Typewriter care?

[kit feral]

A few weeks ago I bought a beautiful 1976 Smith Corona Classic 12.  Her name is Gloria and she's the new love of my life.  I have another typewriter, but it belonged to my grandmother and is pretty ancient and in need of work, so I don't use it much anymore.

The girl I bought it from said I'd need to oil it, but couldn't give me any more information.  What do you guys use to oil your typewriters?  Any special product?  Or the cheapest way?  A few of the keys are sticky, and it is a bit of a trial to use.

Also, it smells like it's been in a basement for a while.  It doesn't bother me too much, but if there's a way to eliminate the smell, that'd be awesome.  I don't want to start spraying it with stuff before I ask the experts which, in my opinion, definitely includes you guys.

Anything else I can do to ensure she's in tip top condition? 

[Emma Jane Falconer]

I'm not an expert, but sewing machine oil could work well. It's a similar sort of motion after all, and the sewing machine oil is colourless and non-gloopy.

[kit feral]

YES. thank you. That's exactly the type of thing I was looking for, I couldn't find anything that concise myself. You're brilliant, thank you so much.

Mulnix said:

Starblanket,

Check out this link. It applies to manual typewriters, but maybe you could pick up a couple of pointers.

http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-restoration.html

[Mony Nunez]

im jealous.
that's how i feel right now.