For Olympia Cremina 67 owners - is it advisable to re-chrome?

[stgui2]

Hi to everyone!!!

Lets face it some 90% of the Olympia Cremina owners own a "used" Cremina. I just got mine but would like to ask another question:

The holder of the coffee is of course used. The question is: shall I have it chromed or shall I allow the machine work as it is? Is it advisable to re-chrome?

[mogogear]

Hi to everyone!!!

Lets face it some 90% of the Olympia Cremina owners own a "used" Cremina. I just got mine but would like to ask another question:

The holder of the coffee is of course used. The question is: shall I have it chromed or shall I allow the machine work as it is? Is it advisable to re-chrome?

maybe 99% of the owners....... own used machines I would bet. You can re-chrome, others have re-chromed various parts-but...... porta-filters , hmmmmmm , there are different types of chroming processes, not all facilities produce "food-grade chrome". So if you decide to try- be sure you get that assurance to be safe. You might weigh the price of a replacement PF from olympia

[espressoperson]

Hi to everyone!!!

Lets face it some 90% of the Olympia Cremina owners own a "used" Cremina. I just got mine but would like to ask another question:

The holder of the coffee is of course used. The question is: shall I have it chromed or shall I allow the machine work as it is? Is it advisable to re-chrome?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I too own a used Cremina, but used only by me. I bought it new 23 years ago and with all the use over the years the chrome on the inside of the portafilter has worn down to the brass metal.

From everything I could read about this it is not a bad thing. It may actually be an improvement! At least one professional barista has the chrome chemically removed from the inside of his portafilters to improve the taste of the shots. So just enjoy your enhanced portafilter as is.

[HB]

The question is: shall I have it chromed or shall I allow the machine work as it is? Is it advisable to re-chrome?

Steve can correct me, but I believe he had difficulty finding a replating shop that could do food-safe chrome. In the end, he went with nickel plating. It looks great, but is slightly darker, like a chrome with some patina. I think the look compliments the wood handles nicely.


From Restoration of an Olympia Cremina

[bobcraige]

Dan

That is interesting. Mauviel in France makes some of the world's finest cookware, particularly their copper pots. While tin lined copper is considered the absolute best because the tin has a relatively high thermal conductivity, it also melts at low temperature, stains and wears out requiring periodic retinning. In order to make a durable pot, they went to nickel lining the copper, but have stopped using nickel and gone to a stainless steel lining. It was my understanding that this was due to health safety concerns regarding the nickel.

[srobinson]

Well my experience was as Dan said...it is a bit hard to find someone who will do the chroming. I can point you in the direction of the individual who did mine..they were great. Most places are used to doing motorcycle parts and not coffee parts. In discussion with the platers that I used, we decided not to plate the inside of the grouphead and not to plate the inside of the portafilter. They suggested nickle which I went with and it is a nice patina which you can brighten with polish.

The results can be outstanding....the work I had done looks like new. Price will be dependent on how much prep work they need as well as buffing afterwards....and it is one of the more expensive parts of the rebuilding process. I also chose to have the stainless steel parts polished...not plated. The quality of the Olympia parts allow them to really come back to life.