I finally got a pin...RESTORED AND LOVING IT.

[Wade]

I thought about the Testors enamels, but I don't have much faith in getting a good match with limited color selections. The acrylics were really cheap, so I could get multiple shades of the 4 base colors. As to clearcoating, I'll be doing the whole thing. After magic eraser-ing a whole playfield, brushing on a bit of clear coat should be a walk in the park! 

Are you going to light sand the whole field?  If coating the whole thing, I think I'd do that.

Wade

[shardian]

Yep. VERY light sanding. I don't know how much more it can take! Also gonna give it a few more wipe=downs with 91% alcohol, just to make sure it is really clean.

[Wade]

Yep. VERY light sanding. I don't know how much more it can take! Also gonna give it a few more wipe=downs with 91% alcohol, just to make sure it is really clean.

So are you going to put a coat or two of clear on it before starting the touchups, so you can wipe them off and re-try if you run into problems or end up with the wrong colors?  Seems like a pretty good idea to me.

Wade

[shardian]

(personally, though, I'd probably leave that Charlie's Angels alone)

You really think so? Why do you say that - because it isn't worth the effort, or because it is only minor wear? The main reason I am going all-out is for the learning aspect. Skipping the touch-ups doesn't teach me anything.

I wasn't planning on clearing before touching up. I'll do all of my color matching( including dry/clear coated test) off of the playfield. I should be able to go right at it without worrying about bad colors. Even if it isn't 100% close, it will be good enough for me.

[shardian]

I did some testing last night, and it appears I have straight from the bottle matches on at least 2 colors. The blue is a dead ringer, the orange and magenta are a bit too dark, and the yellow is probably okay because the PF yellow varies.

I painted several coats onto some scrap pine that had the same color as the playfield wood. I still need to spray my tests with clear to verify my results. I've seen them wet, but the clear will give me a better idea.

I also used a paint marker to touch up all the black insert surrounds. Just doing that really makes the art pop! I did notice that most of the inserts aren't 100% level with the PF, but I really don't care. The way Gottlieb inserts are done makes it really difficult to mess with them. If I feel like it, I'll fill them up with a bit of clear before doing the whole playfield. Probably would cause more problems than it is worth though.

[ChadTower]

Pine isn't a good test - it will absorb way too much of the paint, and in the process, will tweak lighter colors when it mixes with any resin in the wood.  I'd definitely try that again with something a little more similar to playfield wood - maybe a maple scrap or at least a little piece of cabinet grade plywood.

[shardian]

Well maybe I mis-spoke. I am using sanded plywood, which I assumed was made of pine. It looks identical to the stuff the playfield is made of. I'm not using the cheap stuff that you normally get in 2x4 form.

[Wade]

Also, Bill Davis does a thick layer of clear before he does touchups, and it gives his work a '3D' effect because the cracks and such all have clear in them and haven't been hidden by being filled with the touchup.

Are you saying you've seen BD playfields where you could look at an angle and see "under" the touchups?  I know he does heavy coats but I've never seen or heard of this with his playfields.  Practically all the playfield guys coat at least once before doing touchups.

Wade

[Wade]

I did some testing last night, and it appears I have straight from the bottle matches on at least 2 colors. The blue is a dead ringer, the orange and magenta are a bit too dark, and the yellow is probably okay because the PF yellow varies.

I painted several coats onto some scrap pine that had the same color as the playfield wood. I still need to spray my tests with clear to verify my results. I've seen them wet, but the clear will give me a better idea.

I also used a paint marker to touch up all the black insert surrounds. Just doing that really makes the art pop! I did notice that most of the inserts aren't 100% level with the PF, but I really don't care. The way Gottlieb inserts are done makes it really difficult to mess with them. If I feel like it, I'll fill them up with a bit of clear before doing the whole playfield. Probably would cause more problems than it is worth though.

Sounds like it's going pretty well.  Have you considered repainting the white areas?  If you're getting into this level of detail with touchups and clearcoating anyway, I'd be tempted to repaint the solid whites.

Wade

[shardian]

There really isn't a point to painting the white areas again. They are all covered up by plastics, so as long as they are clean and shiny, they will look fine.

[shardian]

Finished all the touch-ups last night. Me and the wife tag-teamed it all. The color matches for yellow, magenta, and orange aren't 'dead ringers', but the time/quality tradeoff for someone who doesn't know what they are doing dictated that it was good enough. No pictures for now, but I'll try to get some up tommorrow.

[shardian]

Here are some pics of the touchups. I decided to completely repaint the upper pop bumper area to make it look more even. It turned out really, really nice. I have been considering also doing the lower pop bumper, but think I'll just live with it. The brush line reducer stuff works wonders with uniformity of the paint. You don't really paint at that point, you just drip the paint on in a uniform way. It dries level, flat, and smooth (After 24-48 hours of course!).

