# Pimp a Pedretti Kim lever thang



## jimbojohn55

Whats a Kim lever machine - Is it this Kim ?









No

is it this Kim?









NO!

is it this Kim?









YES!

These are a rare beastie - only a few thousand made in the 60s the only info on them I can find is on @Francesco 's site - http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/pedretti_eng.htm

This was back when S**T brown was all the rage - I actually bought a 1978 MGB in the same colour and had to pay for it to be resprayed in Britsh racing green, I digress

Basically its a single element, no thermostat (that ive found so far) cast in alloy with a full size portafilter, tiny drip tray, and surprisingly quality piston(3 seals) and cylinder in brass


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## jimbojohn55

some more pictures - its had a hard life


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## jimbojohn55

the limescale is astounding









you may want to have a family member or loved one present before looking at the next picture

hold tight

sit down

have some brandy ready

and smelling salts

last chance to turn back

you were warned &#8230;.


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## ashcroc

Where the hell are you finding all these projects?

Can't wait to see it restored to it's former glory (after possibly being resprayed in BRG







).


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## jimbojohn55

to be fair I didn't find it - but I couldn't resist a rebuild of such an obscure machine


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## Banjoman

Yeah, whatever happened to brown cars? (Perhaps they fell into disuse with British Leyland.)


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## jimbojohn55

Banjoman said:


> Yeah, whatever happened to brown cars? (Perhaps they fell into disuse with British Leyland.)


I think it was a ploy to hide the rust after six months of ownership- my MGB was mostly oxide - spent £5k just on parts and body panels


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## iulianato

jimbojohn55 said:


> Whats a Kim lever machine - Is it this Kim ?
> 
> View attachment 34523
> No
> 
> is it this Kim?
> 
> View attachment 34524
> NO!
> 
> is it this Kim?
> 
> View attachment 34525
> YES!
> 
> These are a rare beastie - only a few thousand made in the 60s the only info on them I can find is on @Francesco 's site - http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/pedretti_eng.htm
> 
> This was back when S**T brown was all the rage - I actually bought a 1978 MBG in the same colour and had to pay for it to be resprayed in Britsh racing green, I digress
> 
> Basically its a single element, no thermostat (that ive found so far) cast in alloy with a full size portafilter, tiny drip tray, and surprisingly quality piston(3 seals) and cylinder in brass


Those three pictured here are triumphal. First two in apparence only and the third in essence for sure.

Looks like this one is a challenge to restore.

Good luck


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## jimbojohn55

ive been trying to find some Kim , pimping bunker music - but struggled - Mel and Kim, Nahh, Kim Wilde - too eighties,

Finaly found some great North Korea pop music - who could resist a band singing badly to a background of military parades and a tank cut out - epic

If I go missing from the forum - ive either been assassinated or defected to the North


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## slamm

Wow, that's one really interesting weird machine.. 1000W + 3 piston rings sounds serious, should have some fun with that!


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## jj-x-ray

my dad had a sh*t brown ford cortina estate when i were a nipper........

cant wait for another jimbo resto, she looks very interesting

as for limescale, my classic looked worse when i opened her up


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## hotmetal

Banjoman said:


> Yeah, whatever happened to brown cars? (Perhaps they fell into disuse with British Leyland.)


Oddly, poo brown cars disappeared round about the same time as white dog poo. Make of that what you will!

That shower screen made for grim viewing! Looking forward to seeing this bit of history being restored to its former glory. BRG FTW though. Some colours were best left in the 60s/70s

_______

Eat, drink and be merry


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## 9719

Looks perfect for you to practice your buffering techniques upon, notice plural, as I'm sure you use multiple versions when doing these resto's  Don't go disappearing on us as I for one am pleased you got another project so soon after the last brief one, will look forward to following along  enjoy buffing up kim at least its not a Kardashian


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## MildredM

jimbojohn55 said:


> the limescale is astounding
> 
> View attachment 34531
> View attachment 34532
> View attachment 34533
> 
> 
> you may want to have a family member or loved one present before looking at the next picture
> 
> hold tight
> 
> sit down
> 
> have some brandy ready
> 
> and smelling salts
> 
> last chance to turn back
> 
> you were warned &#8230;.
> 
> View attachment 34534


JimboJohn Health Warning! I reckon stickers on the sides of new machines showing what can happen if you don't look after your machine should be mandatory - much like the photos of lung cancer on cig packets!


