I'm enjoying these threads, Ryan.

I wonder if you could make the housing of a bead blast cabinet collapsible or something that could be assembled in short order? This would mean some quick release fittings. And everyone needs a compressor. Your parents will appreciate the pressure washing of the driveway and sidewalks.

And if you need someone to write a Lambro review, send it over. You may not get it back.

It's interesting to see how much more compact the Lambro is next to the Pavoni. I haven't looked at what the Lambro dimension's are - how does it compare sizewise compared to your Bosco and the Faema Mercurio?

I love these vintage levers and it's great to see you share your experiences (good and bad) with the rest of the Home-Barista community.

The Lambro and Mercurio would be on my list of lust for the home bar. One thing that I would prefer though is for it to not require to be plumbed in- when the time comes, it'll be a nice problem to solve for me anyways.

I kept on going today. The boiler bolts are beginning to be sawed so I can take off the lid. I stopped to see if I could take out any of them with the vise, which will be done later. The two pipes are still on, and I will continue with those after the acid bath as I notice I start to see the solder fitting joint on the boiler move/bend very slightly when I whack the fittings. I am hoping whatever is keeping the pipes stuck can be partially dissolved.

The valves came apart easily while the water inlet and water level need more work, once again presumably due to the hard water. The glass was broken already but the glass retainer nuts are quite stuck still. Nothing too noteworthy to say besides this; I just need more work to take off the remaining fittings and bits. Note the water inlet and one way valve are combined on the Lambro rather than the President's being separate.




The panels all came off. They are connected by M4 threaded rods with M7 nuts. They will be cleaned up or replaced as necessary. The badge is quite bent/melted as you can see in two of the photos. The side panels will get a new powdercoat, the color remains to be determined.

I too enjoy following your restorations Ryan.

I particularly delight in the 'Before' pics of the boiler. This one looks like something you found in Robert Oppenheimer's attic!

Great progress!

If you source another replacement badge, you might be able to take more liberties on the one you have there. Maybe a heat gun from a careful distance might soften it enough to relax and be flattened, then some polishing pads to clean up the surface imperfections.

I'd be over the moon thrilled to have a proper shop space with a blasting cabinet myself. Harbor Freight has simple ones that are like $150 and don't take up too much space.

JohnB. wrote:You should pick up a bead blast/soda blast cabinet & a compressor if you are going to keep restoring these old machines. It would make short work of cleaning up the rust & corrosion.

Agreed, but it opens up a whole new can of worms re: type of media, type of gun, venturi tubes, compressor CFM, metering valves and dust cyclones....


Ryan for the badge an oven is your friend, heat guns are tricky to control and you want a nice gentle heat. Acrylic is easy to mess up with a heat gun and easy to blister.

I'll keep that in mind Paul. Speaking of the decorative bits the two replica pieces came in today from Switzerland! I am pretty happy with them. I cannot tell what the logo is made of, I believe a plastic or acrylic yet it feels pretty weighty like metal. It looks great as does the plexi.




The pipes and bits taken went through a first round of cleaning. They had some serious build up of grime and deposits. There is a rust coloured layer on many of the bits even after an acid bath and cleaning with ultrasonic cleaner. The chrome bits look pretty tired, and it is thin on the surface/flakey.






The group also is pretty tired. The bolts on the back are stuck on and will need to be replaced. The control valve rod is actually stuck inside right now and is being worked on concurrently.






There are some pretty stuck fittings that do not have easy approaches to applying the needed leverage due to their stubby size, similar to when I was working on the Mercurio. Specically the inlet valve and water level fittings are what I am struggling with. Suggestions like a padded vise clamp would not work well as the pieces will slip out. More heat and soaking will thus be applied first. I am getting some soft metal copper vise pads after rather than rubber or plastic. The boiler bolts are being cut but it is a little slow, so no pics right now. The two last pipes are still on as well.

The frame is stripped besides the four feet and gas burner. I decided to try out the ATF (Acetone, Transmission Fluid) mix against the stuck feet. The bolt is exposed from the bottom so I flipped the frame and currently have all four feet soaking in this solution. It is pretty pungent and it melted the tip of my plastic spoon after 30 minutes in the cup I mixed it in. The backsplash and lower panels have quite a few scratches visible in certain angles but I hope to clean them up. I am talking with my grandfather right now on his chrome contacts to see what I could expect to rechrome about 20-25 pieces and fittings. He is an old car guy and has quite a network of people over his 50 years of collecting.






I had some copper vise jaw attachments come in, and I can clamp pretty firmly now without fear of marring any fittings. I got one of the two water fittings off but the second one is stuck fast. Although I will admit using some wood clamps will not provide the most leverage. I also tested an M4 bolt on the panel and inadvertantly sheared it off. I like to show my mistakes as well as my successes and it's pretty obvious here more chemical and heat will be needed if I want to take all 12 remaining bolts. It will be interesting to see if I can get the square shaped fitting off on the water levels but they have so little metal to grab onto it can be hard if it is stuck.

Today was propane torch day. I got out many of the stuck bolts after trial and error. I began with the panels, one of the fourteen M4 (?) bolts was snapped earlier but all but one of the remaining thirteen came out with heat. They will be replaced with new ones.


I next worked on the lower group. I heated it up for ~45 seconds on each bolt, and they both yielded to my vise grips. The boiler was next, and to my confusion the element studs basically crumbed on the inside, and it appears that a (now crumbled) hex nut secured each bolt with no threaded brass! It might explain why all the pipes and the boiler inside have a rust color from the slowly rusting metal derived from these studs. I definitely like lots of iron in my espresso

I will purchase a new boiler lid just in case this one does not turn out well, which will cost me a tad over $200. I will probably find a use for it on another project if it is not needed for the Lambro.




I decided to try out that Faema tool Ascaso made, part F. 266. I got it from a German website and while it cannot compress the piston it can at least secure it so I can loosen it more easily (it cannot compress since the top of the C clamp rests on the piston rod). I decided to get it since I keep telling myself I will not needed it after the most recent project but keep ending up with more projects.

Hi Ryan,

For the one bolt that's left, Doug Garrott recommended to me long ago what he called a "Detroit wrench," which involves heating the bolt until it is glowing cherry red and then removing it with a vise grip. I was helped by another H-B member who heated the bolts with an oxyacetylene torch. Propane may not be hot enough for that one bolt.

Conti Prestina Espresso Machine Restoration 101 (Completed and Indexed)