Dont know if using lemon juice to clean the outside of the polished case been discussed before.

Was removing scale on my Isomac E61 mushroom yesterday, guess a few drops slide down the front of the exterior case which i wiped off.

I normally clean the case weekly with glass plus, fantastic etc but coffee residue has developed over time and the case was looking little dull. This morning i noticed how clean the long drip left the case. Well anyways i diluted some lemon juice and wiped a small section....wow it took all the residue right off .

I cleaned the remainder of the machine and it looks fantastic, just like new.

WS

It's a sort of mini-descaling. In hard water areas, surfaces are likely to develop a thin lime layer as the water used for cleaning evaporates. The lemon juice is taking that off.

Magic Erasers (i.e., melamine foam) also works wonder on chrome and polished stainless steel. Removes fingerprints, smudges, oxidation, and stains. Warning: Don't try it on soft metals like brass or copper, it will damage the lacquer finish.

Stainless will dull over time from oxidation. Stainless steel will rust/stain. You have to break the word down to its two components, stain less, not no stain. It stains less than high carbon steel.

Get yourself some MAAS polish. Works wonders with a little elbow grease. I took the shell off my Elektra a couple weeks ago and gave it run over the buffing wheels to polish it back up. Looks like a mirror now, but used white rouge on 12 inch buffing wheels, chromium oxide on a loose wheel and then some MAAS with a towel to finish it off.

I was hoping I could receive just a little more clarification, Dan. Would the Magic Erasers be suitable for all polished stainless steels, you think? I was just curious if the slightly lower quality casing on my Le'lit would be ok. It's not quite a mirror finish. I'm worried that using the eraser might "super polish" the surface giving an uneven appearance.

Also, would you advise against using them on the chrome coated brass pieces, like the outside of the grouphead?

I realize I could just not use it, but it sounds really convenient for cleaning. I could also just test an inconspicuous corner too, I guess.

Thanks!

Melamine foam (aka, "Magic Erasers") is an abrasive cleaner, so there is the risk that it will leave visible scratches or alter the glossiness of the surface. I use them wet and rub gently; in my experience, it will remove light oxidation and grime, causing no damage to hard metals. To polish, I lightly rub the stainless steel and chrome components with the damp foam pad, and then buff dry with a soft cloth. Trying it with a light touch and an inconspicuous location is prudent.

Just as an update, I finished cleaning my machine with the Melamine foam pads (the "bald guy" brand), and they worked really well. Gentle circular polishing removed all milk or coffee splashes, firmer polishing showed no adverse effects and removed some of the oxidation marks on my machine. Clean towel buffing will finish the cleaning and get rid of any residue.

I would recommend them for their ease of use. Of course, your mileage may vary.

cannonfodder wrote:Stainless will dull over time from oxidation. Stainless steel will rust/stain. You have to break the word down to its two components, stain less, not no stain. It stains less than high carbon steel.

Get yourself some MAAS polish. Works wonders with a little elbow grease. I took the shell off my Elektra a couple weeks ago and gave it run over the buffing wheels to polish it back up. Looks like a mirror now, but used white rogue on 12 inch buffing wheels, chromium oxide on a loose wheel and then some MAAS with a towel to finish it off.

Sorry for bumping an old(er) thread, but I want to polish my Duetto now and have been trying to get a little more information on what's safe to use and not. There's a very popular product here that's readily available called Autosol that I have a couple of tubes already of. Has anyone used this before? I think(or thought) I read somewhere that the espresso machines needed to be polished with a polisher that contained some silicon in it? Don't know if this is true or not. Does it matter?

Dave, could you clarify what white rogue is? I googled for that and had like 3 bazillion hits, but nothing seemed to be for a polish or compound? If I don't have buffing wheels and whatnot, could I just jump to the polishing by hand bit (given that my machine is fairly new)? And would MAAS be the best stuff out there?

I use Autosol on my machines, it is awesome. You can also use it with a soft cloth to polish out scratches from CD's, it is that good.
Smelly though.

lolgun wrote:
Dave, could you clarify what white rogue is?

typo I think

try "white rouge"