To restore or not to restore

[braddo]

I'm pretty much ready to start touching up one of my pins, and i'm really looking forward to it.

There is wear around the bonus inserts, down to the wood, and some of the printed numbers in those areas are nearly worn away. I have a few ideas as to try and fix the problem with numbers/letters, but where would you guys stop and start?

If I go for it i'll be taking my time and attempt to get it right, but it will take away the natural look of the art no matter how perfect the job get's done, because it will never be original, and even though the bonus insert area has a worn look, it still looks authentic, natural and even kinda cool.

I'm not worried about losing/gaining value BTW, that's got nothing to do with it. Just divided between having it seem new, or keeping it original. My only concern is this part of the playfield, other parts I will be touching up for sure (areas with no printed letters or numbers).

What would you do? Where would you stop and start? and, how do you guys deal with worn numbers/letters on a playfield? (Maybe I should have put this in the restoration threads but I think it's a pretty open question, mods can move this if needed).

[pinnies4me]

That's a hard one. I've done some **very** minor touch up, but it's just not my thing, I do not seem to be able to judge colours (although I have no problem with colour vision). Just not my thing - my sisters (both artists) are excellent at it, and one did a little work on a couple of games for me. I tend to leave it, due to lack of skill.

[Pop Bumper Pete]

What game is it?

You could look at this game as a practice machine, we have all read the threads on restorations and wish we could do the same
by restoring this game it may make you feel more comfortable to take on more difficult projects or game that have a higher value

I would go for it

[braddo]

Well I don't want to use any of my pins as a 'practice' machine, I'm going to go see a sign writer mate and have a chat. That's why I say i can get it looking great but it will never be 'printed' or 'look' exactly how it's meant to, and once i start there's no going back, no second chance. It's only a pin I guess, and at the moment i'm leaning towards having it look good rather than be original. Hate these f#u#king decisions. One thing is, I need to protect the remaining art so touching up all the way might be the only solution?? Mmmm now I'm talking to myself again .

[Strangeways]

at the moment, it is down to wood - so by touching up the areas, you will be improving the playfield - regardless of your work. If you follow some of the guys work in this area - you should be able to make a start. I'm in the same boat - I avoid touch ups wherever possible (due to my lack of skill) - but it is something I want to learn.

[braddo]

OK so i went and talked to an old school sign writer i know, he said he could repaint the worn numbers and letters by hand but recommended I first look at computer cut vinyl lettering. I have thought about the idea of sticking on vinyl but i thought it would sit 'above' the playfield and stand out. Well, he printed out a few numbers and stuck it on some cardboard and looks really good, the vinyl is a LOT thinner than i thought it would be, and he also has vinyl that matched the perfect colour of what i need, and the numbers and lettering are small so the resto work will be un-noticeable from what I can picture so far. Now just a matter of taking a photo of the numbers/letters i need, scanning them, then cutting them out on his computer. Brilliant! I'm all for the idea now that i know what it's going to look like. I'll post some pics in the resto section in few weeks or so.

Anyone else tried doing this??

I'm also considering doing this with the worn printed black 'rings' around certain bonus inserts, then polish/wax, it will look very nice i reckon, a lot better/neater than paint. Also, the vinyl material is not brittle, it is slightly stretchable so as the ball rolls over it i'm thinking it will look better and better and almost flatten itself on the playfield surface. As far as wearing it out, i've got signs made of this stuff on the doors of my truck and it's gone six years outdoors in the weather without a wash and it still looks great.

[Caveoftreasures]

If I had to do resto work on a playfield that required repainting etc etc, I would take the machine to a guy 20 mins away from where i live at a place called Underwood QLD, where there is a shop with a guy who is probably one of Australias best airbrush artists.

This guy does airbrush jobs on everything from motor bike helmets, bonnets of hotrod cars, wall art, you name it, he does it.

This guys airbrush work is absolutely amazing and i know that he would have an extensive knowledge of paints n applications on any and everything.

I dont think he would be that expensive either, cause anything i throw at him, would be a piece of piss.

You can try the stencil stuff with mylar over the top etc, but you may need paint work fading a colour in and out of an area and
thats where only paint will do. 

[braddo]

Yeah COT i understand, but i'm ONLY going to use vinyl for numbers and lettering, and possibly insert rings, which are all a single colour.