Buck Rogers Restoration

[Retropin]

Sounds like in the threads I was reading he did get some tiny bubbles from pushing too hard with the rollover. But sanding then a cut and polish got rid of them.

Have you tried a brush, does it not leave noticeable strokes/lines or do the self levelling properties tend to make that somewhat of a non issue?  One other question that wasn't clear from the threads I read, is it advisable to give the playfield a light sand first to help it bond or it doesn't matter?

Have seen results for brush method and its damn good with no lines at all.

Its always best to lightly sand anything you are painting or clearing so the product has a rougher surface to bind to

[Slash]

Well I pulled apart the rest of the bits left on the playfield this weekend - pop bumpers, switches, apron and 3 wood bits/rails.  I wanted to start cleaning hard the rest of the playfield in order to get ready for touching it up.  Here was a nice toasty surprise under the apron:


I sanded then buffed most if it out.  The last bit of burn was not coming out as it was burnt from the side so was obviously very deep.  Doesn't really matter though since it's covered by the apron:


My airbrush and compressor arrived during the week plus bought a heap of Hembrol paints too.  Just waiting for my frisket so I can get started with the touch ups.

Before that though I wanted to attack the shooter lane and ball arch at the top.  There were horrible ball lines all the way that went right down the shooter lane too. 


I masked off the artwork at the top of the playfield then went to town with sandpaper trying to get the ball trail out.    I got a tonne of it out but a couple of bits just seem too deep so I don't want to keep sanding a groove in the playfield so I will attempt to paint any remaining bits out.  I'm not entirely happy with it yet so will keep playing with it.  At the same time I'm not expecting this pin to come out like a HEP or something, just better than when I got it.


The groove in the shooter lane looks terrible with ground in dirt though and nothing is going to change that (already tried sanding it).  The only solution I see is to paint it, but my question is what colour?  Do I go for a wood colour?  I'm sure I have even seen pins with the groove painted black.  Sure I could leave it but I figure leaving it will make it look more noticeable than painting it.  So any comments/suggestions on how to deal with the groove in the shooter lane would be appreciated.


One final question, the play field had these 2 nails in the outlanes, right where the outlane meets the apron at a 45 degree angle.  Can anyone tell me what purpose they serve being in there?

[Slash]

Spent some time polishing up some of the trim and other bits.  The big semi circle part from the top of the playfield was looking pretty ordinary.  I think whatever it was plated in was starting to flake off.  Problem was that was only in parts of it were, the other parts of the coating were still holding onto it fine.  This resulted in a two tone look. I spent AGES sanding it starting as low as 40 grit to try and get the bloody thing off.  Anyhow it eventually came up better than it was.  I may go back and hit it again with 400 grit and move upwards again to see if I can get a slightly better finish and get rid of the remaining grain.

On a separate note I'm in the process of rebuilding the flippers (something I've never done before).  Bloody hell what is it with Gottlieb and that pivot pin holding the pawl in place that you have to hammer out with a punch   Damn that was annoying and a stupid design IMHO.




After sanding with 40 grit, then 80 grit, then 180 grit, then 400 wet dry, then 600 wet dry then 1,200 wet dry.   


I also got a new toy. 

[femto]

Coming along nicely.

One final question, the play field had these 2 nails in the outlanes, right where the outlane meets the apron at a 45 degree angle.  Can anyone tell me what purpose they serve being in there?

In answer to that question....I have zero knowledge in this area but I suspect that the nails were placed there to prevent the ball getting stuck. In my mind the game was built but certain spots in the game trapped the ball so the solution was to place the nails. That's my thought anyway.

Keep the pics coming....love to see the progress made.

[Mr Pinbologist]

Pretty good progress so far.

You did a nice job with the sanding/polishing of the top arch ball guide  these things nearly always have the chrome flaking off like that.

[Slash]

Small update, I lightly cleaned the backglass where I could then just sealed it with Krylon Triple Thick.  I wasn't able to clean it quite as well as I would have liked as some bits where just too delicate to even attempt to clean.

I then used a blade to scrape off the blue film on the score panel windows, since the displays had obviously rested against them and burnt some of it off.  I then installed some new blue films.

I also put new decals on the shooter lane and apron since the old one was scratched and smudged.  I sanded them back first then resprayed them and then put the decal on.  I did the shooter lane one first which turned out fine.  I then did the apron and had a problem - it bubbled after about the 3rd or 4th day????

It obviously goes on wet (water and a bit of detergent) then I squeeze as much out as possible once the decal is in place then it gradually dries.  The strange thing was for the first 2-3 days you could see the milky water gradually drying and disappearing from under the decal (in the same way as when I did the shooter lane one), but then suddenly I checked it about 3 or 4 days after application and those ripples appeared.  I don't know if a change in temp might have caused it, the day prior was VERY hot.  Obviously I will buy a new one and try it again but I don't want the same thing to happen again.  Any thoughts?  Was it maybe too wet under there??

