Hey guys

I recently bought a used caravel that needs some restoring. The entire body is covered in "something" and I'm not sure how to best get it off. I'm thinking finely sanding the entire body and polishing the aluminium?
The other problem is the screws, they are completely rusted and I don't think I'm able to screw them out without stripping them. And finally I'm there's the electronics, which are mostly rust and dead bugs right now. I haven't tested if it heats up, but looking like that I'm thinking about replacing a lot of the wiring, just to prevent problems in the future?
I hope this doesn't come of as a "tell me exactly what to do so I don't have to think" post. I've just started a project like this before and gotten all the tips and tricks after I've nearly destroyed the machine trying to fix it. So this time I thought I would start by asking if anyone more experienced than me sees something I might not?

The last picture is the PF handle bar that lacks the handle. The screw that I assume holds the wooden handle in place is completely rusted on. I assume some penetrative oil is the best way with this?

I had really good results getting the body sandblasted and powder coated. It was pretty cheap, too (~$40). Of course, that means getting all the parts off, first! I am not an expert on rusted nuts and bolts, but penetrating oil, time, and maybe some heat seem to be the prevailing advice I have heard here in the past. Might as well upgrade the wiring while you are at it. The heating element is simple enough to test using a multimeter. There are a bunch of threads that cover this as well as a video or two on Orphan Espresso's website.

Good luck! They are great little machines and now is a good time to own one. There are more resources than ever in getting replacement parts.

Pete

That IS a peculiar looking layer of corrosion on the casting. I don't own a Caravel, but looking at that, I would suspect zinc rather than aluminum. If that's the case, it might not be such a good candidate for polishing.

Can you show us some longer views of the machine, front, back, sides, underneath?

The good things about Caravels is since they're open boiler and you can now get spare heating elements, portafilter handles and such, they can be made to work again and look good, even if the original heating controls are changed. They are easy to PID, for instance.

Also sanding and painting can be less expensive than powder coat.

Gary, do you know what that casting material is?

I would say it's just aluminum like all the other caravels- hard to tell from the photo but it looks like residue of the original black paint is there- and that someone has had a go at sanding it off in the past. I would sand blast and repaint- a auto workshop where they respray cars could probably do both jobs for a carton of beer. I would go hammertone paint if I could... The wiring doesn't look too bad- and it is pretty minimal in a caravel- not too hard to replace length by length. There are some good new options for a naked PF.

I can't really soak the entire machine in penetrating oil, so i think i have to find another solution for the rusted screws.
I understand that a autoshop probably could fix the base, but i would like to be able to to it myself. I want to learn from every restoration i do, so "outsourcing" parts of the project because i don't know how to do it seems like it would just leave me with a restored Caravel but without the experience of restoring the whole thing.
I think sorrentina is right, the residue feels like old moldy paint. I think this machine has spent a long time in a humid shed or something like it. Both due to the moldy paint, but also because of the many bugs in the electrical compartment. I doubt they would get in there if the machine had been stored properly.

There are some aspects of restoring finishes that will always have to be outsourced, such as chrome plating and powdercoating. That's not taking a shortcut or cheating yourself out of knowledge. You just can't have industrial coating facilities in most people's homes.

But wouldn't sanding and painting at home accomplish the same thing? I understand that a autoshop can make it more durable, but wouldn't a proper layer of rust resisting paint done at home be enough for many years?