Just over a week ago I shared my wonderful vintage Singer Zigzagger attachment and mentioned there was a bit of rust on the foot. While it doesn't impact the excellent functionality of the zigzagger, I was a bit concerned that the rust might rub off on my fabric or get worse if left unattended. I didn't know if it had to be mechanically filed off or if there was a remedy but the wonderful folks at The Singer Featherweight Shop suggest a product called Evapo-Rust.
This solution sounds too good to be true! It's non-toxic, safe to use, contains no acids, is environmentally safe, reusable, and easily disposed. The videos on their website show it working on really rusty items and auto parts and it actually seems to perform very well. While I couldn't find it locally at the hardware stores I did source it at Lee Valley. I asked my husband to pick some up for me while he was out of town and the quart-sized jug was about $13. Since I have very small sewing machine feet and attachments to clean, and it's reusable on about 300 pounds of parts, I know I won't be needing another container for quite some time.
I couldn't wait to see if it would work. I added a bit to a small dish and inserted the foot portion of my zigzagger attachment into the solution. I left it overnight, checking periodically before I went to bed. In the morning the rust was gone! There is residual pitting and a black mark where it was but the damaging rust is absolutely removed.
The process of how it works is described on their website HERE and it is pretty ingenious. I have a couple more rusty machine feet to clean up and then I'm pretty sure hubby is taking it out of my workshop and into his. He has some garden tools and other items I think he'd like to restore. I am very pleased with my results and feel better knowing my vintage zigzagger is rust free and still going strong after all these years.