Stern Galaxy Restore

[Strangeways]

Its all about enjoying yourself, and ensuring a once forgotten and neglected machine finds a good home.

I have almost finished the cabinet, pictures to follow tomorrow - But I'm really pleased with the progress !

[Strangeways]

Cabinet

As with most of these machines, the cabinet looked rough and suffered from some corrosion. The paintwork was intact and VERY good - being a Stern, the paint has not faded, and a quick clean will have the cabinet looking very good. The door is a bit of a problem, but that will get sorted out later - so don't let the pictures have you reaching for the bucket !

Before









Resident Spider, unfortunately didn't make the trip - alive 





The Process

Every part is removed - every screw is removed. Anything not bolted is removed. Then the parts are washed with boiling water and nifti. Let everything soak for a while. When the water is warn, clean everything with a scotchbrite pad - I go through plenty of these. Then the fun begins - all screws etc are soaked for 30 minutes, then washed again in boiling water and windex. Finally dried and placed in the tumbler for 4 hours. Not done yet - Each individual screw is buffed on the bench grinder. Seems like a lot of work - but it has to be done !

All other parts are cleaned and either painted at a later date, or polished.


Progress

After a very thorough clean, the cabinet looks very good. Still have some regraining to do - but I will order new nails and regrain the side rails then and there. So here are the pictures ;








Legs


These are the proper 28 1/2 inch Stern legs. They are instantly recognizable, as they have the paint applied with a pattern - a "hammered finish", which I really like. There were in bad shape, so I straightened them as best I can and gave them a clean ;

The two on the left have been cleaned with Nifti and a scotchbrite pad. The two on the right were "as is".




Now they have been cleaned and prepared with the wire brush on the bench grinder. Ready for painting ;





First coat is thin, the next is a little thicker. Then it must be left for 3 days, and repainted. They will look like this (still wet)





Coin Door


What a mess ! corroded and dirty - nuff said !







Again - Stripped, cleaned, treated with ranex, but still not good ! I had to strip the paint off with Citrus Strip. Then with a wire brush - remove all traces of corrosion. This took 6 hours to have it ready for painting.

Here's the individual parts after painting ;




The front Door - looking VERY good !





I'm very pleased with the "hardest" part of the restoration - the coin door !

 

[illawarra_steelers]

Nice work bud,

Out of interest what did you use to spray the coin door and the legs? (sorry if I missed that in your posts)

[Strangeways]

I have a very detail post here, tony ;

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=83.0


It is White Knight Hammered Finish - Silver - Bunnings have it for $15 !

[Creech]

Very impressive work!

[Strangeways]

Very impressive work!

Glad you like it mate - I love doing classic Sterns !

[ajlaird]

I was expecting to see Ranex at work on that door, but I guess you didn't need it this time around.

[Strangeways]

I was expecting to see Ranex at work on that door, but I guess you didn't need it this time around.

I actually did use ranex AFTER I stripped the paint off with Citrus Strip. Ranex and a hand held wire brush. I then used the Bench Grinder with the wire fitting. It is guaranteed not to rust !

[ajlaird]

I was expecting to see Ranex at work on that door, but I guess you didn't need it this time around.

I actually did use ranex AFTER I stripped the paint off with Citrus Strip. Ranex and a hand held wire brush. I then used the Bench Grinder with the wire fitting. It is guaranteed not to rust !

Oops, somehow I skipped reading that particular caption. It sounds like a lot of hard work even with Ranex.

[Mr Pinbologist]

Jeez that cabinet came up great!! looks like it was in pretty good nick, not needing a repaint! everytime i come across these old sterns they are beaten to crap. And Galaxy is yet another id like to stumble across one day

Keep up the great work and keep inspiring me, to get off my arse and get stuck into my Zac Universe!!!

Cheers Mitch

[ddstoys]

Great Job again Nino.  I might have missed it in your post but what is Ranex?

[ajlaird]

"Ranex Rustbuster converts rust from a detrimental oxide to a phosphate of iron, thus prolonging the life of the metal and paint."

He has mentioned it before in other restoration threads as a good product to use.

[silverball]

Great job once again Nino.

[bobaloobus]

Its all about enjoying yourself, and ensuring a once forgotten and neglected machine finds a good home.

I have almost finished the cabinet, pictures to follow tomorrow - But I'm really pleased with the progress !

With a great attitude towards your work, it's know wonder they turn out immaculate.
"Simpley Stunning

[Strangeways]

Pictorial Update !

I've installed most of the hardware, still have to do some more work there, but there's enough done for an update. The legbolts are polished and the legs installed. Lockdown bar assembly is finally installed as well.

I had to remove the siderails - they needed to be regrained (windex and 360 wet / dry), and the nails were just rusted and looked poor. I've only done one side, as this needs to be a job that is done carefully. Here is some pictures of the side I finished tonight ;






Repairs to the body

Only part that needed repair was the assembly in between the head and body. This was broken. I removed the nails and simply sanded the wood clean, made sure it was still square and glued / screwed and nailed the four pieces into place;








The inside of the cab is finally coming together.





Hey - where did the spider go ?








The Door - NIICE !