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## jimbojohn55

More of the strip down







Life's a lot easier with an impact driver







hidden under the first door is a second - keen on security is our mate Kim







quality long piston with three seals and rusty the spring - more chances to nickel plate I think


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## joey24dirt

The spring on my DH bike was smaller than that  haha. looking forward to seeing this progress.


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## jimbojohn55

Ive been tracking down the serial number and it turns out it was made in the same year as me 1966 haha, it actually a bit earlier than the oldest one on Francescos site, judging by the seals they are original as they are partially fossilised.The spring has been the subject of rust killer overnight, wire brushing, pickling in vinegar and salt and is now being plated.Stay tuned tonight for live updates from "Springwatch"


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## coffeechap

Loving this Jim, amazing what folk have in the attic!


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## MildredM

jimbojohn55 said:


> Ive been tracking down the serial number and it turns out it was made in the same year as me 1966 haha, it actually a bit earlier than the oldest one on Francescos site, judging by the seals they are original as they are partially fossilised.
> 
> The spring has been the subject of rust killer overnight, wire brushing, pickling in vinegar and salt and is now being plated.
> 
> Stay tuned tonight for live updates from "Springwatch"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 34559
> View attachment 34560
> View attachment 34561
> View attachment 34562
> View attachment 34563


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe (so, thank you very much for sharing all this with us)!


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## jimbojohn55

Spingwatch extra

as dusk falls, a sad mammal stirs in his burrow


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## jimbojohn55

MildredM said:


> I've seen things you people wouldn't believe (so, thank you very much for sharing all this with us)!


thought I recognised it











I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
​






-

interestingly - they apparently play creepy Blade Runner style music in North Korea on the public speaker system - WTF - just listen


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## jimbojohn55

for such a simple -ish machine there is one part of that has been a struggle to break down, the top of the cylinder - its got a couple of 4mm holes in the top to use a dedicated original equipment bespoke spanner on !

So is it the same size a large pin wrench for an angle grinder - nahh even bigger - its 55mm between centres - initially I adapted a pin spanner to fit but no way, im trying to undo a thread that's been tight for 52years - next I tried threading the holes to 5mm bolted on a piece of flat bar and whacked it with a rubber mallet - to my supprise there was movement and the threads moved - 4 freckin hrs start to finish but tremendous satisfaction







- at this point I was like Samuel L Jackson shouting "M**********r"


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## jimbojohn55

part of doing a restore on a machine like this is measuring and buying new gaskets - if anyone else goes down this route here is what you need (for an early model with a 4hr frustration nut)

3x 41mm x 3.5mm neoprine o rings for the piston (based on buying o rings 2 - 5% smaller than the piston grooves)

1x 60mm x 40mm x 10mm oil shaft seal

1x M25 red fibre washer for the element

1 x 80mm x 3mm o ring

1 x 75mm x 90mm x 1mm neoprene flat gasket - or buy a 1mm sheet of neoprene o cut one from (a lot cheaper)

1x 58mm x 5mm vitron O ring - group head seal

subject to revision and swearing if they don't fit


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## coffeechap

What is great is that I don't think even the great Francisco goes to this level in a restoration, you are becoming quite the guru!


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## jimbojohn55

coffeechap said:


> What is great is that I don't think even the great Francisco goes to this level in a restoration, you are becoming quite the guru!


Praise from Caesar


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## jimbojohn55

I ran out of citric after the third descale - eventually I pulled the element (32mm socket )

again a warning for those of a nervous disposition - the element seems fine according to the multi-meter - I think ive seen these type for sale elsewhere - but will try and keep original.


