Hello all. I recently acquired (for free - so the price was right) a 1984 brass La Pavoni Europiccola from a family member. They used it only literally a few times before storing it away in their garage for about 20 years. Its internal components seem to have held up fine; there is nothing fundamentally wrong with any of the main components; after descaling, it is producing adequate temperature, pressure, everything, nothing's leaking, it's making drinkable shots with decent, albeit a little thin crema (with a new Rocky grinder). I will do some basic maintenance on the interior later this summer.

1) My primary concern for the moment, though, is its exterior appearance. After 20 years in a garage, the brass base has plenty of splotches and blemishes and discolorations. There doesn't seem to be any of what I would consider to be rust, though of course I'm not 100% sure of that. It's still smooth to the touch, and relatively shiny with a nice amount of luster, and certainly pleasant to look at from a few feet away. But up close, some of the splotches look like perhaps the protective lacquer might have been compromised, and I am concerned that any minor visual defects on the surface right now might later rust or transform into serious issues that actually interfere with the operation of the machine. I took a few photographs just to illustrate what I'm talking about, see them below:

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(((EDIT: Photos # 1, 2, & 4 uploaded directly to this post)))




I have tried to buff this stuff out with hot water but to no avail.

Has this been experienced before, and if so, what product or process would clean or polish the exterior? Could the lacquer be an issue, and should it be stripped, reapplied, and if so, how? Or is the appearance simply an uncorrectable cosmetic effect of 20 years in a garage, and nothing can be done to shine it up? I am fine with how it looks (it was free to me!) provided that the cosmetic imperfections do not turn into operational problems.

Some secondary questions:

2) I have already descaled it, but it seems like the machine would benefit from a backflushing regimen with the "Joe-Glo" solution. But I can't find any blank/blind/backflush discs of size 49mm that would fit a pre-millennium Europiccola portafilter. Is this machine even capable of performing a backflush or are there alternative procedures that should be used to flush out the group head of stray coffee grinds and oils? Where would I get a 49mm blank/blind/backflush disc, since I cannot find one of this diameter on any of the major spare parts websites?

3) I would like to remove the double spout from the portafilter and replace it with a single spout, but cannot unscrew the spout at all. After 20 years, it is very firmly screwed and stuck to the portafilter. I need some serious torque, but doubt that a wrench would work. Any ideas about getting the double spout off? Could it be soaked in some sort of solution to loosen it up?

Thanks for your help.

Hi Ben, welcome to H-B, and congrats on your new/old Pavoni. Some answers to your secondary questions:

No, you don't want to backflush this machine. But you may wish to do a portafilter wiggle: loosely insert PF with blind filter, raise lever (allowing water to flow), and wiggle PF to dislodge coffee grounds from the grouphead. Health warning: turn off the machine and allow the boiler pressure to drop below 0.5 bar before doing this. It's not a question of whether you'll get burned, it's how badly.

Can't find a blind filter? A piece of tin foil in the single basket works quite well. I've been using a disk of closed cell foam:


Double spout removal: put the PF in a padded vise, grab the double spouts with padded wrench or vise grips, and pull hard. The spouts are often cemented on with Loctite, and you need to break the bond to get them off. Before getting a single spout, pull some shots w/o any spouts - you might prefer it (more clearance under the grouphead for burning yourself the PF wiggle ).

Sirnim,

You've had that twenty year old La Pavoni over a month. Ready to join LMWDP?

I read the recent post reminding to do maintenance and took the time to remove and clean the piston and screen. It went back together with no problem just like the last time I did so some 18 months ago. I pull 2-4 shots most days, so was quite surprise how little gunk was evident in the screen and above the screen near the lever. I do some flushing to wash out espresso oils after shots, but I never really up dose so after the tamp, the puck rest below the screen. I think this limits how much oils and residues ascend.

I really enjoy how easy the lever action is now after I've gleaned and applied fresh food grade silicon spray. But I find less pressure on the lever is required. In fact I found I had to dial in the grind again on my Zassenhaus for the blend I am using this month, Kalani organic espresso.

Why do none of my family keep lovely old lever machines in their garages? I'm jealous. As far as cleaning the dispersion screen goes, I've been using Richard's sponge method. I do find I still have to pop the screen off once in a while to clean more thoroughly. I may be dosing a little high though so I get residue in there on the screen and base of the piston. I also rub Dow Corning 111 in the piston chamber. It's great. Richard's post on the sponge method is below;

backflush-for-lever-yes-t7205.html

I can't really comment on the finish beyond saying that I don't think it'll give you any operational problems if you don't mind the look. Someone else may have a brass one and can comment? Have you taken the plastic bottom off and looked inside the control cavity. Sometimes they get a bit rusty in there and under the drip tray. Enjoy your machine, I love mine.
Sam.