Reconditioning a Bialetti Venus Espresso Maker

For some reason I still haven't figured out I got on this kick with coffee makers. I like my coffee sure enough but not enough to justify a reason for this affinity I had with them for a time. If they were different, I just had to have it. Primary all purchased at thrift stores, though some were given to me. I couldn't see the reason for tossing out a good coffee maker one, and I guess the other reason is some just struck my fancy.

One such coffee Brewer that struck my fancy is the Bialetti Venus Stainless Steel Stovetop Espresso Maker in the first image above. I don't know if this is the 4 or 6 cup version, but I believe it's the 6 cup. And I don't even like, let alone drink espresso coffee. But it looks so cool.. and the price was right. And I knew I could bring it back to like new condition. So I bought it.

Starting out you can see below it had been badly scorched. Both on bottom leading to around the bottom edge up the sides.

The bottom interior even worse scorching plus there was some surface rust starting as you can see below.

The rest was in great condition. No pic, but take my word for it.

First thing to do was remove the brass pressure relief valve on the side. It's easy, it just screws in.

Next I used a copper scouring pad to remove the heavy stuff on the inside...
Which a lot was removed.

Next comes sanding. My hands are kinda big to reach inside this little thing. I had to work with just a couple fingers. A real pain as 18/10 Stainless is not the easiest to sand especially by hand using only the fingers tips to reach inside to the bottom. The outside would prove much easier of course.

Wet sanding starting with 400 grit up to 1500 grit for both interior and exterior. Adding a couple drops of dish soap to the water helps if you're doing something like this yourself.

And the result of sanding seen below...

The Bialetti Venus has a very high mirror finish to it. Sanding should go up to 3000 grit or even 5000 grit to achieve the same mirror finish. You can not stop at 1500 grit and expect the same mirror finish.. I don't have anything above 1500 at the moment so I had to stop sanding at this point. But I'll show you why you need to continue on to either 3,4, or 5 thousand grit here at the end.

Despite not having the higher grits I was hoping I could pull the micro scratches out with one of the rouges I have so I started the polishing process.

For this I used a modified Harbor Freight Flex Shaft Grinder/Carver. Modified in the sense that I put a Foredom hand piece so it'll accept 1/4" shaft bits and accessories. Also I added a Foredom foot controller. Huge difference in the performance btw and I highly recommend if you own one, you make the upgrades/modifications to yours.

Given I don't mix wheels. Meaning I don't mix the rouge type or material they're used on and I only had one cone buffing pad that would come close to getting inside, I opted to use green rouge inside. I could only reach the center and part of the sides even so. But the mirror finish started to appear.

On the outside I tried everything from black, brown, green, white...
And yes, the mirror finish did come back but I just couldn't pull out all the micro scratches the 1500 left in. So I'm going to have to come back to this project once I get the appropriate sanding paper and try again. Or possibly a different type wheel might do the trick as well, I don't know for sure, so I don't want to say. But it might.

For now however, it does look a lot better than it started as you can see from the before and after comparison pics below.

Before leaving I did want to show the difference between a true high polish mirror finish and what I ended up with at the moment. And make the point of posting about this project at this juncture.

In looking at the upper and lower pieces side by side you can see, yes indeed there's a mirror finish on both. Maybe just a slight haziness noticeable on the lower piece. Both look good. Both would be considered a "mirror finish".

If I were polishing up a boat cleat, or windlass chain plate, or a rub rail that's going to be taking some abuse, walked on etc, I very well might call this finished or as high a polish I intend to take it to. "Good enough" to coin a phrase. But this isn't a boat cleat, it's a piece that's mean to be functional, but a show piece at the same time.

And if you look closely you will see the top portion has a true mirror finish. The bottom portion, though mirror, still shows fine sanding lines under a bright light. Clearly seen in the image below.

Now some might call it finished as it does look good, it is a "mirror" finish to a certain degree. I've heard a number of times, and you may have to or even said it yourself, "It's good enough..." Or.. "Nobody will notice."

And that kinda brings up the point I'm trying to make even making this post at this juncture of this project.

True enough, it could be considered "good enough" and true, most might not notice the difference. And I've found myself often saying out loud or to myself in those situations, "But, I will notice." or "But, I'll know..."

Just like anything else, be it music, photography, 3D modeling or animation, woodworking or any other craft, it's taking the extra steps, looking at and paying attention to the details and not settling for lesser that can bring your work to the next level.

Granted, there's time constraints, you're working for someone else, the customer isn't paying for such quality etc etc. Or the project just doesn't call for it, you're just roughing it out. Listen, I've heard it all. They're simply excuses to cut corners. That may be fine for others, but the real question is, is that fine for you? Do you want to just sit with the pack, or rise above the pack.

It's the polishing of your work that can separate your work from the rest of the pack. Not just recognizing the flaws but owning them and then doing something about it too correct them. Not just saying, fuck it, and letting it slide.

Sometimes that's the only difference between the "Masters" and the intermediate or novice. The Masters don't settle, they put that little extra effort in and perfect the polish of thier work to a true mirror finish. They don't say fuck it, they take the extra steps required. They up their game and set the bar for others to follow.

You can easily be one of those people others follow. Or you can be a follower. It's all up to you.

Think about that when working on your next project no matter what it is.

And yes, all puns intended about polishing blah, blah, blah... Lol 😀

Till next time,
Stay creative, stay Happy.

Cheers...


Update:
Not to leave you wondering if you read this post, below is an image of it after going to a higher grit and once again buffing it out.

You'll have to excuse the finger prints but it's 1am, my hands are covered in rouge, so for the moment this snapshot will have to do.

Despite the fact there's some rouge oil left on it from handling it, you can see both top and bottom now have the same high luster mirror finish. In fact, in person, the bottom actually looks better than the top section since it's a fresh polish. Notably, I'll have to give the top a quick once over buffing to freshing it up and equal the two sections out.

As for the inside, that's a whole nother thing. I'm not sure what type wheel I can use to reach where I need to buff it and until I do, it'll have to remain the same. And may end up staying that way if I can't find a buffing wheel that'll do the job.

Now you may question, is the cash value worth the time, effort and materials I've put in on this project?

Straight up the answer is, No, it isn't.

At the same time I realize I'm not set up like the factory is nor do I have commerical size or grade tools dedicated to achieve what might take those that do minutes to achieve. So it's going to take me longer, a lot longer.

The value is more in the personal achievement on something like this with the tools I have on hand.

I didn't settle, I brought it back to like new. With the finish I was looking to achieve. It took longer, it was harder, but I did it.

It's no longer a project sitting on a shelf, and I'm pretty dang happy about how it turned out.

Now if company comes over and they want an Espresso, well, I've got the perfect pot to make it in. And a good looking one too if I say so myself. 😀

Cheers...