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## MildredM

jimbojohn55 said:


> I ran out of citric after the third descale - eventually I pulled the element (32mm socket )
> 
> again a warning for those of a nervous disposition - the element seems fine according to the multi-meter - I think ive seen these type for sale elsewhere - but will try and keep original.
> 
> View attachment 34601
> View attachment 34602
> View attachment 34603


Anyone here do CPR? What with this and the spooky music playing . . . . bring on the smelling salts!


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## coffeechap

jimbojohn55 said:


> I ran out of citric after the third descale - eventually I pulled the element (32mm socket )
> 
> again a warning for those of a nervous disposition - the element seems fine according to the multi-meter - I think ive seen these type for sale elsewhere - but will try and keep original.
> 
> View attachment 34601
> View attachment 34602
> View attachment 34603


Somewhere on there is an element!


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## jj-x-ray

Zombie element....it wants your brains


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## jimbojohn55

to be fair limescale is a big issue in parts of Italy









A gentleman called Frasassi left a tap dripping when he went on holiday - its now called the Frasassi grotto and open to the public


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## Hasi

Wow... it must have worked pretty awesome towards the end, providing something like cold brew.


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## coffeechap

What is going on @jimbojohn55 no post in a couple of days!


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## jj-x-ray

coffeechap said:


> What is going on @jimbojohn55 no post in a couple of days!


He might be stuck under that cimbali he was working on...


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## Hasi

jj-x-ray said:


> He might be stuck under that cimbali he was working on...


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## jimbojohn55

The element shall be photographed and held aloft later when I'm home from work, looking like it's contemporary the 1966 world cup, following 7 baths in citric, just be grateful I spared you each stage,



coffeechap said:


> What is going on @jimbojohn55 no post in a couple of days!


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## jimbojohn55

Shown above back in 1966 celebrating its arrival from Italy

and below in 2018 after 6 or7baths in citric









erm&#8230;..it might not have been so shiny when new


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## coffeechap

jimbojohn55 said:


> View attachment 34643
> 
> 
> Shown above back in 1966 celebrating its arrival from Italy
> 
> and below in 2018 after 6 or7baths in citric
> 
> View attachment 34644
> View attachment 34645
> View attachment 34646
> 
> 
> erm&#8230;..it might not have been so shiny when new


That cannot be the same rock infested element! Are you sure that's not a sneaky Gabor special


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## iulianato

jimbojohn55 said:


> in 2018 after 6 or7


 battles it's you holding your trophy


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## jj-x-ray

Almost a shame to put it back in the machine


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## jimbojohn55

jj-x-ray said:


> Almost a shame to put it back in the machine


If it blows on first use I will send it to Sep Blatter with a suggestion


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## jj-x-ray

he could do with a few citric baths....



jimbojohn55 said:


> If it blows on first use I will send it to Sep Blatter with a suggestion


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## jimbojohn55

The piston is brass but had some rust on its top from the spring - cleaned it off with a screwdriver and a scriber. The piston shaft had some scoring to it but was easy to clean up on the lathe with some 400grit wet and dry, med steel wool and then of course a buff - of course no one will ever see this once it's assembled hahaha















there's the new world cup for espresso drinkers


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## Hasi

jimbojohn55 said:


> there's the new world cup for espresso drinkers












although I wonder what the competition would be like... drinking espresso...


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## jj-x-ray

How on earth did you clean/polish the spring...?


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## ashcroc

jj-x-ray said:


> How on earth did you clean/polish the spring...?


Have a look @ posts #17 & #20.


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## jj-x-ray

ashcroc said:


> Have a look @ posts #17 & #20.


I think it's time to call the men in white coats...... Completely forgot I'd seen those posts

In my defence Jimbo is doing so many restorations, I'm mixing them up


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## jimbojohn55

Group seal o ring - one of the odd things about the pedretti &#8230;. well in my limited experience was the huge gap between the portafilter and group head - you could get a whole nation fleeing the Egyptians through there.

