The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: Retropin on April 08, 2012, 10:43:05 PM
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i wasnt going to post this one... was just something i have been doing behind the scenes while BANK A BALL came together. But as usual.. these things blow out on me and as i restore one bit, the next looks shabby and so i go.. through the whole PF.
This is what i call a restore ( BANK A BALL was just a crazy repaint!).... 99% is there still, but some crazing in the paint has left white cracks and what is good is scuffed and tired.
What i do in these cases is airbrush what i need to.. some areas need a complete repaint ( between the bumpers).. some just need a wash. This where i match the paint ( be careful here.. you need to match what the paint looks like once a clear coat has gone down).. to do this, add a little spit from your finger to the PF area and youll see the colour change dramatically.. its this colour you need to match. Purple/ mauve change to pink.. white is actually an off green etc. It took me 2 nights and a few jars of off colour to match the pink/ mauve, white/ off green i got in 5 minutes, blue was about an hour.. yellow was a breeze.. havent mixed the green yet,
Anyway, a wash is the exact colour thinned right down.. apply with a No:10 brush.. and wider and you get brush strokes.. you simply apply the wash over the existing colour with your brush and it " lifts it" and brings it to life again.. can go right up to the edges of the black lines and if you have it thinned down correctly, even go over some of the black with say the blue or mauve ( not light colours) and it will darken this at the same time.
Between the bumpers was a write off.. once the Mylar was removed, it lifted all the text and most of the paint.. this area was bubbled up when i got her ( thanks Pinnies4me.. i bought this from him some 3 or 4 years back). as a result, ive repainted all this and today applied the text.. this was a bit of an experiment. I had to buy a new vinyl cutter this year as the old one decided it was going to cut whatever it felt like.. a few thousand dollars later i have a cutter that cuts fine text really good. The ADVANCE MULTIPLIER and MULTI - BONUS were done with this method. To do this, i need to apply the stencil and have my airbrush so the paint just about flows from her... 2 very fine layers and the text looks solid.
Anyway.. some before and after pics... still a work in progress but looking very alive and vivid already...
BEFORE
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore9.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore1-2.jpg)
AFTER
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SPIDERMAN2.jpg)
BEFORE
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore6-1.jpg)
AFTER
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SPIDERMAN3.jpg)
BEFORE
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore7-1.jpg)
AFTER
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SPIDERMAN4.jpg)
Im still working on her as you can see.. every bit of planking will be eventually painted out.. the only white ive touched is the text and of course many black lines have to be applied, but im sure you can see just what a spruce up can do for a PF.. once the clear goes on she will shine better than new!
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I really admire the skill required for this level of restoration.
Or should that be envy. *%*
Look forward to the rest of the resto, very nice so far.
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Mate.. in all honesty its all trial and error.. ive made lost of mistakes over the years and refined my technique over and over... i have a good system now that allows what already exists to still remain while restoring... gentle steps and whispers.
What ive learnt, ive shared, hence my restore threads.... vectorising text to suit, cutting in stencil and weeding out the unecessary is the trickiest part but the rest of it anyone can do so long as they know how.. anyone could do this io be honest ^^^
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Huge improvement already, it's looking great. I love reading these restoration threads and hope one day I might have the courage to try and bring a doomed machine back to life myself, so thanks for sharing.
A couple of questions though, Is there a certain type of vinyl you use to cut out and does the surface receive a light sand before you paint or is a clean all you need to do. Also what sort of planning goes into putting a playfield back together before you start pulling it apart? Lots of photos and labeling or do you have other tricks to getting it back together correctly? Sorry about all the questions (got about halfway through writing this and wondered wether this is the most appropriate place to ask these questions. Not really sure) but since finding the Aussie Pinball forum and reading the restorations i just find these threads completely facinating.
Anyway great work so far and I can't wait to see how it all progresses. ^^^
Cheers
Adam
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Whole PF is sanded back right at the start... removes any loose and flaking paint and also gives the new paint something to bite into. Any chipped paint should have its edges sanded to smooth if possible.
Vinyl i use is STENCIL MASK by AVERY... there are a few stencil vinyls out there and ive used most of them but have recently come back to the Avery brand as its a translucent blue and so you can see through it. For text areas etc i cover the mask with clear application tape, so i can align correctly. Mostly though i use a low tack paper app tape.
Often these days i dont stencil as much, i can balance my airbrush to give very thin lines and i can pretty much go to an edge free hand with it.
Yes.. take lots of pictures before you pull a playfield down... even then you end up with bags of parts in front of you while you scratch your head!
Best thing to do is just start somewhere... if you know this part definately goes in that place then put it there... now your pile of bits is a little smaller and its getting easier. All posts i normally place loose around the PF before screwing them down... allows you to determine where the different heights go... which ones need to go through a plastic etc
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Glad to see you getting round to this Jem. You had this tucked away in the corner when I visited your place years ago can't wait for your next update
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Thanks for he feed back, can't wait for your next up date.
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Glad to see you getting round to this Jem. You had this tucked away in the corner when I visited your place years ago can't wait for your next update
It took 3 years of waiting for a wide body lockdown bar to come up on Ebay... think i put a ridiculous bid of about $200 on it to ensure it was mine! Then i stripped her back and she sat in the restore queue till now.
She REALLY needs a new backglass.....
