A productive evening
My Adler Contessa de Luxe now works! It has a lovely font. I cleaned it, changed (respooled) the ribbon, and made a few little adjustments. It still has two problems: one of the sticky keys is still sticky (the others aren't anymore), and the bell doesn't work most of the time. But I'm happy, it's the first machine I actually repaired.
@quediuspayu @typewriters Thanks for sharing this! I'd love to be able to clean that deeply. I don't have a lot of tools, even not an air compressor… I used a bottle of compressed air, emptied it completely and there's still dust.
Which oil do you use, and where?
I use the same oil I use for sewing machines, it is very thin, low viscosity. I apply it using syringe with the bevelled tip of the hypodermic needle cut off.
I put oil everywhere there's metal moving against metal, it doesn't need much, just a thin coat. Too much oil can collect more dust or even drip inside the case.
I don't know, at least not yet. I've only been doing this for two years, maybe they didn't have time to gunk up.