During cleanup I found two bits of aluminium spacer that someone had put in the grouphead to help line up the portafilter - not a good sign, however the theory is that the old O ring group seal was so old and knackerd that the profile of the O had been flattened stopping the portafilter being centralised against the bump of the O ring - long story short this was correct with a new seal in the portafilter sits perfectly in the middle no need for shims


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## jimbojohn55

shower screen - not 100% what the metal the shower screen is made from, but it was quite rough and pitted - not SS for Shure although it may be an alloy with some nickel in - it cleaned up ok but the pitting would mean it would gather dirt instantly it was used, to clean it up I worked through 400g 800g 1200g then three grades of polish on the buffer - it had to be done ;-)


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## jimbojohn55

Powder coat is a wonderful thing id provides a durable surface that gives many years of service,,,, but for a restoration its a nightmare - the EU quite rightly brought in a law limiting the nasty but very effective chemicals that used to be in paint stripper, you cant get an effective powder coat paint stripper anymore - you can if you get some shipped in from the USA look for "Aircraft Paint Stripper"

so in the uk for a diy job the best stripper is Nitromores Green - but its still pants - it softens the paint, then there is a lot of scrapping sweating and swearing followed by sanding with wire wheel then hand finishing with 800grit wet and dry.


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## jimbojohn55

Paint wise im using a procoat red primer that will be followed by procote gloss red, the original powder coat had a high build powdercoat primer but these types of high build primers make them chip easily so im doing more of delicate fill and sand approach- it takes longer but should give an ok finish.


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## jj-x-ray

Looking awesome Jimbo....should be great in gloss red

You're right about paint stripper, I tried using some nitromores equivalent recently on our lounge wall to get rid of some dark paint I was painting over with a light colour.....it softened it enough to make a squidgy mess which only seemed to spread and infect the surrounding area....took ages to scrape back to bare plaster. I should have just painted over it....


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## cloughy

wowzers! that's a lot of effort going in there, nice work!


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## jimbojohn55

jj-x-ray said:


> Looking awesome Jimbo....should be great in gloss red
> 
> You're right about paint stripper, I tried using some nitromores equivalent recently on our lounge wall to get rid of some dark paint I was painting over with a light colour.....it softened it enough to make a squidgy mess which only seemed to spread and infect the surrounding area....took ages to scrape back to bare plaster. I should have just painted over it....


sometimes worth getting a can of stain block spray dries in 20 mins and gives a mat white base - and you get high on the fumes


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## joey24dirt

Amazing work as always....and that element  wow.


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## Hasi

They should rename it to Nitromares in that regard...

...been through a similar experience with alloy wheels, recently. Horrible if you don't have proper access to all affected surfaces!

But the result pays off in your project, as far as I can tell from the distance


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## grumpydaddy

Pssst.

http://darrantchemicals.co.uk/methylene-chloride?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmPPYBRCgARIsALOziAOs3yDRCkxIohQVwyjmrFJ6uZs65oeWRTTf3jPSibWSf6QyDUBN708aAgixEALw_wcB

The active ingredient in old Nitromors.

It won't be a gel but......


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## jimbojohn55

grumpydaddy said:


> Pssst.
> 
> http://darrantchemicals.co.uk/methylene-chloride?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmPPYBRCgARIsALOziAOs3yDRCkxIohQVwyjmrFJ6uZs65oeWRTTf3jPSibWSf6QyDUBN708aAgixEALw_wcB
> 
> The active ingredient in old Nitromors.
> 
> It won't be a gel but......


Damn - thanks - technically its banned for sale as a paint stripper in the EU since 2011 - you can still buy as a chemical here as its used in industrial processes - meanwhile over in the US they are still debating its use -

"Methylene chloride, which triggered similar deaths dating as far back as the 1940s, could be bought barely diluted in products on retail shelves, it's still killing people.The solvent is common in paint strippers, widely available products with labels that warn of cancer risks but do not make clear the possibility of rapid death. In areas where the fumes can concentrate, workers and consumers risk asphyxiation or a heart attack while taking care of seemingly routine tasks" "



analysis identified at least 56 accidental exposure deaths linked to methylene chloride since 1980 in the United States. Many involved paint strippers"

- some of these reports in the US detail people just dropping dead or loosing consciousness spilling the product and asphyxiating !
​
I think they are not allowed to sell it as paint stripper in the UK - and if anyone was to buy some please use it outside with gloves and a respirator, im tempted but may give it a miss as Ive got a coffee subscription that im part way through...&#8230;... Just thought I should flag up its health and safety issues alongside that its the only effective way of removing powder coat.


