Hi everyone,

So the model I bought off ebay appears to be a 70s EPC... it has two switches (power level, and on/off), the plug isn't polarized, and there is some sort of fiber sleeve on the wires in the base.

The base itself is some sort of ugly brown, looks alot like this one:
http://www.orphanespresso.com/assets/im...iccola.jpg

only the badge on the front is black with silver.

There's rust along the bottom edge of the foot where it is covered by the rubber base. There also appears to be a little bit of corrosion where the boiler meets the foot, and that brown paint layer is chipped away where the drip tray plate meets it.

I was wondering what the recommended method would be for stripping the old paint off the base, and what sort of paint is recommended to replace it.

I'd like to preserve the little round badge and the info plate on the left side of the foot if possible.

Thanks!

I have a very similar machine with the same beautiful colored base. It works perfectly but needs an appearance upgrade. I plan to try the dental floss method that Steve Robinson used when he restored the Olympia Cremina. If you are not familiar with this check out, Restoration of Olympia Cremina here on HB.
If I decide to repaint the base on my machine, I'll just sand it before priming and painting. If I have it powder coated, I'll have it media blasted. If I plate it, it will be chemically stripped.
So as you can see you have choices. Aren't choices good

So, I started disassembling my EPC last night. The switch and electronics weren't too bad to take off the base. I ended up breaking one of the two retaining prongs that hold the La Pavoni badge onto the front of the base.. I haven't decided what to do about that just yet.
I used floss to pull the identification plaque off the side of the base, and then (big mistake) dropped the plaque into hot water with oxyclean in it, to attempt to remove the sticky backing.
I cam back to a completely spotless plaque, with no print remaining on the face! I guess from here on in there will be no plaque.

the hardest part so far was removing the boiler from the base!
After figuring out that a big collar was threaded onto the boiler and holding it against the base, I tried numerous ways to unscrew it.

Eventually I found half a broom handle and pushed it up against the bolt posts that screw the elements into the base, then started hammering really hard at the handle. After 20 or 30 strokes (and watching the broom handle start to disintegrate) I finally started to see movement in the collar, and pieces of the stiff, dead gasket started to appear around the edges. Eventually I got the thing off, but I think I'll be in need of a couple of new gaskets for the boiler/base area.

I'll post pics once I'm ready to start painting the base.

You might think about just buying a new base. It would probably be significantly easier just to buy one that is more to your taste, especially now that the badge and plaque are done for. Orphan Espresso makes a really cool specialized tool for removing the collar and screwing it back on. It's very inexpensive, too. I'm guessing that since it's a 70's model it has a brass collar, but if it's one of those silly plastic ones you might consider upgrading. If the machine over-heats the plastic one will melt onto the boiler.