Author Topic: A few questions before first resto attempt  (Read 2216 times)

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Offline Ford Fairlane

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A few questions before first resto attempt
« on: January 30, 2013, 07:28:19 PM »
hey Guys,

As you may have read i have recentlt bought a Grand Slam but i wopuld like some opinions please.

1. The first option i was looking at was to deal with the heavy planking by colour matching a water based acrylic, smearing it onto to small areas at a time and wiping it off so that paint only remains in grooves. Is this viable?

2. If not, then i believe i have to paint the whole PF and using water decals for text

The reason why i think its 1 of the above options is that the entire PF is planked so its an all or nothing approach  !@#

Oh also, as i know nothing about paint, ive read lots of restos and everyone seems to have a different paint choice.. enamels, lacquered acrylic, etc. Im sure its a water based acrylic that i want but is it a gloss, semi gloss etc.. im so sorry i know i sound like such a noob.

Anyway, comments and advice greatly appreciated


Offline Boots

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2013, 07:36:47 PM »
Post some photos of the playfield to help with comments.

If you were going to attempt the touchup method you describe, I suggest you clean the playfield as best you can and clear coat it firs to lock in the existing, then attempt your touchups and work from there.
Water based acrylics are good because if you make a mistake you can clean it off easily with a wet sponge.

Offline Retropin

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2013, 08:03:38 PM »
A couple of things:
Planking is caused by the expansion and contraction of the timber PF... it cracks the paint along the grain. Often this  cracking is very small and if on darker colours then it can be painted out quite easily. What you do have to do first though is try to get any dirt and grease out of the cracks, so Magic E and Meths is good for this.. work along the grain, not against.
Personally, i dont use water based acrylics as the drying colour is darker than the wet colour.. it can take ages to match a colour perfectly with water based.
Enamels are my favourite,,, very easy to mix, colour doesnt vary with drying and they are readily available... drawback with these is that it takes a whole day for a single colour to dry which makes for slow progress.
A compromise is made here and so i use acrylic lacquers.. they dont mix so well and you have to have more tints as base colours.. they dry VERY slightly darker than the wet colour and they dry really fast and so good progress can be made with these.

When painting the PF.. you MUST give the paint something to grip to. So a light sand is required.. if you use enamels then mix a little Penetrol into the paint.. it helps with the grip, or you can wipe over the PF and let dry - both will work well.

decide before you start as to what final finish you are going to use... Mylar, CC or even Polyurathane works very well. If CC or PThane then you have to mix your colours to how the PF will look once protected... this is especially important if you have given it a light sand and so now have a misty effect on it. Its easy to replicate the colours.. dab some spit on your finger tip and place onto the area you are trying to match... this is how it will look with the final coat on and this is the colour you must match... its a leap of faith to paint an off colour.. but once its cleared, its invisible.. trust me..LOL.

Now then.. planking..

With darker colours i normally make a wash up.. this is just a thinned out paint and i paint the whole area with a soft brush.. its very quick to do, deepens the existing colours and after a couple of washes, the planking is gone... clear this and it all looks 100% again.
Planking on the off white is a different kettle of fish as the dirt shows up like dogs testicles and so for the white, i normally match the colour and airbrush the entire area/shape... its the only way as a brush will leave noticeable drag lines. This " white" is NOT white.. there is no white on a pinball... often its a base of white with a lot of yellow ochre added and sometimes just a touch of blue or red... you wont believe how brown it looks in your mixing jar, but once added to the PF, chances are its still too light. your eyes will lie to you with this colour... keep getting it darker until your colour spot/dab blends into the existing off white... paint it too light and it glares out of the PF and just doesnt look right.

If the planking is so far gone that the paint is curling at the edges, then you could be in for a lot of work... paint your wash as normal and then CC over the top or P'thane.... apply several coats to build up a decent level and then sand back to smooth... the CC will seal whats left and you are sanding off just the tips of the curled paint... you can then apply the wash again if necessary and then a final finish coat.

Hope this helps.. and best of luck to you!

Offline Ford Fairlane

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2013, 08:14:41 PM »
Thanks heaps Gav!

i am going to Mylar the completed PF (i just dont like the shine of CC on an EM) . Now when you say acrylics dry darker, cant i just take a pantone swatch in and say "thats the colour i want" and assume its the same as the swatch when dry? And whats the ration to make up a wash?

Also, i was afraid you would say i need to spray the white.. means the lettering will need to be decaled (my hand isnt steady enough to redo text) and im afraid that decals will show as a lump under Mylar  !@#

Offline Retropin

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2013, 08:40:01 PM »
If you use 80% full gloss and 20% semi gloss mix P'Thane then it will match the original lacquer finish perfectly.. just the right amount of shine.