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## ashcroc

jimbojohn55 said:


> Damn - thanks - technically its banned for sale as a paint stripper in the EU since 2011 - you can still buy as a chemical here as its used in industrial processes - meanwhile over in the US they are still debating its use -
> 
> "Methylene chloride, which triggered similar deaths dating as far back as the 1940s, could be bought barely diluted in products on retail shelves, it's still killing people.The solvent is common in paint strippers, widely available products with labels that warn of cancer risks but do not make clear the possibility of rapid death. In areas where the fumes can concentrate, workers and consumers risk asphyxiation or a heart attack while taking care of seemingly routine tasks" "
> 
> 
> 
> analysis identified at least 56 accidental exposure deaths linked to methylene chloride since 1980 in the United States. Many involved paint strippers"
> 
> - some of these reports in the US detail people just dropping dead or loosing consciousness spilling the product and asphyxiating !
> ​
> I think they are not allowed to sell it as paint stripper in the UK - and if anyone was to buy some please use it outside with gloves and a respirator, im tempted but may give it a miss as Ive got a coffee subscription that im part way through...&#8230;... Just thought I should flag up its health and safety issues alongside that its the only effective way of removing powder coat.


You need to get yourself a media blaster. 

Thanks for the warning.


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## jimbojohn55

I used to have a sandblaster box , you can get a media blasting cabinet from Machine mart to use with an 8cfm compressor, glass beads are the ideal media for aluminium apparently


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## Hasi

jimbojohn55 said:


> I used to have a sandblaster box , you can get a media blasting cabinet from Machine mart to use with an 8cfm compressor, glass beads are the ideal media for aluminium apparently


Yep, never use sand of any sort to blast aluminium. Especially metallic abrasives will shoot into and stay in the aluminium workpiece - there they can cause corrosion and screw up your paint job...


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## jimbojohn55

still waiting on a oil seal type gasket, I needed to cut out an odd size 75mm x 90mm gasket from a sheet or nitrile - Coz im tight and wouldn't pony up £13 for one when I could make one for £2, anyway easy to cut with scissors and a Stanley knife - scribed around and followed the line

Warning it doesn't get more exciting than this


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## jimbojohn55

The bore of the cylinder had some scoring north to south but not bad - gave it a quick hone with a flap wheel then a fibre wheel to give it a polish - there is a line of discoloured metal where the top of the piston has sat probably rust contaminating the surface of the brass, but there is no ridge and it wont rub without a lot of honing so its staying


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## jimbojohn55

following 3 coats of primer and 5 of top coat the paint is on - each coat keyed with1200g wet and dry then degreased with panel wipe to remove any fingerprints and dust - I discovered that one of my lathe chisels made it easier to hold and rotate while spraying - a tango kim lollypop as it were sounds a bit like Singapore....


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## joey24dirt

jimbojohn55 said:


> following 3 coats of primer and 5 of top coat the paint is on - each coat keyed with1200g wet and dry then degreased with panel wipe to remove any fingerprints and dust - I discovered that one of my lathe chisels made it easier to hold and rotate while spraying - a tango kim lollypop as it were sound like Singapore....
> 
> View attachment 34878
> View attachment 34879
> View attachment 34881


Built by tonight maybe?  also I'm rather interested to know what's in the rack? What keeps JJ55 ticking while tinkering?