Another thing you will notice is that one of the colors isn't quite right. Well you can thank my wife for that! I kept telling her that adding white would 'whiten' the color too much. She insisted, so we went ahead. It doesn't look as bad in real life as the pictures, but is still pretty noticeable if you look closely. It will darken a bit with clear coat though, so I guess I'll stick with it. Magenta darkened much more than the other colors when clear coated in testing.

[ChadTower]

The brush line reducer stuff works wonders with uniformity of the paint.

What's that?

Looks pretty good.  Nice job.

[shardian]

What's that?

It is a clear product that helps eliminate brush lines, and greatly extends the dry time of the paint. It can be mixed up to 50/50 with acrylic paint without effecting the color. It is pretty much required to use if you don't want uneven globs of paint on your playfield.

[ChadTower]

Poking through michaels.com I see some products called dry time extenders... is that it?

[shardian]

Probably. It is discussed a bit in the Marvin3m EM Restoration Guide.

[shardian]

Well let me tell you - Naptha + a paint pen = DISASTER! I started to give the playfield a quick wipedown before starting the clear, and the naptha dissolved the black paint! It smeared all over the place! I was able to recover, and get rid of most of it. Some black got into surface cracks, but it is not too noticeable.

So far, I put down 2 coats of polycrylic. The 1st coat was very thin. I sanded it down with a fine grit foam pad, and laid down a shiny 2nd coat. I am not a fan of the way polycrylic goes on. I have used the standard poly, and the polycrylic is much more 'aerosol-y', for lackof a better term. Another issue I encountered was that the low spots near the flippers that were down to bare wood were substantially sunken compared to the rest of the playfield. I sprayed some clear into a lid and dabbed all the low spots full. I'll let this coat dry for 2 days before sanding and doing it again.

Oh, and one last issue. I left the touch-ups as-is. Remember the hot pink non-matching magenta? Well I also mentioned before that the Magenta reacted to the clear much more than the other colors. It reacted so much, that now it is substantially darker than the original magenta. I'll live with it...

Pictures to come tommorrow.

[shardian]

Clearcoat pictures:

 

[ChadTower]

Good start... I definitely suggest next time just using Novus for that last wipedown before spraying the clear.  I need to get better at spraying on flat stuff like that myself.  I never seem to get optimal results.

[shardian]

I can officially say that there is absolutely no reason to use Naptha. The stuff is absolutely worthless! 91% alcohol works just as well, and is much safer. You don't even have to use gloves with alcohol.

Another note for anyone considering doing this: Invest in tack cloth. The usefulness of this stuff is way understated. After sanding, a tack cloth will remove 100% of all dust on the playfield without any cleaners or other wipe down.

[ChadTower]

I usually just use air for that.

[shardian]

I usually just use air for that.

Yeah, that way the dust can settle right back down on your freshly laid clear...

Tack cloth = no airborne dust

[shardian]

Yeah I guess it your fault.  

I should have thought twice though, because alcohol also wipes off the paint pen. I learned that when taking a q-tip to the star rollovers.

The magenta is staying as-is. The way that color changes with clear, there is no way I will ever match it up properly. Even though I added a ton of white, its final color was almost the same as straight from the bottle magenta! It looks 'good enough' for an old game. I just want to finish it up and get it back together.

[shardian]

Applied another thick coat of Polycrylic last night. I wasn't entirely happy with the way the clear 'touchups' turned out, but think by the time I put 1 or 2 more coats on, it should work out okay. I doubt I will get a 100% level surface from all of the bare wood areas, but it will be good enough. The inserts still aren't going to level either. I'll wait 48 hours before messing with this coat.

[Wade]

For some reason I thought you weren't using spray cans.  I used polycrylic through my spray gun and put it on REALLY thick.  (This was on my Moon Patrol after stenciling.)  It turned out very smooth and hard.

I'm going to have to invest in a HVLP spray gun though after seeing Spyridon's recent paint results.  Seems like he had little overspray.  I seldom use my gun because the overspray is killer.

Wade

[shardian]

I had considered brushing, but the ease of spraying won out. I am using a cheap spray can handle thing, which makes the job really easy.

I have a HVLP spray gun that I have never used. Some day I'll get around to using it.

[shardian]

Another thing you need to do, and you didn't do in advance (because I didn't do it either) is flip over the playfield and put some water thin super glue on the inserts at their seam against the wood.  You don't want the inserts shifting after you've cleared the PF.  Do this after it's cured, though.

