I've been stealing information from this site for too long without posting! Thanks for all that I've learned. In my efforts to find a reasonably priced Bunn G1 I stumble upon an "espresso" machine and grinder ad in CL. After a lot of chasing and perseverance I was able to see what was poorly advertised. The guy had two Rio's (1996 and 1998 I believe) and a G1. Questionable condition as the pictures show but all working. Paid 250 for all three.

I plan on restoring one or both Rios and repainting. I've spent hours pouring over all of the other restoration topics on this site and others and feel pretty confident that even with my lack of skill I could probably pull this off. I plan on selling one of them though I'm unsure which to keep. The 1996 one (SN starting with 96) is bigger with better badging and a brushed aluminum doser. I plan on replacing the burrs on both and cleaning both.

Couple questions for you guys though

1. I can't seem to tell whether folks remove the power cord prior to stripping/painting. It is a side exit power cord so I think it would be difficult to paint around. If so, is it difficult. I'm not electrically inclined at all.

2. I see that for others restoring super jollies, some strip and spray paint themselves others remove the innards and have it sandblasted an powder coated. In this model (1996/1998) would I still need to heat the grinder in the oven to get the motor out?

3. Is it appropriate to dip the doser and lens in cafiza? Taking apart the doser looks to be the most challenging part of this. I have half a mind to make this doserless (or maybe restore both and make one doserless and one not).

4. The earlier Rio has metal badging with pins and the later with a sticker I believe. Would I just gently pry off this metal badge. If I decide not to reapply badge (or more realistically, if I break it) am I better off getting a new Mazzer badge or just filling the holes and painting?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I did spend a fair amount of time looking for answers. More questions to come I'm sure especially when I finish these and start chopping the G1.

Finally, the guy I purchased these from also has a single group astoria commercial espresso machine and a three group (I think) Conti. I'm sure I can get them for a song but I'm unsure whether I could find them a good home. Thoughts?

Brian

Congrats on your acquisitions! First off if you plan on restoring the mazzer pick the latter of the two and go for it. The other one you could resell once restored and recover a profit. As for the cord definitely think about removing the fitting and the cord. This makes for a cleaner paint job and will avoid you from having to touch anything while painting. I would not worry about removing the motor, unless the bearings are damaged. However the paint job should only cover the most exterior parts of the grinder anyway so then it shouldn't be hassle.

Thanks for the reply. When you say the latter do you mean the bigger 1996 with metal badging or the 1998 with sticker and why?

$250 for all three? That's fantastic! I bought a beat up older Super Jolly for $200 and felt happy about that. Removing the power cord should be pretty easy once you unscrew the base. Take photos of each disassembly step and reassemble in reverse. Repainting is easy. Sand old paint off using a random orbital sander, prime and paint. If you can avoid taking apart the doser you can save lots of aggravation. If you do take it apart I documented how to reassemble the doser dealing with the gold gear, which can break and is fidgety. If the seller will cut you a similar deal on the espresso machines why not? The one group Astoria could be great for use by a dedicated home barista.

I couldn't believe that price either. I paid as fast as I could and ran out the door. I'm fairly excited about restoring them and don't think it will take too terribly long. I guess I'll restore both and keep the one I like the best. I probably will have to take the dosers apart as there was a significant amount of "vintage" coffee in there. I had already perused that thread and hopefully it will be uneventful. I'll definitely look at those "espresso" machines in the near future, probably should have when I was there but I had just gotten off of a night shift.

nice haul. I have a set of used SJ burrs in exc shape if you can use them gratis.

Expy98, thanks....about 3 secs before I read this message I bought two sets of burrs. Damn me. Appreciate it though!