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## jimbojohn55

joey24dirt said:


> Built by tonight maybe?  also I'm rather interested to know what's in the rack? What keeps JJ55 ticking while tinkering?


eclectic mix Punk, ska, Northern Soul, Reggae, etc and of course Half Man Half Biscuit - for the shiggles

this pm ive been pimping with mr Pop


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## jimbojohn55

Still waiting on the elusive 60 x 70 x 10 mm oil seal - in the mean time I turned my attention to chromed lever cover - after finishing the paintwork the cover sat out like a sore thumb, it had so much rust damage to it that on one side it was more rust than chrome - 3 options

1 Send it to get chromed - you can buy kits to do this yourself but it involves removing the plating, copper plating then nickel then the chrome - problem is that the fumes from the chrome plating are carcinogenic - so that's a no then - price for getting it chromed £50-60 + nah

2 Sand and paint it - yes it will look great but in time it wont take the knocks - it will chip etc - its thin steel - nah

3 Fire up the home Nickel plating kit - free - Yeah

So nickel plated it is - this took 2 attempts as im still getting to grip with it - the first attempted didn't take properly because the surface was contaminated and the Pickle (Distilled vinegar and salt ) was mucky from doing the spring - so a trip to Morrisons and 39p later a had a second go and it worked this time - I'm not 100% happy with the finish but it looks a lot better than the rusty chrome







(this was the best side before plating)







Pickle after sanding off the old chrome and nickel - 4 grades of wet and dry


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## joey24dirt

That's such a cool process. I'm off to go find something that needs nickel plating now haha. Looking forward to seeing it built


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## jj-x-ray

3 coats of primer and 5 top coats 

Bloody hell, how did you know when to stop


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## Hasi

jj-x-ray said:


> 3 coats of primer and 5 top coats
> 
> Bloody hell, how did you know when to stop


a. When losing interest in yet another round?

b. When adding more wall thickness would have made re-assembly a PITA?

c. When running out of material?


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## jimbojohn55

jj-x-ray said:


> 3 coats of primer and 5 top coats
> 
> Bloody hell, how did you know when to stop


when it looked shiny, and not like I had used a can of spray paint - tbh - spray cans of gloss are pretty crap satin is ok but they are both pretty thin, ive resprayed a couple of cars in the past with compressor and proper spray gun, the paint is so much better more like the consistency of single cream and full of pigment, not the watery arse gravy that comes in spray cans - with the proper stuff your talking 2 coats and it will be thicker than 8 from a spray can, still im happy with the finish although ive started to look at touch up spray guns and getting my compressor back in use.


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## jimbojohn55

Hasi said:


> a. When losing interest in yet another round?
> 
> b. When adding more wall thickness would have made re-assembly a PITA?
> 
> c. When running out of material?


d. when it looked ok


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## Hasi

jimbojohn55 said:


> when it looked shiny, and not like I had used a can of spray paint - tbh - spray cans of gloss are pretty crap satin is ok but they are both pretty thin, ive resprayed a couple of cars in the past with compressor and proper spray gun, the paint is so much better more like the consistency of single cream and full of pigment, not the watery arse gravy that comes in spray cans - with the proper stuff your talking 2 coats and it will be thicker than 8 from a spray can, still im happy with the finish although ive started to look at touch up spray guns and getting my compressor back in use.


Maybe not the scene you're typically in, but there are highly pigmented spray paints available for artistic purposes... think graffiti!

Brands like Montana are around for decades, bringing bright colours to every surface in your neighbourhood


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## jimbojohn55

the magic seal arrived- interestingly I bought it from a UK supplier but it arrived from Germany - oh well

this is it in all its glory the sealing surface is held in place with an integral spring - usualy these are fitted as engine crankshaft oil seals, first time on a coffee machine ive come across - it taps into place with the help of a rubber mallet


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## jimbojohn55

The top of the boiler edge was a little rough, as it forms a seal against the boiler lid that's clamped onto it the surface was smoothed flat on the disc sander - just as easy to do with a flat file of a piece of wet and dry on a flat surface, but a couple of seconds on a sander


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## joey24dirt

I want more! Haha. I can see all those parts on the bench behind just dying to be installed


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## Hasi

Yep, looked at the images first and thought - hey what's he doing with a shaft seal?









Very interesting yet smart choice...


