Hi everyone, I've been looking at some of your posts over the years and finally decided to join up to see if you could help me out with a Faema Family machine.
We actually have two of the brass boiler models, one (cream) we've had for many years that we bought from Savers (thrift shop) for $40, this one has worked flawlessly since the day we got it, came with all the extra accessories like the plastic frothing tube and attachment (not that I've ever used it). It is a great machine & small enough to transport on driving holidays so we always know we can have a decent coffee wherever we are!
Yesterday I acquired a Faema Family (brass boiler again) and matching grinder with the stand - this one is red, which looks fabulous in our kitchen which is dotted with red accessories. The grinder works great, but is stuck on one grind, just happens to be the right one so am not too bothered about that. We made coffee with the new Family this morning and it made two pretty decent cups, though I believe the thermostat switch for the steam is faulty, so we took it up to a coffee machine repairer to get it looked at and also have the seals replaced, he's also sourcing us a knob as the original one is missing. The previous owner told me the safety kept tripping off when they tried to make steam and in fact when I first turned it on this morning it sat there doing nothing, so I unplugged and hit the reset button, plugged back in turned it on and heard the unit heating!! We made steam this morning for two latte's and it did not trip the safety - I'm wondering if the previous owner left the steam button on for too long (manual says 15 secs), we know when our cream one has the steam button pressed in for too long it needs to be reset also? House rule = don't leave the steam button in more than 20 secs, but our daughters boyfriend often forgets so unscrew and reset it is.
Ok, now to the real point of my post. The one problem with this new red Family is that the base is quite corroded, particularly under the drip tray and around the steam outlet. The rest of the paintwork is 100% fine, so I don't want to respray the whole thing, besides I'd lose the funky logos. So what I'm trying to find out is if there is a way to restore the base only. I've seen (somewhere?) a picture of a Family taken fully apart and it appears the base does come off somehow, if this is straightforward and if there is someone on the forum with some knowledge about this I'd greatly appreciate some help. NB. I'm no mechanical expert, but I can follow clear instruction. If I can get the base off I would probably get it powder coated to as close match as possible, if this is too difficult I'd be happy to have a go at restoring it with some suitable paint but am not sure what kind of paint & prep would be required to do this.
I hope someone can help me out, I'm a massive fan of this little machine.
We actually have two of the brass boiler models, one (cream) we've had for many years that we bought from Savers (thrift shop) for $40, this one has worked flawlessly since the day we got it, came with all the extra accessories like the plastic frothing tube and attachment (not that I've ever used it). It is a great machine & small enough to transport on driving holidays so we always know we can have a decent coffee wherever we are!
Yesterday I acquired a Faema Family (brass boiler again) and matching grinder with the stand - this one is red, which looks fabulous in our kitchen which is dotted with red accessories. The grinder works great, but is stuck on one grind, just happens to be the right one so am not too bothered about that. We made coffee with the new Family this morning and it made two pretty decent cups, though I believe the thermostat switch for the steam is faulty, so we took it up to a coffee machine repairer to get it looked at and also have the seals replaced, he's also sourcing us a knob as the original one is missing. The previous owner told me the safety kept tripping off when they tried to make steam and in fact when I first turned it on this morning it sat there doing nothing, so I unplugged and hit the reset button, plugged back in turned it on and heard the unit heating!! We made steam this morning for two latte's and it did not trip the safety - I'm wondering if the previous owner left the steam button on for too long (manual says 15 secs), we know when our cream one has the steam button pressed in for too long it needs to be reset also? House rule = don't leave the steam button in more than 20 secs, but our daughters boyfriend often forgets so unscrew and reset it is.
Ok, now to the real point of my post. The one problem with this new red Family is that the base is quite corroded, particularly under the drip tray and around the steam outlet. The rest of the paintwork is 100% fine, so I don't want to respray the whole thing, besides I'd lose the funky logos. So what I'm trying to find out is if there is a way to restore the base only. I've seen (somewhere?) a picture of a Family taken fully apart and it appears the base does come off somehow, if this is straightforward and if there is someone on the forum with some knowledge about this I'd greatly appreciate some help. NB. I'm no mechanical expert, but I can follow clear instruction. If I can get the base off I would probably get it powder coated to as close match as possible, if this is too difficult I'd be happy to have a go at restoring it with some suitable paint but am not sure what kind of paint & prep would be required to do this.
I hope someone can help me out, I'm a massive fan of this little machine.

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