La Pavoni Europiccola make over

[fg1972]

Picked up this lovely 1976 lever machine from a fellow snob just last week.
The machine is in great condition for its age, seals were re done a couple of years ago and it still makes a great espresso.
The condition of the chrome work is very good, just has a little surface rust under the base which I'm dealing with as these things often rust right through if left unattended.
I've decided to repaint the base to prevent the rust from spreading and also give it a fresh look.





After dismantling,



Bam, and the rust is gone

[fg1972]

Underside is done and I've preserved the date stamp too.



Next, I'm going to primer and high fill the top side to hide some of the imperfections of the bare metal.

[pyrmontboy200]

Hi, love these old levers. Does this Europiccola have the brass sleeve shower plate?

How did you remove the rust? Is that spray enamel? Can't see that well as on my phone.

Keep the updates coming....

[shortblackman]

Nice work. Got a colour in mind?

[fg1972]

Hi, love these old levers. Does this Europiccola have the brass sleeve shower plate?
How did you remove the rust? Is that spray enamel? Can't see that well as on my phone.
Keep the updates coming....

I'm not sure what you mean by brass sleeve shower plate.
Rust was removed with a paint removing disk that attaches to an angle grinder and another that attaches to a drill.
I'm using spray enamel from a can, the underside is metal primer with a clear coat over the top.

Nice work. Got a colour in mind?

Thanks, yes after spraying a few sample colours, I've settled for golden yellow which has a bit of orange in it. Should go good with the chrome and the red badge.

The top side has been metal primered, high filled and sanded, ready for another coat of primer, light sand then white undercoat.

[pyrmontboy200]

Thanks. Around the mid 70s La Pavoni stopped manufacturing Europiccolas with the brass shower plate. What it was was a brass sleeve or shroud around the shower screen, which was supposed to help with temperature stability.

[shortblackman]

Colour sounds good. Look forward to seeing it. A chrome drip plate would change the look too, if you've got one / cared to get one.

[fg1972]

Thanks. Around the mid 70s La Pavoni stopped manufacturing Europiccolas with the brass shower plate. What it was was a brass sleeve or shroud around the shower screen, which was supposed to help with temperature stability.

Doesn't seem to have one, just looks like a regular shower screen.

Colour sounds good. Look forward to seeing it. A chrome drip plate would change the look too, if you've got one / cared to get one.

There you go, fresh from the can. Hope no dust or insects become stuck to the wet paint. It is a slow drying epoxy paint touch dry in 6-8 hours.

I'd love to get a chrome drip plate, I reckon they look better than the black plastic.

[fg1972]

The tired looking badge before it was stripped and repainted.


Machine back together, Job done.

[shortblackman]

Love it. Ready for the next 50 years!

[pyrmontboy200]

Looks really good.

[kopigeek]

Awesome work. Looks great! Better than new.

[artman]

Great work, well done.

Cheers

[fg1972]

Thanks guys,
This will be my second machine that will be used probably once or twice a week for something different.