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Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:25 pm
by Danomar
Can anyone recommend a UK plater who would refurbish my brass Olympia Club portafilter? It needs a nice nickel plating. All of the sources I have found online are set up for large quantities of plating, not small batches.

TIA
Daniel

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:28 pm
by Steve

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 6:45 pm
by Danomar
Thanks, Steve. Yes, I did think about doing it myself, but I rent and my place does not have an appropriate place to do it.

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 12:48 pm
by bruceb
Try these folks: Ashford They do a lovely job on small parts for vintage cars and they will do individual pieces.

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:07 pm
by Steve
And thats why I used to love TMC and will again good work Bruce

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 2:02 pm
by CakeBoy
Brilliant :)

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 6:06 pm
by Danomar
Muchas Garcias! I'll see if they will do it.

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:23 pm
by Danomar
I shipped the portafiler today to Ashworth Chroming. The cost is £70 plus VAT, but that is the minimum price for nickel plating. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:37 pm
by CakeBoy
Hope it all goes well.

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 10:43 am
by Steve
Be keen to her how it works out for you

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 5:36 pm
by Danomar
Got the portafilter back today.

Unfortunately, I took only two photos prior to plating:

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In the second image, you can somewhat see the extent to which the original plating had worn off. Bare brass was visible inside the holder, and the ears were well worn of their finish, too.

Newly nickel-plated:

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It turned out pretty much as I expected. This was less of a vanity procedure than one to save the original portafilter. A new replacement holder will not fit the Club without significant finessing—the space for the ears in the group is much smaller than a Cremina. My bottomless PF works, but I need a working portafilter that I know will last for a long time.

To give you an idea of the difference between nickel plating and the original (chrome?) plating, see the difference between the spout and the holder:

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The nickel finish is beautiful but not the same as original. No worries. I knew it would be different. Nickel is food safe, and that is the important thing.

In summary:

Plating: £70 (their minimum charge for any item)
Shipping: £10
VAT: £16
Total cost: £96
Time for completion: 2.5 months
Number of emails exchanged: 17

Would I use Ashford Chroming again? Probably not. They were nice, but you deal with one person in the shop, one who deals with finances, and ere the twain shall meet. It never seemed as if any one person knew what was happening, and the time it took for a simple reply was rather long. For example, it took three days between notification that I would get an invoice until I actually did get it, and then it took another three (four?) days after payment before the part was shipped back to me.

They did include a small packet of Gümmis, so I guess that makes everything better. :lol:

Re: Portafilter Refurbish

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:14 pm
by dr.chris
Sounds painful, but at least its done and wont have to be done again. At this point the only sensible comment would be

'Oooh Shiny...'