Author Topic: Stern Dracula restore  (Read 5542 times)

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Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #15 on: November 26, 2008, 10:31:00 PM »

Great pick up Mitch. You really do like your old school Sterns !

I used to have one YEARS ago - and it was a popular title back in the days. Unique playfield design for its time.

Keep the progress updates going, looks like you have a very interesting project ahead of you !

 ^^^

I like any old school machine i can get my hands on regardless of the manufacture/title etc :lol Every machine i own is the result of basically finding them by accident!!!

Sorry that i haven't added anything new lately... been heaps busy with work and other commitments etc, so the game hasn't been touched since posting the original pics and info. I expect to get a start on restoring the game over the xmas holidays...
stay tuned and watch this space!!!

Offline Creech

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #16 on: November 26, 2008, 10:36:59 PM »
Look forward to it mitch.  ^^^

Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #17 on: January 02, 2009, 05:53:25 PM »
Alrighty then!! Its about time i pulled my finger out and did something to this thing. been putting it off, and trying to work out just how to tackle that worn pf, so after reading thru 'Retropin's advice i think im going to bite the bullet and attempt to hand paint the worn art! Just need to clean off my workbench, remove the pf from the game and mount it in my pf jig and start dismantling it.

I think i've worked out a plan to save this thing. I'm about to go and make a start right now. We'll soon see just how clever i am... or am not :lol Wish me luck. expect some new pics soon

Offline Strangeways

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2009, 06:41:26 PM »
Alrighty then!! Its about time i pulled my finger out and did something to this thing. been putting it off, and trying to work out just how to tackle that worn pf, so after reading thru 'Retropin's advice i think im going to bite the bullet and attempt to hand paint the worn art! Just need to clean off my workbench, remove the pf from the game and mount it in my pf jig and start dismantling it.

I think i've worked out a plan to save this thing. I'm about to go and make a start right now. We'll soon see just how clever i am... or am not :lol Wish me luck. expect some new pics soon

Like you, I'm new at this - so post pictures !

and the very best of luck as well !
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Offline Retropin

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #19 on: January 03, 2009, 12:52:55 AM »
Good luck mate - once you dive in, it aint that bad - bit like stripping a playfield, nerve racking at first but somehow it all comes together

Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #20 on: January 03, 2009, 02:42:41 PM »
Well i finally got a start on it last nite... got it mounted in my pf jig and completely stripped everything from the top side, removed the few bits of mylar that were on there without doing too much more damage which was good.

Just have to clean off the mylar glue and the dirt so i can make a start on saving it. Went out this morning and bought a few supplies.. new good quality artists paint brushes, paint etc. So its about time i got off my arse and did something hey? :lol

I've been doing this for a few years now, and most of the pf touchups i've had to do have been pretty easy.. mostly small patches.. til now. so this is definitely the most challenging pf restore i've taken on yet. i DO have a couple of plans on how to do this so im not too worried about it.

Cheers... Mitch
« Last Edit: January 03, 2009, 02:52:39 PM by Mr Pinbologist »

Offline illawarra_steelers

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #21 on: January 03, 2009, 04:02:46 PM »
Mitch,

Out of interest why did you decide to go down the touchup path rather than the scan/cleanup in paintshop etc. then reapply as a decal?

The reason I ask is I have a Gottlieb World Fair from 1964 that has an area of about 10cm square that has seen much better days just above the flippers. Was thinking of scanning/cleaning up/decal etc.

 

Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #22 on: January 03, 2009, 10:51:29 PM »
Mitch,

Out of interest why did you decide to go down the touchup path rather than the scan/cleanup in paintshop etc. then reapply as a decal?

The reason I ask is I have a Gottlieb World Fair from 1964 that has an area of about 10cm square that has seen much better days just above the flippers. Was thinking of scanning/cleaning up/decal etc.

 

Mainly because i usually cover my playfields with mylar, and unless the decal is really thin they do show up under mylar. so for that reason i want to try touching up the artwork first... if i screw it up i'll still have the backup plan of the decal route!

Offline Retropin

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #23 on: January 04, 2009, 01:14:41 AM »
Tony........ PLEEEEEEEASE!!!! Are you seriously telling me that you would consider putting a decal over a CLASSIC GTB 1964 machine??

mate, I will do it FOR FREE to prevent you from even considering this path. Send it up.. ill do it.


Decal !@# !@# How could you consider such sacrillege?

Ill do it for you..... but!!! you WILL owe me ( thinks UNIVERSE or SUNSHINE).

