Firepower Playfield Restoration...

[el_timbo86]

Hi guys,

I have been working on this playfield for a while now, and thought i may as well post some of my reference photos for all to see.

This playfield restoration is part of a complete machine rebuild which is being carried out me (Pinball Tales) and Marty at MPR (Melbourne Pinball Restorations).
It is a game belonging to a member here, but i will let him respond to this thread before i mention any names?

ANYWAYS, I have been contracted to carry out the playfield rework, as well as the cabinet restore.

The following are photos detailing the stages of work required to achieve a lovely flat playfield.

This is the playfield after removal of mylar glue, and lots of other nasties...this is actually much improved over what i had previously...


Still some glue etc to remove...


Mid area, still alot of glue...


With the starting base ready, here is the work being carried out as required...

Shooter lane is filthy and will need to be reshaped...


reshaped nicely, still a little work to do but much nicer...


Prepsol wiped over with a clean rag gives a good indicator of how it will look when cleared...can still be improved


Identified wear and tear to be finished...


Again...


Needs to be reshaped...


Inserts carefully removed (does the name give it away  ) these were badly cupped, and needed to be re-levelled...


Inserts removed...


Damaged corners etc repaired...


Again...


Levelled inserts are re-installed and carefully pressed flat with the playfield...


Again...


After alot of careful prep work (THIS IS KEY) playfield is ready for clear...cleared for the first time. Will lock up art and start to level damaged field...


Again...


This playfield is AWESOME to look at, i really love the art...


Playfield is blocked back after cure, and you can now see our severe problem. Matte against gloss makes all problems MUCH more apparent...


More...


Two LIGHT clears down. The first was mostly taken up by the ply grain, leaving that Stern effect...this will help combat that...


Improving...


Improving but simply clearing the playfield until level is NOT the answer (in my opinion)...


Blocked out again, no more gloss 


Problem areas are everywhere...


Hmmmm...


A secret weapon of mine, flexible, and will not go brittle once fully cured. Worth every cent...


More...


Finished...


Overview...


After cure, blocked back - and ready for the next stage...


Much improved...


Cleared for the third time. This will again be blocked out, so i can refinished the artwork...


This is much better...Clear can now level out nice...AND FLAT


Blocked out and ready for art...


This is where i'm at with this one, sorry for the HUGE post, but Daniel (ddstoys) was sure people would enjoy seeing such a post.

I will keep this one updated too, as the ES is being restored in the same rotation...

Timbo

[pinnies4me]

Hey, is that a LAKE behind your house reflecting?? ;)

[faza]

Wow i dont know how you do it im struggling to find time to restore one machine looking forward to another great restoration.

[ddstoys]

Glad you posted these Tim still can't get over the photo where you can't tell if your looking at the house or the reflection I'm seriously motivated rondo mine now might even get it to yours on the weekend just incase your not busy enough

[scratcha]

Ok Ok This is my baby...
Man if only this machine could talk..
Originally I bought this machine sight unseen off ebay from a fellow in the Albury area.. With a backglass at the time
Unfortunately the guy had to collect the machine from its location return home and pack it ready for a freight company to collect.. Thats where my purchase got interesting the owner at the time rings me to say he has returned home and bugger me the backglass is gone.. WTF you mean the glass has gone ?? Check these pictures of a great way to transport a pinball machine. Note the Pie on top of the head box...
[/img]

Long story short the poor old baby had some major issues including some major mylar issues... Interesting story but the mylar did prove a real sticking point and not an easy job to remove by traditional methods (HeatGun)... Thnaks to another member here we actually put the complete playfield in a bakers pie oven, heated the playfield to around 95 degrees and removed the mylar with pretty good results...
Thankfully now the machine is in good hands and enjoying a complete resto at Pinball Tales and Melbourne Pinball Restorations these guys have been awesome and look at the results already... The playfield is looking far and above whatI expected already cant wait for the end result............

[ktm450]

Look forward to watching the progress on this one mate 

[FirePower]

That looks sensational! 

Can I ask what glue you use to put inserts back in? I'm in two minds that if you use something like PVA you can get the insert out again if needed but it may loosen with heat, wear etc if you use superglue it's in for good so can't get it out if say the insert cups. So what does a pro do?

[el_timbo86]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Relatively small update, but i got a bit done today.

This is the overview of the playfield. Note that MAJOR wear occurs in the starfield at the top of the playfield...

Upper...


Middle...


Lower...


With the black masked, paint went down...


And removed...


Upper is much cleaner, but needs to be sharpened up...


Next up will be the 'white' sections. Over the years, the colours have changed in tone, so i will match it to suit the rest of the field...more of a creamy colour...

Timbo

[ktm450]

Looks 100 times better already 

[goodolddays]

Looks great so far Timbo . I can already see myself splashing out one day and shipping mine down to you to work your magic.   

[thefasteddy69]

Oh man I thought that photo of the clearcoat on the PF was an piece of glass at first! Mostly because of the reflection of the house in the background.
That is sensational , nice work

[ddstoys]

Oh man I thought that photo of the clearcoat on the PF was an piece of glass at first! Mostly because of the reflection of the house in the background.
That is sensational , nice work

It really is a sensational photo if you flip it around a few times you really need to stop and look to work out which is the house and which is the reflection

[Strangeways]

I thought your back yard was under water in that picture !

Truly inspiration work, Timbo - Thanks for sharing your work - encourages others to have a go !

[el_timbo86]

Glad to see people enjoying these posts, along with the client 

I cant devote a whole day at a time to a particular project as i have a few others in the rotation, but here are a few updates from the past few days...

Star field has been refinished over the new black. The star field should be quite accurate, as i used sectioned references of the playfield to make sure they were as close to original as possible.

Starfield being put back in...


After these went down, the off white was matched and finished out to leave a much healthier playfield.

Looking much sharper...


Next step was to address the 'death star' space station. These were the problem areas-

One...


Two...


Three...


Four...


Next step was to get the colours ready to go...I used these colours to achieve the FP purple...


First area blocked in and already much improved...


Next...


Next...


This is the most difficult area due to the half tone technique used with screen printing. Very hard to duplicate, and this is the first colour down. Once i add red, blue and green it should be well hidden...UNLESS you go looking for it...


Overview of the 'death star' work for today...will be sharpened up but much cleaner all things considered...


Lower area is up next, and the light blue areas have been finished out. All other colours are yet to be corrected, but it looks much nicer...


Much nicer than what the client had to start with...


And here...


And this is the field currently...


Timbo

[ddstoys]

That starfield looks great i was actually worried when you sprayed it all black but cam out really well cant wait to see this in the flesh.