With the text and of course some very good colour matching, you can use a clear contact over the area.. use a ruler to cut along top and bottom edges of the text ( so text is masked off with clear).. spray, then remove the contact, it will leave the text in full... any planking between letters can be painted out with a fine brush. If the text is small then the planking will hardly be noticeable.

Ratio to make up a wash? Couldnt tell you... its done by eye, but its thin enough to leave no brush marks when dry and also if say washing a blue and you inadvertently make a small wipe over some white then it hardly notices... so.. er... pretty thin?

Offline Boots

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2013, 08:41:17 PM »
The good think about acrylics is they do dry faster, so it's easy to paint a single brush stroke then check it in 5 minutes time after it's dried.
Use a mixing tray and make sure you mix plenty of paint so you don't run out, this also prevents the paint from drying on your mixing tray.

Offline Ford Fairlane

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2013, 08:51:49 PM »
The whole playfield looks like this...

Also , can you tell me a good "wash ratio" and if i ask for a pantone match, is this a dry match?

« Last Edit: January 30, 2013, 08:55:30 PM by Ford Fairlane »

Offline Retropin

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2013, 09:03:50 PM »
Thats PF is good!

I wouldnt be doing a wash on that.. its more " spot" wear and each spot gets painted out with a small brush... just go round dabbing them out

Offline Ford Fairlane

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2013, 09:12:27 PM »
while there is no paint lifting because of the planking, im afraid my photography is crap and , making the PF look better than it is. Thanks so much for your responses. Will start on the weekend! fingers crossed i dont ruin this!

Offline Strangeways

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2013, 10:51:14 AM »

I think the smearing technique could work well here, as the wear is not bad - but the planking needs to be flattened with a light sand. If you use mylar to protect your playfield, the raised areas are going to look like crap. If you clearcoat, then it will fill and flatten. Being your first attempt, I would suggest practicing on an old playfield. Do a bit more research on clear coating, as this is a very involved process.

See how you go with the magic eraser, as the playfield will significantly improve after this process.
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Offline Ford Fairlane

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2013, 06:42:21 PM »

I think the smearing technique could work well here, as the wear is not bad - but the planking needs to be flattened with a light sand. If you use mylar to protect your playfield, the raised areas are going to look like crap. If you clearcoat, then it will fill and flatten. Being your first attempt, I would suggest practicing on an old playfield. Do a bit more research on clear coating, as this is a very involved process.

See how you go with the magic eraser, as the playfield will significantly improve after this process.

Lots of great advice and with all the research ive done, i have lots of knowledge to absorb. Yep i really do want to practice all these techniques on a crap PF so i will bump my previous WTB playfield thread..

I looked at pinballrepair site where he does paint and smear and the results werent great in my eyes ... i know the flash photography has something to do with it so i want to try these techniques on something that doesnt matter... otherwise i have to take the plunge and learn on my grand slam  !!!

Offline Retropin

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2013, 07:08:48 PM »
Paint and smear is no good... you are basically rubbing the faults out to thin so they dont notice so much... this isnt necessary if you colour match well... you can use paint to " fill" small chips in the PF.. if using Mylar then you have to fill with paint.. If CC etc then you fill with the clear or final coat. Always wash the PF down before you do the CC though as dust gets caught in the lines of the colour fill and shows up the edges.. wash with a damp cloth forst and they become invisible once cleared off.

I did a YouTube video of a wash once... let me see if i can dig it out...

... mmm - cant find it, if i could rememnber what machine i was working on i might have more luck

Offline Ford Fairlane

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2013, 07:19:25 PM »
Gav, im pretty sure that i dont want to mylar anymore. My aztec has mylar over some parts of the playfield and the dirt that accumulates around it makes it look like crap. Im pretty sure i want to CC even if i dont do it myself. Also contemplating enamel paint due to colour "trueness".

Might buy an airbrush this weekend and practice on wood while trying to get colours right

Offline Retropin

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Re: A few questions before first resto attempt
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2013, 07:24:22 PM »
For EM's the Polyurathane is an easy way to go... its linseed based same as the original finish and dries hard enough for a steel ball to roll over it... if its good enough for a floor, its good enough for a PF..

Anyway, found that " wash" video. Paints im using are acrylic lacquers.. they dry super fast.
For enamels then the small HUMBROL tins are magic... its high quality enamel that flows off the brush really nicely, they also come in a huge range and you can mix any colour with them. If right handed and using these.. then start in the top left corner and work your way down... prevents putting the side of your hand in your work and dabbing it all over the PF... LOL - ive ben there!