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Sunday is normally my day where i get to hide in my corner of the house doing my airbrushing. However, its rain/ sun/rain/sun and as such every bloody plant is pollenating and i have chronic hayfever... the paint sets this off and its impossible for me to work whilst sneezing and having goo drip from my nose.. im frustrated and dont know what to do with myself.
So... heres a small update with some Before and After pics... not a lot more to go on this... im applying black which means im nearing the end.
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore26.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Spidermanafter3.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Spidermanbefore1.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Spidermanafter2.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanPFbefore15.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Spidermanafter1.jpg)
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It's looking very very nice *%*
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GReast work as usualy Gav . ^^^
I can relate to damn hayfever , though as I've got older I don't seem to sufer from it as ofter as I used to
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Wow...looking good
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Got to the end of painting this last night and cleared her this morning... is looking good..
Below was the area that needed addressing the most. Not a lot of this survived once loose paint was taken off, but it looks the goods now..
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear4.jpg)
This area was a touch tricky.. spent over 4 hrs restoring this by laying down the base orange and then applying the yellow dots one by one with a magnifying lense and a very fine brush... it worked though!
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear3.jpg)
Nearly all text was replaced using the stencil method. first time ive done it like this and although great care has to be taken, the results speak for themselves
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear5.jpg)
Couple of relective pics to show the nice finish..
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear6.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear7.jpg)
And now the bad... well you didnt expect everything to go 100% did you?? LOL.
Didnt notice this little bugger as he had camflaged himself... must have been right after the first fine layer went down and before the top 2 coats...... not quite sure what to do here.. guess he is staying!
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/SpidermanClear1.jpg)
BLOODY BULL ANTS!!!!!
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Outstanding job Gav, looks really good mate!
The bull ant will now make it a LE machine for sure... :lol
I have never even seen one of these spideys in the flesh let alone played one... the artwork is excellent and is a very true representation of the comic books.
It looks like a cracking game.
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Amazing results mate. Really looking good.
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Outstanding job Gav, looks really good mate!
The bull ant will now make it a LE machine for sure... :lol
I have never even seen one of these spideys in the flesh let alone played one... the artwork is excellent and is a very true representation of the comic books.
It looks like a cracking game.
Gordon morrison did an amzing job with the artwork on this machine.. true to original artwork and classic pop art/ comic book style. have to say that i have really enjoyed repainting Spiderman and all his enemies... very few straight lines in this playfield which allowed me to do a lot of free hand black line work which i love to do.. skills i dont often use in playfield restoration... this has been by far my favourite PF to repaint, had real enthusiasm to keep going.
problem is that the PF now looks so good, the cabinet looks bloody awful.. you know where im going next....LOL
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Ohh wow, what can i say? that is amazing work. unreal it boggles my brain these sort of skills
seeing some of this sort of thing being done here, im almost tempted to buy a dodgy old random playfield and and try and learn how to do a few things, im sure id stuff it up but might get a few bits right maybe.
I might ask for some advice at some point.
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Ohh wow, what can i say? that is amazing work. unreal it boggles my brain these sort of skills
seeing some of this sort of thing being done here, im almost tempted to buy a dodgy old random playfield and and try and learn how to do a few things, im sure id stuff it up but might get a few bits right maybe.
I might ask for some advice at some point.
Go for it.. its how i started but with a lot of trial and error along the way. I dont take on anyone elses work anymore for various reasons, but to counteract that, i am l more than willing to share any technique i know.. if i find a better one, ill share that too... ask any question you like. restoration is going to be a major part of the future of pinball..ive been doing it for 20 years and i post these threads so others can realise that good results are within reach for anyone... time...patience and a few tips will make good results. Golden rule is that any restoration is done with whispers not shouts.. retain what you can and improve whats necessary... be gentle.
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cheers, what is the best paints to start with? ive had plenty of experience with painting cars, but as you know only part of that which would be usefull to me is having a bit of understanding of paints, and thats about it i would imagine, as this is small scale and a hell of allot fiddly, is airbrushing the best way to go?
bugger it ive decided im going to buy an old play-field, this is inspirational stuff. ill be interested to see how badly i stuff it up, but as you said thats the best way to learn.
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By far enamels are the easiest to mix as red + blue = purple. problem is thta they take sooo log to dry and so progress is slow. if colour matching then straight acrylic can be painful as it dries darker and so you need to mix to a dry rather than whats in the mix jar. I use a lot of acrylic lacquer.. its amost true to colour once dried but mixing os completely different.. you need lots of tints as red + blue dont make purple, it makes a shitty brown.
For a single PF and for ease of use then go buy lots of Humbrol enamel small tiins..... i love these.. quality paints thta miox well and what you mix stays true when dried.
For quicker dry.. then something like Tamiya acylic is really nice to work with.. almost true to colour.. dries slightly darker.,
Which ever way you go doesnt matter....its what works for you.. all will need to be sealed though.. be it a polurathane or CC
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Awesome job mate ^^^
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That is very very nice. Great work!
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Outstanding work again Gav! Luckily the Bull ant got trapped on a black line %.%
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Outstanding work again Gav! Luckily the Bull ant got trapped on a black line %.%
Dug that bugger out!!!
Then put a drop of clear over the top... is slightly raised but better than a bull ant.
Had it been a spider, i may have kept it..LOL
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Absolutely brilliant Gav anyone who can touch up a playfield like that is truly talented.
At least the ant had the decency to die on a black line. @@*