Pictures are sometimes my big downfall but I regret letting that La Pep get away undocumented. The corrosion had eaten holes through the boiler base all around the heating element and most of the chrome was gone....the holes were about 2 to 3 mm . We received the machine unsolicited with a hand written note asking us to fix it if possible. I took it as a personal challenge and was able to patch the boiler with a product called Lab Metal, then powder coat the inside with FDA approved grey to seal it all against further corrosion, then masked it all and did the outside in a metallic sparkle (their choice) and after about 50 hours sent it back to them for the price of the seals. But sadly no picture as at the time I thought a photo spread would be an act of sheer ego on my part as I was so proud of myself at the time.

All I wanted to do was cure their beloved La Peppina since it was indeed a candidate for the rubbish heap.

by the way, if you are going to do any such coatings or anodizing you will likely have to remove the heating element.....you will need to fabricate a tool to remove it and be careful, those brass nuts are very soft in the slots.

Nice description! Great price for the service! You should ask the owner for some pictures of the saved La Peppina!

As for the heat elements nuts, I managed to remove one easily, but the other I almost destroyed... They are tight and are soft brass, indeed.

Thanks again!

Márcio.

orphanespresso wrote:... then powder coat the inside with FDA approved grey to seal it all against further corrosion ...

Doug! Have you coated the piston housing too? Is there no problem to powder or teflon coating where the piston moves?

Márcio.

I've quoted a price on coating. The guy says this piece is molded, not extruded, so anodizing is not a good option. Because of that, he says he could not guarantee the chrome too, and the price is almost double the coating (and only for the exterior, of course).

He suggested a teflon coating inside and powder coating outside for a better color. The price here is R$ 100,00, around USD 55 (I know that in the USA the price would be higher). Maybe I could coat the inside of portafilter too

Márcio.

I've finally managed to remover the heat element and remove all the scale from the boiler... Some pictures:









And the heat element with new washers (I found exactly 12.1 x 16.2 x 1.5 mm fiber washers):



There are some bad pitting on the boiler, so Teflon powder coating inside is the way. I'm just wondering if I'll pay the cost to try to maintain the original shiny chrome outside...

Márcio.

And the piston chamber...



Look that where the piston gasket touches is smooth... Should I avoid powder coat this wall?

Márcio.

You can powder coat only the inside of the boiler and not the outside by masking the piece and applying the powder coat from above. I would avoid coating the inside of the cylinder, just smoothe it with fine abrasive wet and dry paper. Looks nice and clean though as it is. Nice job. those heating element nuts are hard to get off, eh?

Hi, Doug!

Yes, I almost went nuts to remove the nuts. But a lot of WD40 and I removed it with regular pliers.

OK, I'll take your advise and not coat the cilinder wall. The walls are pretty smooth, but I'll make it even better! But maybe I'll try to coat the top, where the washer goes and the top of the piston rest (it's possible to see on the photo that is still dirty and with some scale).

Thanks,

Márcio.

Marcio,

Could you do me a favor and measure the diameter of the enameled boiler at the bottom? CM's are fine.

Obrigado,

dan

Olá, Dan.

Mine is 89 mm, but I've got no caliper here. But the oring is bigger. I think at least 5mm of the bottom is below the oring on the Peppina.

Abração!

Márcio.