I already have a nice Singer 404 (Elizabeth) in original condition. Jerold filled the chips, sanded, keyed the finish, and primed the whole machine. Wet sanding the primer makes a really smooth finish for paint.

He used three coats of Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover in Midnight Blue and Silver. After a week, wet sanded to smooth before layering three coats of Ultra Cover Clear. Two days under a heat lamp, then a final clear coat for a mirror finish.

After two weeks of curing, Jerold reassembled, wired and fine tuned bobbin tension. He did the majority of the work on this machine and it's certainly a job well done. 

Midnight sews great now! I'm happy, loving the classy color scheme and can't wait to stitch a quilt or two.