Seriously mate, consider it a favour to a good bloke - send it up, ill repaint it and CC. I WILL NOT let you decal

Offline Strangeways

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #24 on: January 04, 2009, 11:40:35 AM »
Tony........ PLEEEEEEEASE!!!! Are you seriously telling me that you would consider putting a decal over a CLASSIC GTB 1964 machine??

mate, I will do it FOR FREE to prevent you from even considering this path. Send it up.. ill do it.


Decal !@# !@# How could you consider such sacrillege?

Ill do it for you..... but!!! you WILL owe me ( thinks UNIVERSE or SUNSHINE).

Seriously mate, consider it a favour to a good bloke - send it up, ill repaint it and CC. I WILL NOT let you decal


makes mental note to target 50's and 60's machines with playfield wear and mention the work "decal".. &&

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Offline Retropin

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #25 on: January 04, 2009, 11:43:47 AM »
And i too make a mental not NOT to post after having a few beers!!!

Offline illawarra_steelers

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #26 on: January 04, 2009, 05:13:42 PM »
Tony........ PLEEEEEEEASE!!!! Are you seriously telling me that you would consider putting a decal over a CLASSIC GTB 1964 machine??

mate, I will do it FOR FREE to prevent you from even considering this path. Send it up.. ill do it.


Decal !@# !@# How could you consider such sacrillege?

Ill do it for you..... but!!! you WILL owe me ( thinks UNIVERSE or SUNSHINE).

Seriously mate, consider it a favour to a good bloke - send it up, ill repaint it and CC. I WILL NOT let you decal

Mitch,  @.@

Sorry for hijacking your original post.....

Gav - see: http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=513.0

Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #27 on: January 07, 2009, 11:41:28 AM »
Ok… I’ve made some pretty good progress with the PF over the last few days, and thought I’d post some of the results so far. The top 1/3rd of  the PF had mylar on it. The mylar I removed by heating with a heat gun on the low setting and carefully pulling it up. Unfortunately several small pieces of plywood came up with it near the top drop targets… these old Stern games must’ve used cheap plywood for the playfields, as I’ve now seen this happen to a few! Luckily they were only small pieces that could be easily filled and repainted..

The mylar glue I removed with Prepsol and rags and some hard work, luckily there wasn’t much mylar on this playfield, just around the bumper areas… unlike most Stern playfields that have no mylar at all. This I followed with a scrub down with Magic Eraser and isopropyl alcohol, this cleaned up most of the art nicely, but also removed some flaking paint as well that needed repairing.

The first few pics show some of the wear. Notice the first two… the kickout hole had been painted around with blue enamel paint which pretty much fell straight off when scraped with a blade! Also notice in the 2nd pic, bottom right corner, the huge gouge caused by the broken metal ball guide rail. Someone had stuck a large woodscrew in behind the guide to stop it moving, but the broken mounting lug still managed to dig a hole into the PF!!

Last pic shows the worn and badly redrawn and painted section between the slingshots… next post I’ll go into detail over the repairs.

Offline Mr Pinbologist

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #28 on: January 07, 2009, 11:49:44 AM »
As mentioned before some of the ply lifted near the top drop targets when the mylar was removed.. this was unavoidable. The 1st pic shows this. I decided to fill this damage with primer filler as it wasn’t too deep, 2nd pic shows the primer and paint I used to for the repairs.

First I carefully sanded the area to be filled before wiping down and filling with the K&H primer filler (bought from Repco autoparts). Rather than spraying this area I hand painted the primer on in several coats to build up the thickness. After it had dried I carefully sanded the primer back smooth and flat with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper (dry), before wiping down with Prepsol, and masking off each colour separately and spraying with acrylic auto touch up spray. (I removed the inserts prior to this as they were practically falling out anyway). The colour match wasn’t too bad at all… when masking off, I taped off the “bat” areas (lower sections furthest away from targets) and trimmed the masking tape close as practical to the black. The difference was hardly noticeable when the tape was removed… sweeeet!!

Last pic shows the results after the yellow, orange and red being done. Next… area between slingshots will be dealt with… im half way thru this part at the moment.. will post pics later showing how its coming along!!

Offline Creech

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Re: Stern Dracula restore
« Reply #29 on: January 07, 2009, 12:08:55 PM »
That looks great. Well done. Do you ever get problems with air bubbles using those spray cans? I always seem to get a few bubbles. Not sure if it's the way I'm applying it or not.