If such a thread already exists, please point me in the right direction. I have seen a few threads with such discussions within a larger conversation, but no threads specific to said wisdom and experience. In fact, here are two of the best:

1962 Faema President 2-group and Faema grinder restoration

Faema lambro 1970 - stripdown begins

My interest is in bringing back to showroom condition my Rancilio Z9:

Rancilio Z9 Two Group Lever Machine

However, I didn't put this within that thread because I want a central location for these skills of cleaning, polishing, painting, lubing, and all things related. How does one properly love the lever with lube?

What then, are your tips, tricks and techniques for polishing and cleaning and painting for chrome, stainless steel, brass, copper, frames and panels. Oh, and any horror stories? Does your experience serve as a warning for others?

To get us started, I'm about to have a cauldron of copper to clean - any specific suggestions?

Thank you,
phillip

Hi Phillip,
For polishing my Brass and Copper La Riviera, I received some great advice from Simon Archer in this thread:
La Riviera Refurb

Hope it helps
Anthony

if you want to get into actually polishing metal and plastic with buffing wheels and polishing compounds, i can add my two cents. I've had pretty good results so far, and i'm just starting out with it.

for copper, i think the general consensus is citric acid bath, followed by a scrub down (i use 000 steel wool, and the copper shines like new afterward). if your copper has a clear coat, you'll need to take that off with an appropriate stripper before dunking it the bath.

I'm just getting to the lube my lever part of my gaggia orione rebuild, but i understand that Dow 111 is a favorite for espresso machines needing lube, but i'd be interested in seeing how much to apply and where.

hope that helps!

-mike

Any warnings for buffing with polishing compound? I recently picked up a sanding and polishing kit for the Dremel and it came with polishing compound... I might have to try this on the La Peppina.

Don't get citric acid on the enamel of the Peppina kettle. It'll take away the shine.

yakster wrote:Any warnings for buffing with polishing compound?

you need to make sure you're using the correct compound and the correct hardness/stiffness wheel for the metal you're polishing. If you're polishing metal that is plated, you can strip right down through the plating if you use too aggressive a compound or too stiff a wheel, so make sure you know what you're polishing first (remember all chrome is plated on, so be careful when polishing it) The dremel is ok for small stuff, but for large stuff the wheel is too small and you'll likely end up with streaks, plus it will take ages to finish. The good news is you can always start over, just make sure you go through the compounds in order.

The golden rule (or one of them), is to only use one wheel per compound to avoid contamination of compounds/grits. Another thing that was easy to learn, but hard to practice it to let the compound do the work, not the wheel, meaning don't use excessive pressure if you're not getting the results you want--you likely just need a different wheel/compound.

What part of the peppina are you planning on polishing? i don't think it will work well on painted surfaces, but will probably work great on the drip tray.

good luck, polishing is one of the most rewarding things i've picked up in espresso restorations.

-mike

All seem to agree that a citric bath is great for copper. Can someone suggest a ratio and for how long? Oh, and what about the citric itself - just lemon juice?

-phillip

Citric acid (also called sour salt) is used in canning. Most places that offer canning products should also carry it. If you have an Indian grocery near you, they will also carry it.

The ratio I use is 1 TB per quart. If you don't have any aluminum parts, double it.

I just finished an old 60's machine that required about 7 days in the bath. If your copper is in good shape, without lots of buildup, then can do it in less time.

I've never polished anything...but if I were to, I'd be using cannonfodder's advice:

Polishing stainless steel panels

and also

Elektra T1 - #771 built in 2000 is now mine

A2chromepeacock wrote:I've never polished anything...but if I were to, I'd be using cannonfodder's advice:

Polishing stainless steel panels

and also

Elektra T1 - #771 built in 2000 is now mine

Thanks, I was using advice from Dave (CannonFodder) who KNOWS what he's doing. If I was to do it again I'm fairly certain I wouldn't use a bench grinder as it's really really hard holding up those stainless steel panels after a while. It does however work. I used 3 separate re-enforced cotton buffing wheels, one for each of the three compounds I found at Lowes.

Mark