I wanted to start a thread as a repository for 'general rebuild tips/pointers for vintage levers'. There is likely a good deal of info that is specific to taking on older machines. I'm thinking of things like gasket and seal removal and installation tips; safely cleaning up old chrome and paint without damaging finishes; rust mitigation; safe approaches to de-scaling; Gary's 'thinking like an electrician' thread etc. I know when I was undertaking my first rebuild, a general compendium of such tips would have been handy. Many machine-specific rebuild threads have such tips and pointers, and they are likely broadly applicable. My hope is that this thread will serve as a place for those to live such that one doesn't have to wade through multiple machine-specific threads.

I'll get it started with something that I posted in the Arrarex Caravel mega-thread last week:

Discovered a rather effective gasket removal technique yesterday. The Caravel group gasket can be particularly difficult to remove once it has ossified - there is really no place to get a purchase on an edge and with my Caravel 1.0 I had to chip it out, using a small blade screwdriver as a chisel. I recently acquired a VAM, and while the piston seals are in amazing condition for their age (1959) and are holding up just fine, the group gasket was clearly compromised and I was getting too many shots where I would lose pressure and see water squirting out above the PF.

I really didn't want to chip out the gasket again so I decided to try to thread in a small screw and use it as a stud to pull out the gasket. That didn't work - the screw just pulled out - but I noticed that it did work to raise an edge of the gasket. So I screwed it in again at a 45 degree angle and that worked the gasket up enough that I could easily get a small precision screwdriver under there and remove the gasket cleanly in one piece. Much easier, cleaner, and WAY faster than my previous approach. Took five minutes including the trial and error of figuring out the best approach.

grog wrote: Discovered a rather effective gasket removal technique yesterday. I really didn't want to chip out the gasket again so I decided to try to thread in a small screw and use it as a stud to pull out the gasket. That didn't work - the screw just pulled out - but I noticed that it did work to raise an edge of the gasket. So I screwed it in again at a 45 degree angle and that worked the gasket up enough that I could easily get a small precision screwdriver under there and remove the gasket cleanly in one piece. Much easier, cleaner, and WAY faster than my previous approach. Took five minutes including the trial and error of figuring out the best approach.

A corkscrew is helpful when removing old gaskets - Rancilio S24 Portafilter Gasket replacement

You'll pick up a lot of tips here, where I did my first major restoration and indexed the thread.

Conti Prestina Espresso Machine Restoration 101 (Completed and Indexed)

Take plenty of pictures of showing the original orientation of things, exploded-view details and so forth. Also identify your wire terminations with taped labels, or similar, and sketch (or photograph) the wiring connections before taking things apart.

An interesting tip on finish polishing from Simichrome's website:

"To final polish and increase the gloss of the polished wheel, wipe the wheel with cornstarch. Cornstarch can be purchased at any supermarket. Dip the clean towel into the box and wipe the wheel thoroughly with the cornstarch. The cornstarch will absorb the excess polish from the pores of the aluminum and eliminate any streaks in the finish. To remove any cornstarch powder, use compressed air".