Can't do that on this pin. They did not use thru-holes for the inserts. There is a hole on the bottom, but it is smaller than the actual insert. There is no way to hit the seam without taking the insert out from the top. It makes me wonder if the inserts were ever level. If they are sitting on a ledge, then it may have just been a manufacturing innaccuracy.

[shardian]

As to leveling the inserts, I think 2 more thick coats with adequate sanding in between should get them to 'good enough' status. I have seen improvements with each layer. I was not happy at all with the way the previous clear patches went. I simply couldn't stand to see that on every insert. Besides, this machine will never be played enough to wear down thru all that clearcoat, being it will never see high traffic route abuse again.

[ChadTower]

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.pinball/browse_thread/thread/b0b00c668ec7e46f#

Charlie's Angels partout.

[shardian]

I've been letting this sit for a while for curing purposes. The 2 coats were pretty darn heavy, and I think they need some more time before putting on another heavy coat. I should let you know Jim that I have decided to go ahead and build up all the inserts.

I've also been watching Tim Arnolds System 1 supershow off and on. He has shown a few neat modifications that I may implement.

[shardian]

I have let the playfield sit for several days before sanding, and still got very minor rolling on the sandpaper when sanding down the playfield with a block. It was minor though, so I didn't get any tearing. I also filled all the inserts with poly. I got a little impatient this morning before work and tried to sand one down. I tore a chunk of the insert clear off almost immediately. Patience is a virtue with this crap. I think the main problem is that the weather is finally changing and it is getting cold (40-50 degrees) at night. My dry times are gonna have to get much longer I suppose.

[shardian]

I also won 6 more CPU boards off of ebay last night. It was a whim purchase of course, but they all appear to have chips intact and were less than $10 a board shipped. Fingers are crossed that I get a few good boards out of the deal. It might end up being a profitable venture.

[shardian]

Okay, I have almost all the inserts smooth and level. There are a few that have given me fits, and still have a slight lip. I'll give them another go once the 4th coat of clear dries for a week.

A problem I encountered with the 4th coat was tiny air bubbles in the finish. I never saw them in previous coats, but I had quite a few this time. I figured they would 'pop' after a few minutes, but most did not. I figure I can address these with a stick pin, then spray a bit more when spraying the final coat? I wasn't too concerned this time since I still have another thick coat to go. I still do not like the way polycrylic sprays on. If I had a do-over, I would have used standard polyurethane since it sprays heavier.

[shardian]

Oh, I know. I spray really, really thick. I use the light glare to tell when a pass is 100% doused. Just looking straight down doesn't tell you anything - you have to look at an angle to see the reflections to judge full coverage. I still got those pinhead size bubbles here and there though.

[shardian]

Sand, then tack cloth, then alcohol with lint free rag, then Naptha right before spraying.

[shardian]

Well, the last coat of insert clear has all the inserts more or less level. I had to adjust the level of my playfield, because I think the slight angle threw off previous leveling attempts. Sanding those inserts down is a real ---smurfette---.

Now I just have to wait for one more warm day for the 5th and final coat of clear.

[shardian]

5th coat is on and dry. I took the playfield down off its temp risers and locked it down in the cab so it won't warp. I'll give it 2 weeks or so before sanding and polishing. No pics, because there really isn't anything new to show.

[shardian]

Well it's been a month, and I think that is more than enough time to cure. See, I CAN be patient!

Anyways, I went to town with 600 grit last night. After 3 passes, the finish still has lots of pinhole type spots. Will wet sanding help with this any, or should I just do a few more passes with 600, the a few with 1000?

I also picked up a 6" buffer with some rubbing/polishing compounds. I tried out some Novus on an inconspicuous area and it doesn't work very well. Once I get the pinholes mostly taken care of, I will hit it good with the buffing wheel. I don't think I;m gonna end up with a professional mirror finish though. 

[shardian]

Well I did a bit more online research and it appears that 1000 grit then the buffer/rubbing compound should give me a decent finish. The Space Shuttle resto guy did almost the same thing as I am planning. I wish I didn't have to go to the in-laws for Turkey Day. That will kill my work time on this. I would like to knock most of it out this weekend.

[shardian]

I did plenty more 600 grit sanding and got it 'good enough'. I've been experimenting with the buffer and the compounds. It appears that a heavy pass with rubbing compound and a light pass of polishing compound does very nicely. Follow that up with Novus 2 and it is SUPER slick. I only did half the table, so I need to get back out there and do the top half.

I also need to pick up some paste wax as a finisher. I'm really torn whether I should even bother with the wax. I have heard that it is not necessary if you get a mirror slick finish. Others say go ahead.