Pinball Restore in Process

[Xiaou2]

A long time ago,  I bought a Pin Online.   However,  sadly,  it was
a poor picture, and I was a newbie to the game...   

 When I went to pick it up,  I got there to a pin who's Playfeild
was destroyed       Ate up stickers, worn paint down to the
wood... and more.

 And because it was so bad - the ball speed was reduced
to maybe half what it should have been.

 After it sitting there for many a year, Ive finally got got the
time and some energy to try to restore it.

 
 At first, I bought a few better playfeilds off ebay, and a friend.

 I was orignally going to try to scan the art in, and have something
printed..  however, I found that the process is very expensive, as
well as uncertain in results.

 I decided to try to repaint the missing details myself.

 Luckily, I got a sticker set off ebay as well - before they were gone.


 Heres the Original PF:




 You can see the stickers, paint, and wood wear issues. 


 Heres the partially finished Paint job on the other feild
(The other field wasnt as bad, but had some wear spots,
and the stickers were all cracked.  Plastics ate.  Etc.)




  The PF had a Mylar plastic coating over it... which needed removal.
I used compressed air can held upside down and sprayed it to
cause it to Freeze.   Then gently lift up.   This can be a very dangerous
thing,  cause it can pull the paint up too - so beware!   Luckily,
it came off quite well with only a few tiny spots of paint removed.



 Here are the plastics I removed:



 To remove the Plastic inserts,  I needed to use a heat gun
on the back of them for several seconds..   Then tap them
out using a rubber tipped stick.  (try a pencil eraser - i forgot)

 Each one had to be hand sanded to remove the stickers that
were cracked and fused onto them, as well as to clear up
damages to the plastics themselves.

 Sand at 100 grit, 150, 250, 600  *using harbor freight multi paper pack

 Then BUFF each piece using my drill press and a 2 sewn buffer wheels..
with 2 different buffing compound sticks.   Med grit, and High Gloss.
(Id have to check which stick I actually used - I forgot, sorry)

 These took Forever to look like this!  >.<   But they turned out really
good - esp compared to how bad they used to look.


 Heres the Upper Field that I repainted: 

 


 And last one of the New paint for now:

 


 Slowly but surely ... I hope     

[ChadTower]

Nice, they look really good.  Oddly I've never had a game that had substantial insert problems.

[Chris]

At least it's a pin that's worth all the effort!

[Xiaou2]

Thanks Chas 

  Sadly, It may just be the Age of the things.   Or Maybe cause
BK2K has so many hot lamps in one area... ?  Not sure..  but
on the better field, it was more of less a milky white appearance,
from the separations..   and I didnt have the heart to place
it in like that   heh

[ChadTower]

Definitely not age as most of my games are older than Black Knight 2000.

[Xiaou2]

Some other Shots of the Machine

 Partly disasembled  (with old style plastics.  gona change
to the newer castle style)




 and lit up 





 (very hard to capture well when dark)

[Xiaou2]

Warning - Do not use a heat gun on the front of the Playfeild !

 I made that mistake sadly     and some of the paint bubbled   

 Luckily, Ive been able to touch up the spots pretty well. 

[ChadTower]

Whoa.  The playfield pics weren't up there when I first read that post... that's awesome.  I wish I had any confidence in my ability to color match.  I have 5-6 games that could use some touchup like that.

[Xiaou2]

heh,  you wouldnt believe how much paint i went thru trying to get
the color matches  >.<
 
 lol


 However, I am kinda cheating,  cause Im gona try an experimental idea...

Im using Acrylics.   Makes it easier - cause if I make a mistake,  I can scrape it off.   

 I believe I will do a coating on the PF of triple thick spray.

 Then,  I will cover the PF with a special plastic mylar sheeting i bought.   It does
not have glue on it,  but will be held in place with  the parts / fasteners,  and
removable glue at the ball holes...etc.    Which hopefully will keep it secure,
yet replaceable if needed at a later time.

 If it does not work, I know a guy that may be able to spray a coating on it...
tho, its not automotive clear...  so Im trying to avoid that now.


 Biggest problem with Acrylic,  is that if you lay it on too thick,  it will show
brush marks.   Have to water it down a lot.   Sometimes running over the
same area at least twice... sometimes more.  Pushing the water-like
paint like a bubble so that its 'even', as you progress.

