My vibiemme domobar super, which is an older version than yours, thankfully looked nothing like this when I bought it just over 12 months ago! Still going strong -they're a great machine and I really enjoy it. Good luck with the resto and am enjoying the pics!
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Vibiemme Domobar Super - Resto thread
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Great Work BD! You love doing these rebuilds mate I love seeing your work. truly a learned amateur with pro ethics. you do it well.
if I can offer a tip - the pics of everything as it comes apart is the modern way to go. As a mechanic ive done a few rebuilds once replaced a ladder chassis on 6K old Prado ( pre- digital camera days) so another good way is to use a white out pen to uniquely id mark each side of a connection ( say a dot, or line or roman id)
for instance the Prado Engine bay had something like 53 different points of attachment then as well underside so this I know works well. When working on a machine (and there all different) you can never make to many notes! Dismantling is def slower, but the rebuild is quicker with no stress or indecision. that payback makes it all worthwhile.
Also with the Chrome, S/S and even Alloys this polish is the best I've come across - Burleigh Bars Liquid Mirror Handlebar Polish. near on magical!
Dave Kurtzman the owner,I had never met him or dealt with him before but is a great guy and very helpful. burleighbars.com.au
of course with chrome on brass, like any polish go lightly, more is not always better.
Spose i can read into your post so far that whilst the VBM DS is a great machine / reputation, the build is modern (?) and therefore not of the rugged solid build of the BZ?
cheers and GD
EA
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Thanks for the idea's EA I do something similar when the smaller parts come apart by putting them in specifically marked zip bags.
The Domobar is definitely no where near the strength of the Bezzera, I've just come across a Rancilio S24 which is also far more ruggedly built so it's a shame that Vibiemme didn't put more effort into the frame especially since the Domobar is a very long machine I can see these machines at 4-5 years old sagging so we will have to wait and see.
If I could come across more cheap machines in bad condition I'm going to be doing a few more of these
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Ok so I haven't topped up the progress but I'm proud to say that the machine is back together and oh boy, was that first coffee straight off the center of the bat a solid 8/10.
So I'm going to post in order, I just realized I didn't take too many pics this time but there is still a fair few.
Here is a couple photo's of how I remember where things go once I started stripping it to clean, basically every single part has it's own pic but you get the jist of it. You always manage to forget to take a few photo's of certain things that you don't realize until it comes time to put it back together :/
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After all the stuff was cleaned in citric acid and there was no more signs of scale I got all the stuff painted up, powder coated and polished.
This is a look at the frame afterwards and the bracing I added to the frame to give it extra strength due to the frame having a fairly severe bend in it. I also go the feet re-chromed because the chrome was flaking off when I first received the machine and it was very ugly looking.
Also a picture of how the front face is mounted on this machine (Yes it's mounted with double sided tape
) The steam and hot water wands combined with the e61 grouphead hold it onto the frame very tightly.
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Now I've got the new bracing and front mounted it was time to fit the freshly cleaned boiler and wiring harness to the frame. It looks much nicer then previously and is perfectly clean. I personally recommend anyone who want's to do a similar clean up or restoration to use citric acid as I tried using the "Heavy Duty" descalers and they just did not work. Start using citric acid with a more watered down mixture and make it stronger to suit the amount of scale and grime. I would use about 100g of citric acid to a large tub/bucket of boiling water and let the stuff sit in there for as long as it needs. But always keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't sit for too long.
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Looks like you've done an excellent job from start to finish. Lots of attention to detail = perfection.
That is an awesome rock solid machine (I've had one), should last you another 100 years.
I expected to see in the photos, coffee cups and or beer bottles in the background to help get you through this project but instead cans of tuna??
I guess the protein was needed to assist loosening those large copper nuts!!
Job very well done mate.
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Haha yes the can's of tuna are not ideal are they, we use them to store parts once I've disassembled things. They seem to be the best to just throw small components and screws into rather then leaving them lying around!
Thank you very much for the compliments
BTW, it looks amazing on the kitchen bench
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