Hey everyone, I've long been a geek when it comes to drip coffee (and other styles like AeroPress, Turkish, what have you), but I'm interested in diving into the espresso world. To that end, I've been seeking deals on lever espresso machines, and a potentially good deal on an Elektra Microcasa caught my eye.

That "potentially" is what brings me here. As shown in the picture, the brass has obviously seen some things in its day. Despite reviewing some threads here on restoration of these machines, I don't have an experienced eye to be able to tell whether this is some kind of corrosion that can just be buffed off or what. As to that specific question, i.e. how easily the brass could be restored, does anyone have any advice? Many thanks!

It is hard to tell from the picture, but I am not seeing any corrosion.

The machine is actually coated in a clear super-hard plastic finish - like paint, but not paint. Where the brass is shiny is where the plastic finish is still in place. Where the brass is discoloured is where that finish has flaked off or worn off. Unfortunately, the clear finish is not easily replaced. Conventional clear coat paint will not work as a replacement due to heat cycling and high temperatures.

The brass on the boiler that you see may itself be a plating (it seems to depend on year of production, but I know of no pattern). If the plating is damaged, then restoration may not be possible without re-plating. Regardless, there will be a lot of buffing involved.

It is possible to re-finish the machine to something different from the original and get a very nice result. That's what I did. However, that is not restoration.

Good luck!

Thanks for the helpful information! When you say the clear coat is not easily replaced, I assume the takeaway is that it would be virtually impossible without some factory grade equipment or something to that effect?

Can you tell me more about refinishing, or are there any good resources you could point me to describing how that is done? Thanks again, all help is appreciated.

Hard to tell from the pics if theres any corrosion or just tarnish. But if it's only tarnish, I can recommend Barkeepers Friend (liquid form) for any metal polishing or restoring. I've used this product for over 15 yrs polishing my copper and brass Elektra Mcal, copper pots, etc. I use a soft circular brush attachment to my impact driver. Hope that helps

JosephM wrote:Thanks for the helpful information! When you say the clear coat is not easily replaced, I assume the takeaway is that it would be virtually impossible without some factory grade equipment or something to that effect?

I didn't spend a lot of time looking into it and trying a couple alternatives. It seems possible to do - there are high temperature clear coats. However, getting the stuff to stick to shiny metal seemed to be the downfall. Everything would look good for a year or two, and then start to flake off. I gave up.

JosephM wrote:Can you tell me more about refinishing, or are there any good resources you could point me to describing how that is done? Thanks again, all help is appreciated.

It's fairly easy to buff down to metal and make that metal shiny. It is the upkeep afterwards that is the drawback. I have enough to do just keeping stainless steel shiny

Depending on what you are willing to spend, you could have it professionally electroplated. You'd need to have enough material deposited that you could polish it to a mirror finish. It would probably move the machine out of the "good deal" category, though.

You might look into Cerakote. It was developed to protect gun barrels, so it has good thermal, abrasion, and chemical resistance. It's available in a lot of colors and finishes, including glossy clear coat. However, some finishes require oven curing, and may need an air gun to get an even finish. There are lots of tutorials on Youtube.

Thanks, everyone!

redOct wrote:Hard to tell from the pics if theres any corrosion or just tarnish. But if it's only tarnish, I can recommend Barkeepers Friend (liquid form) for any metal polishing or restoring. I've used this product for over 15 yrs polishing my copper and brass Elektra Mcal, copper pots, etc. I use a soft circular brush attachment to my impact driver. Hope that helps

Nice, Barkeeper's Friend is the bomb. I use it on a number of items as well!

baldheadracing wrote:Everything would look good for a year or two, and then start to flake off. I gave up.

Two years ain't so bad, though! Definitely a potential "sort of solution."

JohnTheBastard wrote:You might look into Cerakote.

That doesn't sound like a bad option. Definitely good to know that professional plating may be an option, but as you suggested, I'm guessing the price point could be painful. Wouldn't hurt to look into, though!

Thank you all for the great responses! I ended up not purchasing this unit, and went instead with a beautiful La Pavoni. But I know the responses here will prove useful to others who, like myself, are searching this group for information like this. And, I'll probably keep going down this rabbit hole, and may yet refer back to these responses myself--who knows what machines in need of some love I'll come across in the future...