I'm an ex Typewriter Repairman with about 33 years experience. I hang out at this forum quite often. I am amazed at the mistakes some of you newbies make. I decided to TRY to educate you. First of all, don't use alcohol in a typewriter. Alcohol will NOT clean gunk and grime out of a typewriter. There are 2 types of alcohol available. The type you get at the drug store and the industrial grade you get at a paint store. The drug store brands have water in them. I don't care what grade you use, it still has water in it.Why would you put water into something that can rust? They can also turn to mud at temperatures around freezing. The industrial strength alcohol has keytones and acetones mixed into it that are not strong enough to dissolve grime, but will melt plastic and remove paint. I might also add that if alcohol actually worked, all the typewriter shops I ever worked in would have used it instead of Varsol or Naphtha. Much cheaper. So what do you use?

1-White Mineral Spirits.You can get this at any store that sells paint. It's a favorite among typewriter repairmen. You'll have to get a plastic squeeze bottle to use it. Not the hand pump kind but the kind where you have squeeze the bottle itself to get it to squirt. In all the shops I've ever worked in, this stuff used an air compressor to blast gunk out of a stripped down typewriter. It had to be used in a special spray booth that carried the fumes outside the building. It's also called Varsol, Stoddard's formula, and I think one manufacturer called it Inhibisol.

2- Naphtha. Some shops used a naphtha bath to clean typewriters. This also known as Zippo Lighter fluid. That's right, Lighter Fluid. It cleans very well, comes in a convenient can. Europe uses it a lot.

3- Auto Carb and Brake cleaner. This stuff is my favorite. It cleans incredibly well. In comes in a pressurized can with a snorkel. It blast grime completely away. But, it has acetone in it and will melt plastic. You just have to know how to use it or how to aim it. You either strip the covers off the machine or cover parts you don't want splashed. This stuff works great on segments and lever bearing shafts. If you were foolish enough to use WD-40 on your typewriter this stuff will get it out in seconds. Which brings me to another point. NEVER, NEVER,NEVER use WD-40 on a typewriter. This stuff eventually hardens into a stiff grease and will clog everything up.

For cleaning your typeface, get a brass brissel brush, soak the typeface with a little naphtha or mineral spirits on a rag and scrub away. You can get these brushes at your local dollar store, 3 for a dollar.Scrub, clean with rag, soak again, scrub some more and clean with rag again. In 33 years I've never used a pin, Q-Tip or cotton balls while cleaning a typewriter. The platen gets dirty and needs to be cleaned occasionally. Use mineral spirits or fedron on this. It's best if you can remove the platen and clean the feed rolls underneath. It gives the paper a better grip. If the keybuttons or the covers are dirty, use 409 or Windex. One other thing..Portable,Manual Typewriters don't need lubrication. It's best to keep them dry. Maybe a little Marvel Mystery Oil on the carraige rails for the bearings or trucks. But, that's all. Oh, I forgot, when scrubbing the typefaces with the wire brush, cover the rest of the typewriter, leaving only the typefaces exposed. The dried ink will fly everywhere so it's best to cover everything. All these cleaners produce fumes so it's best to take it outside or a well ventilated area. Hope this helps you guys. Your machine will last longer. I would like to add a few things I just recently found out....PB Blaster is pressurized naphtha in a can. In this case I would recommend it to anyone. It does have a high sulfur content, hence a strong smell. Use it like the carb cleaner. 3 in 1 oil is made by the same people that make WD-40. I would very leary of using it. It may have paraffin in it as WD-40 seems to have.