Well after 6-8 hours working on car in Arctic conditions ( thank God it didn't rain !) I can answer my own question about how hard brake SHOES are to fit :F#%^ING HARD !
This is the best help available here and what I referred to
https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-guides/235078-rear-drum-strip-clean.html
Maybe you can learn a little or give advice from my 'experience ' ( misadventure )
My shoes were Mintex and same as 2007 Fiat 500 ( MJ?) Started on drivers side , drums came off super easy . Disassembly moderately difficult but not too tricky .
TAKE PHOTOS CONSTANTLY !!!(At least on first side if you reckon you can 'think in mirror image ' for second )You WILL regret it if you don't take pics . I can almost guarantee it . Concentrate on top half when photographing . There are four different spring connection points . Getting them wrong even with pics was one of my mistakes .
The whole horrible experience involved lots of redoing due to mistakes / lack of understanding .
I wirebrushed the outside of the drum and gave it a quick black spray . The can needed a few minutes in hot water it was so cold out !
Putting the springs back on was a NIGHTMARE .I even tried opening the bleed nipple and reservoir cap to no avail , trying to squeeze in piston ,eventually realised if Id loosened out the 'self adjuster ' ( a CURSE of a contraption !) they would have gone on far easier . ( Yes ,I know this is mentioned in guide - but they can't be adjusted in situ when worn necessitating almost complete disassembly to readjust )Long 'Rat tail 'pliers and a selection of flathead screwdrivers especially a smallish one are what I used .
After four hours I had the first side done and reckoned the second should take under forty minutes . Wrong !
The drum wouldn't come off yet it could be shifted a good few mm forward with the claw of a hammer . It was like it was attached by a spring . Eventually I got it off with the 'two bolts ' method but not before giving myself a v nasty shock as the second bolt bent on way out .Lucky threads were ok !
The passenger side showed evidence of a seized self adjuster that had been messed about with . I must have taken that side apart and redone it 3 or 4 times although I guess I was learning all the while . By the way there were totally different shoe retaining clips to any Ive seen before . They worked by pressing in with tips of pliers and rotating 90 degrees
Then the drum wouldn't fit over the shoes . Once again the adjuster being slack was key.
After all my efforts testing on stands suggested improved overall hand brake performance BUT coming almost exclusively from the drivers side . Both sides appeared to stop well using pedal .
Road test not that inspiring either . Seems at best exact same . There WAS meat on the shoes at 150k miles so I guess they were done before 100k . I couldn't get abs to lock up on rear wheels on verge on rear wheels ( on quiet country lane ) Maybe there's a front /rear 'brake balancer ' somewhere .( No idea how it works !)
I would advice NOT doing this job when all mechanical are off duty over the weekend and you have to be in work 40 miles away Monday morn !
Seriously consider buying fitting kit ( and including (?) self adjusters )
I may still end up asking a pro to do this . Will the handbrake imbalance fail NCT /MOT ?