Thanks Nino and Crashramp
You are right Nino, I have no spackle on the inside. I will take care of it when I spackulate the head box!
I was kind of lucky with my first one which was Strikes and Spares as it came with a set of licensed stencils when I bought it and my Sinbad has a really nice original cabinet so no work was needed there. I found this method I used on Cleopatra to create and apply stencils really easy as long as you have a digital image to begin with otherwise I would trace the artwork (if any) and mark it out on white vinyl then do the rest as above. My print guy has a plotter that can cut out the shapes for me, we are just having a miss communication on how to prepare the image but should have this sorted soon so no more hand cutting on future projects as long as I have a digital file.
Like you Nino I really enjoyed making my own stencil but I can appreciate it not being practical from a business point of view. Do you buy the stencil and add it to the cost?
I restore my machines for my own collection with no intention of selling, of course this is sure to happen down the track but without being too ridiculous on the amount spent 
I like to do a thorough job and challenge myself at the same time. Cleopatra is coming in a little pricey now with the original buy price of $750 then $450 for a new Pascal 4 in 1 board, other parts and hardware items has pushed it out to around $2000 and then hours of labour but as I said it is for me! :)
Love the input and encouragement on this forum, especially the little overlooked details from Nino, it's these detail that make the difference in the end.
Cheers: Brettski... :)
Thanks again guy's getting closer.
Cheers: Brettski... :)
Yes - I buy the stencil and incorporate it into the repaint quote. I traditionally use Gav's stencils (best in the world), but he is a busy man so I have to wait for his spare time. So I have a lot of games waiting in the queue. I did venture away from Gavin's stencils (Twisted Crap) and they were completely wrong and I ended up spend 10 hours correcting the mistakes. There's another guy claiming to make the best, but he never answers emails, and there are not a lot of customer feedback, so I don't know if he actually sells any ? (Well at lest I know he won't sell to Aussies).
When I repainting as a hobbyist - The Miami Beach and Jacks Open were big jobs, but I found that sitting down and working through the stencils from scratch was fun and it "passed time". now I don't have time at all, so I rely on guys like Gavin to create the stencils. Restorers get a lot of praise if they use the right tools and materials - but the stencils are what makes the work look so good.