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## jimbojohn55

Final stretch - rebuilding is basically a reversal of the stripping down process - but ive realised there is no need to clamp the piston and spring as its designed to be tightened in situ by winding the piston onto the shaft using two pin holes - in the piston, for this i used a cheap adjustable pin spanner (£3.50 from toolstation or screwfix)









then add the shower screen and tiny screws once its wound in enough


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## jimbojohn55

The wiring couldn't be easier as its a single element with a basic switch, the cable needed replacing and i crimped on some new eyelets and added heat shield, bit fiddle to fit but straightforwrd


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## jimbojohn55

Then on with the base - the earth lead clamps under one of the base to body bolts, and its ready for a test - drum roll and it heats! - thank god for that and no leaks - the pressure build and the safety valve vents (its adjustable by slackening off and tightening on the second nut, I did adjust it a little to vent sooner, of course as it has no pressure-stat or secondary low watt element so you need to turn it off unless your steaming milk.

anyway a little bit more commissioning and testing to do but its finished


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## jimbojohn55

and the last few pics


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## jj-x-ray

Another awesome job, another compelling thread.......nice one


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## Hasi

haha, such a hilarious sight!

Golden age of awesome shapes AND quality materials. Love it!


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## ashcroc

That looks absolutely superb!

How does the espresso taste & does a spring lever live up to it's expectations?


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## jimbojohn55

ashcroc said:


> That looks absolutely superb!
> 
> How does the espresso taste & does a spring lever live up to it's expectations?


Well im working out how to adjust and get the best out of it - i think the piston needs to be higher up in the cylinder to give a bigger shot, but still playing with grind - also first few fills and emptys are going to be full of gunk


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## coffeechap

Just lovely Jim, looking forward to your next little project!


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## jimbojohn55

coffeechap said:


> Just lovely Jim, looking forward to your next little project!


"a bit of blue, cant beat a bit of blue" as the dodgy comedians say


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## The Systemic Kid

Attention to detail is jaw dropping. What's next??


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## jimbojohn55

The Systemic Kid said:


> Attention to detail is jaw dropping. What's next??


"a bit of blue"- more later







- mind you its pretty graphic


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## joey24dirt

Superb work as usual. Your refurb threads are so addictive. Keep it up please so I can have my fix


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## Missy

joey24dirt said:


> Superb work as usual. Your refurb threads are so addictive. Keep it up please so I can have my fix


I'll second that!


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## jimbojohn55

After a certain amount of adjustment today - piston position, pressure relief valve adjustment i started to dial it in with the grind - this is a ridiculously long shot but it shows it can do it, also please note there is some serious spring in that lever !

here is a quick vid of it in action - i should mention that the odd clatter at about 40 seconds is the dog clattering her claws on the wood floor


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## hotmetal

jimbojohn55 said:


> watery arse gravy.


No sign of that in the video!

Looks like a Dalek becoming aroused when in action though!

What a result - a compelling restoration thread with another happy ending - and a real beauty of a machine that must be rare as hen's teeth (Or condoms for Daleks...)

___

Eat, drink and be merry


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## jimbojohn55

I think some kind of Italian marital aid for Darleks is a good description


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## jimbojohn55

Just a quick post script on the name Kim - seemed a bit odd for an espresso machine however and we are talking theory in the late 50,s early 60,s there was a a racing driver who was well known at the time Sergio Pedretti who adopted the nickname Kim as his racing name to stop his mother woring every time he raced ( he had a thing for Kim Novak aparently)

so the theory is the Sergio "Kim " Pedretti may have been a part of the Pedretti domestic appliance company at the time - costly business motor racing and all that.

Here is our racing Kim Pedretti in an Alfa in the Targa Florino









And here is the ahem,,, racy ,Kim Novak - here with Sinatra fixing a dislocated arm &#8230;. I think









As I say this is all theory, but I like to think the two things are connected.


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## Jerry Thurston

Found this thread waay too late.. I restored a MK 2 last year (Mine built 3/70)

There is something about these, it think it's the jeopardy of a combination of scalding water, Italian electrics and compressing that massive spring with such a small base area.


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