How can i make the metal on a black singer sewing shine?

Question

How can i make the metal on a black singer sewing shine?

Answer 1

put a bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel or cloth and rub the machine with it .

Answer 2

A smidge of sewing machine oil rubbed on the black castings gives a nice glow... sewing machine oil is formulated to come out of fabric, just in case you use a bit much.  And it won't polymerize and get sticky and turn into varnish the way most other oils will do.

As far as the chrome and other brightwork goes, I like Simichrome polish.

If you've got gold decals on the machine, make sure you use only mild cleaners, as stuff like 409 will cause the decals to silver, ruining the collector value (if any).

For more information on cleaning and maintaining old machines, I highly suggest the yahoo group "wefixit", a group of pro and amateur sewing machine rescuers.