# Gaggia Gilda restoration



## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Hello,

Do you have some recommendation on how to clean the aluminium boiler of Gaggia Gilda?

And what to do next? Polish and preserve or plating nickel, chrome, ...?

Thanks for any help.


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

No advice so far?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi Mazzi - any pictures?

Is it one of these below - depending on the current state of the boiler / chrome will dictate where to start and method

Cheers Jim


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Hi Jim,

it is the 1.1 version.

I don't know how it looks from the inside yet.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

That looks really interesting, I think I would go with minimum polish and preserve and maintain the natural patina/ age look.

Try to keep any aggressive cleaning / descaling compounds off the exterior to prevent damage.

Show us some pictures as you progress to various stages.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi Mazi

Great find the worlds first home espresso machine - circa late 1940s - wow

I agree with el Carajillo re the outside of the boiler, its probably best to try and clean it gently with a metal polish, the base looks like it may have had a harder life and require a little more work, particularly if its got some deep pitting.

There are specialist aluminium polishing kits such as this - http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/aluminium-polishing-kits/ or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Car-Bike-Boat-Metal-7pce-Polishing-Kit-Aluminium-Brass-Stainless-Steel-/251801126418?hash=item3aa0844612:g:ITQAAOSwa39UvtP k

Probably best look on Slovakia ebay etc

The trick with using any polishing kit such as those above is to keep the polishing head moving over a wide area or you can create your own pits and marks, I would use the kit on something else to practice with first.

The internal component's which look as though they are aluminium as well could be cleaned with tartaric acid - mix 5ml (teaspoon) to 1ltr of hot water and proceed with caution - Your going to need to source some new seals for the boiler, piston and element - there's a resto here where you can see how he did it - http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/Macchine/Gaggia/gilda_manutenzione_eng.htm

as the previous post says - keep us posted on progress and the problems - people will chip in with possible tips and solutions.

Good Luck - a great find, I wish I was doing it!

love the vid on you tube


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

jimbojohn55 said:


> There are specialist aluminium polishing kits such as this - http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/aluminium-polishing-kits/


In my experience the products this company supply and its after-sales service if you have any questions are serious sub-par.

I would take a look at http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk, they are a similar kind of price, have a much more extensive range, their compounds are in my experience a lot better and the owner of the site is incredibly helpful and will let you know exactly what you need to get your job done correctly.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

When you strip it down do not get ANY WATER / liquid on or near the heating element terminals, it will be absorbed into the insulation and cause serious problems. If you need to descale the element, stand it in a tall narrow vessel to ensure it does not fall or slide down and wet the termials.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Good - working description here with seal sizes - http://www.orphanespresso.com/1948-Gaggia-Gilda-Design-Study_ep_616-1.html


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Thank you for your recommendations.

I alreday read the articles from orphanespresso and francescoceccarelli. I also sourced all seals from Francesco.

I will use for polishing brother's goldsmith polishing mashine.

I did not manage to unscrue the top bolt which holds the boiler together. I tried WD40 and hammer blow on spanner. Any advice?

So there is the inside of boiler (taken by phone) through the filling hole.









One more question. Why to use for decalcification the tartaric acid and not citric acid?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi Mazi - Citric acid reacts with the aluminium, Tartaric doesn't and its just as good if not better - you can often get it from the supermarket in the baking section or a homebrew shop or fleabay.

re the top nut - try tartaric acid overnight its likely that either the aluminium has corroded and started to fuse itself to the bolt or there is limescale in the threads - ether way proceed with caution and patience - will be difficult to repair if it goes wrong.

keep us posted

Cheers Jim


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

You can try gently heating the surrounding metal, the expansion may be sufficient to allow you to undo the bolt.

OR wrap a small piece of rag or cotton wool around the bolt and soak it in vinegar, allow to soak over night, this should penetrate and help break down the corrosion holding the bolt. You can also re-apply heat to help release.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

El carajillo said:


> You can try gently heating the surrounding metal, the expansion may be sufficient to allow you to undo the bolt.
> 
> OR wrap a small piece of rag or cotton wool around the bolt and soak it in vinegar, allow to soak over night, this should penetrate and help break down the corrosion holding the bolt. You can also re-apply heat to help release.