As for the playfield, I am still SLOWLY touching that doing one colour every week or so.  Having 2 kids (age 1 and 3) means I get about 1-2 hours each weekend only to work on the pinny.  I gotta say I wish I could just buy a new playfield and use that instead!!!!

[Boots]

I also put new decals on the shooter lane and apron since the old one was scratched and smudged.  I sanded them back first then resprayed them and then put the decal on.  I did the shooter lane one first which turned out fine.  I then did the apron and had a problem - it bubbled after about the 3rd or 4th day????

How long did you let the paint dry for before putting the decal on?

[Slash]

Ahhhh I think you have just answered my question thank you.  It was only about 1-2 days.

Judging by your question did I not wait long enough for any gas/vapours coming off the paint to dissipate before applying the decal?  It would explain too why it didn't bubble immediately but only showed up on about the 3 day, I'm guessing by then enough had accumulated to force the decal to rise?

[Slash]

Well I have been slowly plugging away with my restore still, although having an 18 month old and a 3 year old often means time is at a premium.  I will try and post some update pics soon of where I am at but in the meantime I was after some advice please.

I am not redoing the cabinet since there is no stencil for this game available, consequently I want to know whether I should touch up these couple of areas or just leave them?  Obviously if I paint them black there won't be any "speckle effect" in that area plus the new paint will probably standout.  What's worse leaving it or touching it up?




Similarly, one side of the cabinet is really good the other side at the front end is dodgy like this.  Should I touch it up or leave it?


Finally, this pin must have been sited in a rough location since someone decided to add this to it presumably so they could chain it down.  lol  Should I just leave it there or attempt to rip out the metal and fix it.  There is one screw that goes through to the front of the cabinet too, so that would have to be filled and painted over, the rest wouldn't be readily visible since it's inside and under the cabinet?

[big dog]

WOW it's moving along nicely , good to see the life put back into this game.

[howzat]

Hi Slash
Have you thought about makeing stencils  with tracing paper?   Im no expert at this but trace using baking paper  and transfere onto cardboard using carbon paper

Your cab dose look knocked around
If you where to do this you would adress a lot of your problems  but it is a lot of work

Something to think about    Howzat   

[Slash]

Yeah I'm in 2 minds with the cab. The rest of it is really quite fine in comparison but that part is quite bad. With the cab basically empty now is really the time to do it. Was thinking of getting a custom stencil from Twisted Pins if I do since I don't trust my DIY skills to make one.

One of my big concerns is getting the side rails off without wrecking them I have NFI how to get the screws out cleanly, so if I do mess them up I don't believe I can buy new ones, at least I haven't seen any for sale?

[zitt]

I used a TwistedPins custom stencil for the Star Trek: Mirror Universe cabinet.

I would only recommend their stencils for a complete repaint of a cabinet.

1) The stencil will lift paint if it's even marginal. I had their stencil lift toner off of a water slide decal... so loose paint = no.no.
2) Their stencils are single use only. Get it right the first time; no chance to reuse the stencil later as the material self-distructs when you remove it.

I traced my artwork and sent it to them... after getting it ready in my computer.

PERSONALLY; I'd use some blue painters tape and a xacto blade and mask off the colored areas and just reapply the black paint.
The art looks to be in pretty good shape.

Getting the side rails off... I'm assuming they are similar to the Bally's of this era.
I did mind my pushing a plastic drywall putty knife between the wood and the rail at the screws. Then using a prying movement loosen the nail enough so you can get pliers and/or a hammer claw under it. Then pull the screw out.

Once you'r ready to replace the side rail; you can buy the nails themselves from PinballLife
or PBR or even Mcmaster-Carr.com. I'm trying some new nails from McmasterCarr on my MirrorUniverse; so we'll see how they work.
Anyway; PBR has them as:
Siderail Nails (#GTB-FA-701) $0.18

[Limorange]

where did you get the isopropyl from? I can only find it in little squirt bottles in bunnings.

Try Television Replacements in Doncaster Vic, I get 1 litre bottles from there.

[Strangeways]

Those playfield nails are used so that when the ball drains through an outlane, it hits the nail and "diverts" towards the outhole. The ball does not slam into the apron !

Stencils - Ask Retropin (Gavin) if he has plans for this title, or if he can make you a set. He is the licensed Gottlieb stencil guy. His stencils are by far the best on the market. I've know that he has created stencils for some games to CORRECT mistakes made by other stencil manufacturers. From a professional standpoint, I can't afford to use inaccurate and badly drawn stencils. Can't wait for the full Paragon set !

With this cabinet, if the stencils are not going to be made, you can make your own using tracing paper, acetate sheets and about 50 hours of creating them. I've done it a couple of times years ago with good results.