 Ohh, and also, the paint is kinda Flat dull..   but i found that with the lightest
playfeild polish i have, with a very light polish,  makes it shine.  What luck

[Cakemeister]

Wow, nice paint work!

Why not clearcoat it when you're done?

[ChadTower]

I would definitely clearcoat it if it looked that good, but I'd have to pay someone else to do it.  I don't have that skill.

[Xiaou2]

 Well, I think it would cost a pretty penny to clear it by the pros...
and I cant afford that now.

 But there are some other reasons I want to try this new
method.

 Clearcoats can wear in time too.  And when that happens..  how
would one fix it?  I think it would be very hard to sand off the clear
to a perfect flush level.

 Also, Ive seen times when the clearcoats fogged up over inserts.

 And finally, Im not sure how these will last over time.   Maybe they
will yellow later,  or become too brittle.  (even tho they
arnt supposed to)

 
 With the Mylar I got, its supposed to be very stable and not affected
by moisture or heat as much as others - which is great cause those lamps
can get pretty warm.   
 
 If the mylar wears,  you can polish or sand it lightly to revamp it.. or
replace the entire thing.  (or a quick fix mylar sticker patch as temp.)


  Anyway, I just hope it works out as well as planned.

 

[Paladin]

You really need to go over to the pinball newsgroup, as there are endless posts about different methods of clearcoat and mylar options.  Some of the folks over there treat pinball restores VERY seriously, and have posted about every option with pros and cons.

I'd hate to have you end up doing something that may end up ruining all your hard work, so you had to do it all again!  From what I remember reading clearcoat is the way to go.   I know some people have had auto body shops do the clear, but I can't recall what the price/results were.  If you put mylar down and then screw parts to it, you will get bubbling and lifting.

Seriously, check with the pinball pros before you do anything! 

[shardian]

You really need to go over to the pinball newsgroup, as there are endless posts about different methods of clearcoat and mylar options.  Some of the folks over there treat pinball restores VERY seriously, and have posted about every option with pros and cons.

I'd hate to have you end up doing something that may end up ruining all your hard work, so you had to do it all again!  From what I remember reading clearcoat is the way to go.   I know some people have had auto body shops do the clear, but I can't recall what the price/results were.  If you put mylar down and then screw parts to it, you will get bubbling and lifting.

Seriously, check with the pinball pros before you do anything! 

Automotive clear is recommended in the marvin 3m restore guide. For all of that hard work, and for such a good machine, it is definitely worth the price for a professional clear coat. Besides, its a single piece of wood. They wouldn't charge that much.

[Wade]

Of all the options you've mentioned, the only one I'd consider is a professional clearcoat.  Yes, there are some risks, but IMO they are smaller risks than any of the other options.  The white inserts seem to happen when cleared over original painted inserts.  Since you are probably going to use insert overlay decals, this probably won't be an issue.  Yellowing is not an issue.  Price might be, the well known pros charge about $150-200 for a clearcoat.  You'll never wear through in a home environment.

If money is a real issue and you have SMALL amounts of touchup, you could just mylar those areas, and leave the rest uncovered.

Wade

[ChadTower]

It should be noted the well known pros will also have a 3 month turnaround time as well, if time is an issue.

[Wade]

Definitely not age as most of my games are older than Black Knight 2000.

It's a common problem on Williams System 11 games.  I've seen others with insert problems similar to his.

Wade

[Kevin Mullins]

You really need to go over to the pinball newsgroup, as there are endless posts about different methods of clearcoat and mylar options.  Some of the folks over there treat pinball restores VERY seriously, and have posted about every option with pros and cons.

I'd hate to have you end up doing something that may end up ruining all your hard work, so you had to do it all again!  From what I remember reading clearcoat is the way to go.   I know some people have had auto body shops do the clear, but I can't recall what the price/results were.  If you put mylar down and then screw parts to it, you will get bubbling and lifting.

Seriously, check with the pinball pros before you do anything! 

Automotive clear is recommended in the marvin 3m restore guide. For all of that hard work, and for such a good machine, it is definitely worth the price for a professional clear coat. Besides, its a single piece of wood. They wouldn't charge that much.

Talk to a lcoal auto-body shop..... sometimes you can get stuff like this done inexpensively when they already have a car or something in the booth that they are shooting clear on.

I'd reccomend removing or masking the inserts.