I suddenly fancy some chips!


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

jimbojohn55 said:


> The internal component's which look as though they are aluminium as well could be cleaned with tartaric acid - mix 5ml (teaspoon) to 1ltr of hot water and proceed with caution


Why this ratio?

Jim Schulman says:

"Generally, a flush through descaler uses about .5 to .75 fluid ounces (1 to 1.5 tablespoons, or 8to 12 grams) of citric or tartaric (grape) acid powder dissolved in 1 liter of water. This is a 2.25%to 3.5% solution, equivalent to 33% to 50% dilute lemon juice. Cleancaf and other coffeemanufacturers' descalers use this formula. Theoretically, these amounts will dissolve about 12to 18 grams of scale per liter, but that would require leaving the solution in for several days; inpractice, it is used for an hour or two to dissolve up to 5 grams of scale."

(Jim Schulman's Insanely Long Water FAQ, page 13)


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Update to top bolt which holds the boiler together.

I did not manage to loosen it so far.

It seems that the old seals which are under it are baked into the aluminium.

Any advices how to dissolve the old rubber? Acetone or other organic solvent?

Good news:

I manage to repair the thermometer. The scale was just shifted so I dismantled the lock ring and glass, shifted the scale and reassembled it.

I checked it in boiling water and now it shows 100°C instead 130°.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

You could try

- isopropyl alcohol often refered to a rubbing alcohol - get from chemist / drugstore

or

- apply heat - carefully

Not Both!

Glad you got the thermometer sorted - well done


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Depends on the type of rubber as to what solvent you need, Acetone doesn't break down rubber.

if the rubber is vulcanised it cannot be dissolved in anything.

It will have to be a combination of penetrating oil and the old mechanic one-two heat+impact.

When I was trying to free a e61 mushroom which basically fossilised inside I eventually got it free with a good fitting spanner and repeated sharp taps with a hammer.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Plus gas is a much better penetrating fluid than wd40.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

ashcroc said:


> Plus gas is a much better penetrating fluid than wd40.


Definitely


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

mazi said:


> Update to top bolt which holds the boiler together.
> 
> I did not manage to loosen it so far.
> 
> ...


Have you tried tightening the bolt first then loosening ?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Dylan said:


> Depends on the type of rubber as to what solvent you need, Acetone doesn't break down rubber.
> 
> if the rubber is vulcanised it cannot be dissolved in anything.


Its true once its vulcanised its really tough


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Update:

1. The machine dissasembled.

This worked: First to dip the top part in the solution of tartaric acid overnight (thanks jimbojohn55). Then I tightened the bolt with spanner and hammer strike (thanks El carajillo). NOTHING BROKEN









2. The group head and all seals were vulcanized so it took me good 6 hours of work to remove them millimetre by millimetre.

3. Bad news: The heating element is shorted. I will try this: http://www.orphanespresso.com/Olympia-and-La-Pavoni-Shorted-Heating-Element-Repair_ep_620-1.html

4. New finding: Tha base says 260V but on the heating element is 125V. (1000W made on November 1953)


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

The element was probably changed for the European voltage at that time. You would need a new one anyway on that basis,


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Glad to hear you got your nuts off

if a 120v element was used with 240v it would burn it out quite quickly. you might be best either getting touch with gaggia directly re the element or getting one made up to a 240 v spec and shape.


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

I did not manage to cure the electric short of the heating element.

I ordered new one 220v which will be custom made.

I should have it before the holidays so I have enought time to find other missing parts and to clean it.


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

Just finished the project and there is info on completed works:

1. Descaled, cleaned and sandblasted the machine

2. New chrome plating where there was the old one

3. Aluminium parts polished

4. Renewed all the seals

5. New electric parts including heating element

Photo BEFORE/AFTER


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Looks great - good to see a quality restoration- especially on such an old machine - Question what's the coffee like? and any chance of uploading a video


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## mazi (Jan 21, 2015)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Question what's the coffee like? and any chance of uploading a video


Thanks. The coffee taste is good but it is without crema. Don't know whether this is due to basket or tiny holes in the portafilter. I have only small basket where you can get 7g of coffee.

Maybe I need to source the double one. What surprised me is the volume of the piston which is roughly 40g of water.


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