Rainman Senior Member Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Posts: 152 Location: Charleston, SC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Brewtus, La Pavoni... Grinder: Mazzer Kony, Rocky Vac Pot: Nope- use Bodum French press... Drip: Ornamental Krups (clock... Roaster: SC/TO, iRoast-2
Posted Fri May 20, 2005, 2:59pm Subject: Modified Brewtus
I don't think I had this machine for quite 2 weeks before I completely tore it apart with a plan to make it something my wife would not have me cover or store under the cabinet... she just didn't like the looks of it.. to "industrial" or "male". So I started looking into different ways to "color" the exterior cabinet to make it prettier. After a few days of thinking about it, I talked to some people at a local electroplating company (in Tucson- we've got lots of vintage cars around here, and they like to plate nearly everything under the hood). The owner told me that he thought it could manage it. By that time, I had already disassembled it so he could get a good look at what needed to be done (I didn't want to force him into guessing) and he gave me an estimate: 1 week and approximately $600. That was for elecroplating the entire cabinet and screws with copper, and the E61 group/portafilter and all other exterior hardware (steam and water wands) with gold. He suggested gold, because it was not that much more than brass, is food safe and extremely stable under heat and pressure. So off we went-- 5 weeks later I got it all back. They had some employment issues-- so it wasn't entirely a technical problem. I was warned that a mirror-polished surface of copper needs some kind of coating (either powder coating or clear urethane) to protect it from tarnishing- that was the mistake. Powder coating requires baking at 400 deg F, which will turn the metal a variety of very beautiful hues between blue and yellow, which isn't really the desired outcome. That took a week to strip and polish to get it back to the original copper finish, then it was shot with a clear-coat of urethane. The finishing took approximately 3 weeks. All this time, some wood parts were being made by Les (Thortamper.com)- and came out awesome. He's currently working on the steam and water knobs, but those require some new techniques in manufacturing he's not tackled before and may be a while before I get those. In the end (about 10 weeks total) I think (THINK!) it was worth it.. I had my trusty Pavoni to keep me company all the while-- although it did create a bit of stress due to the constant miss in time estimates. If you attempt this, take lots of good, clear digital photo's- otherwise, reassembly may prove to be quite challenging. I never saw a sign from Expobar (or wholelattelove.com) that sais "no user-serviceable parts inside" or "entry will void warranty".. so I proceeded. You can only imagine what our kitchen counter looked like during this time! I have a very patient wife (she even felt guilty, because she thought it was mostly her idea.. I just let her think that).
Anyway- just thought I'd share this, as I'm sure somebody out there somewhere has wondered what else can be done with these machines.. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm struggling a bit with imaging apps to cut the size down to <75 kb, but it's just not gonna happen here at work. If you'd like to see photo's, email me and I'll send a few out. I've also completed a Rocky doser-to-doserless modification that works perfectly.. despite Rancilio's advice. I can lend a hand with that too (pics included!)
shadowfax Senior Member Joined: 20 Jan 2005 Posts: 776 Location: Houston, TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Marzocco GS3 Vac Pot: Yama TCA-3
Posted Fri May 20, 2005, 3:07pm Subject: Re: Modified Brewtus
That's horrifically scary. gold plating? Maybe you should get the feet chopped and call it a lowrider, get someone to airbrush flames or a naked woman on the side panels...
lol. I'll reserve some judgement for the pictures, but gosh. I hope there's no one else that thinks this way. It doesn't look any more manly than a kitchenaid mixer.
Rainman Senior Member Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Posts: 152 Location: Charleston, SC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Brewtus, La Pavoni... Grinder: Mazzer Kony, Rocky Vac Pot: Nope- use Bodum French press... Drip: Ornamental Krups (clock... Roaster: SC/TO, iRoast-2
Posted Fri May 20, 2005, 3:58pm Subject: Re: Modified Brewtus
I'd have to admit that I was a bit squeemish on the outset. We also have a Pavoni Europicola that is made in a similar fashion as the Brewtus now is, and we're happy with the way it turned out. You'd almost have to see it in person, it turned out pretty cool. As far as flames/naked ladies vs chrome go, that's purely a matter of taste, I guess.. Living where there are plenty of low-riders (Tucson, Az) and lots of old-time chrome jalopie's (sp?), I kinda prefer copper. I figured there'd be a few laughs!
snoboy Senior Member Joined: 4 Jun 2004 Posts: 452 Location: Rossland, BC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: famous Silvia... now PID Grinder: modded Rocky SD Roaster: SC/CO
Posted Fri May 20, 2005, 4:03pm Subject: Re: Modified Brewtus
I would love to see pics. If you want to email them to: <my coffeegeek username> at gmail dot com, I'd be happy to resize them for you, and either post them, or email them back for you to post.
Rainman Senior Member Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Posts: 152 Location: Charleston, SC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Brewtus, La Pavoni... Grinder: Mazzer Kony, Rocky Vac Pot: Nope- use Bodum French press... Drip: Ornamental Krups (clock... Roaster: SC/TO, iRoast-2
Posted Sat May 21, 2005, 5:54am Subject: Re: Modified Brewtus
Hey- just found the settings on my camera to adjust the resolution down.. funny how long you can own things (7 yrs in this case) and never know all the features.
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