Several months ago I posted about using “Turtle Wax” to shine the bed of my sewing machine, making it easy for the fabric to glide across it as I free motioned quilted…….
That post received many comments of people saying that they use a Silicon spray instead of wax. It was apparently faster and easier to use.
So, I took their advice and bought a can…..
Because I was worried about the spray, I spent some time covering the important bits of my machine…..
First a napkin covering the throat plate…..
Then another napkin scrunched up around the needle and shaft……
….held in place with tape……
I opened the can, shook it up and sprayed……
Immediately there was a cloud of droplets flying through my studio and a (not terribly pleasant) smell permeated everything.
OKAY….that was NOT what I was expecting!!
I took a rag and buffed the area well……
….but kept finding small pockets of spray in areas that weren’t close to the can when I sprayed.
Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper!!
And, on top of all of that, I don’t feel that my fabric is sliding any better than it was before.
So many of you told me that THIS was the way to go and my question is……
“What did I do wrong??”
Should I have sprayed a cloth and then used the cloth on the machine bed?
Should I have used the “straw” to direct the spray better?
I am sure that this is MY problem, so please…..
.
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I have a can of Sullivan’s Spray Silicone purchased at JoAnn’s for two reasons. The hinges and the folding support arms for the table extensions to the Handi Quilter Capri stationary machine were very stiff and I didn’t want to get oil anywhere near where I spread out the quilt. Additionally, I wanted to buff the table with the spray but I had no intentions of spraying the table surface. I use a soft cloth sprayed with the silicone to buff the table. I did spray the hinges under the table. I may not buy another can but I am not sorry I did. The hinges and folding support arms are significantly easier to release. Like you, I don’t think that silicone on the surface of the table is a significant improvement and probably not something to spray liberally around the machine or fabric. I like car wax just as well. My favorite is expensive but I already had a couple to choose from in the cupboard of supplies I have on hand if I am working on a vintage machine. Zymol is safe for plastic surfaces, smells wonderful, and supposedly toxic chemicals are minimal.
Thanks for this Sally. I am pretty sure that I will go back to car wax. It may have been a bit more time consuming but I sure liked how it worked!