Gottlieb Buccaneer Restoration

[Strangeways]

Some additional work to the Buccaneer. I finished off some more clearcoating. Mainly the shooter lane, and this would be a good test to see if the clear I'm using is a good match to the original varnish (as Gavin suggested). Today, I found out it is a PERFECT match. The shooter lane is in great condition anyway, but I thought I'd give it a try.

First, I masked off the area that was not worn - so I was only painting the worn area (an "after" shot - not a "before" shot) ;





A quick spray od clearcoat through the airbrush ;





It blends in prefectly. I'll give it a second coat tomorrow.


I also finished off the pop bumper area with a quick clear - and it "darkened" the area to the point where it now matches the surrounding area. Pleased with the results.





The white area was also finished off. It is a little "too white", but I'm still very pleased with the outcome.





 

[Wotto]

HOLY SH*T NINO

I go away for a month, come back and see that YOU have become a bloody airbrush expert.
Sweet Jesus man - you, the one that has always told me that you have 'zero artistic skills'
You are inspiring me to start on the Joker Poker playfield seeing these results mate

Congrats for having a go and being quite damn succesful on your first attempts 

Now ......to teach you Photoshop 

[Strangeways]

Honestly Wotto - it is not that hard, but I'm only "scratching the surface". I've put in plenty of hours, but I've enjoyed the learning curve and I face the future restores with confidence. I' m even attempting clearcoating 

Photoshop = "information overload" 

[Strangeways]

While I wait for some insert masks, I thought I'd address the backglass and the apron. Since the playfield is in such great condition, I thought it would be a good idea to refinish the apron. So I ordered the decal from Lee at Pinballrescue and started prepping the apron for a repaint.

Here is the faded apron ;





I used Citrus strip from Bunnings. Took three applications and then I final clean with prepsol.





White Knight Etch Primer was applied. Required two thin coats and left to dry





The weather has been CRAP so I can't paint the top coat until there is a nice day of 15 degrees or better - with some sun !


So instead, I move on to the backglass. I need to seal the backglass to prevent flaking. I will be retouching the glass to improve it slightly, but not while it is flaking !

Here's what I'm using. There has been debate over the longevity and durability of Krylon Triple Thick, but I have backglasses I sprayed 10 years ago that show no signs of deterioration or have any adverse effects. The can on the left is over 10 years old and I used the last of this can to seal this backglass.




Here's the backglass prior to clearing. All it needs is a good clean with a wet rag with some windex applied to the rag. When working on a flaking backglass, NEVER use compressed air or spray anything on it. Spray the windex on the wag and "dab" the glass, don't wipe. If you find an area that is flaking, just LEAVE IT DIRTY rather than risk lifting more paint.





Mask the area where the scorereel and credit windows are located. When you are ready to apply, hold the can 20 cms or more away from the glass and apply a mist coat moving quickly across the glass horizontally. Do the same vertically - to create the overlap. Wait 5 minutes and then give it a THICK coat - horizontally and then Vertically. I tried something different on this glass. Instead of waiting 24 hours for the next coat, I did it an hour later. Not as thick as the prior coat, and mainly in the area where it was flaking.

I left the glass for 48 hours (on a flat surface while it is drying), and here is the results - Very happy !





I'll start the repaint in the bad areas on the weekend.

[goodolddays]

Gday Nino . That glass looks pretty good already (from the back anyway)

[Strangeways]

Gday Nino . That glass looks pretty good already (from the back anyway)

The flaking section is in the top section near the match numbers. I will have to repaint areas which do look obvious when looking at the front of the glass 

The sail is the main issue, I have the paint, just have to wait for the weather to improve !

[Steve2010]

The sail is the main issue, I have the paint, just have to wait for the weather to improve !

This will be of alot of interest, as I have at least one backglass (my Freedom) that does need to be touched up.  I have TT'ed it, and will need to get around to painting some parts of it where the paint has flaked off.  Rather than asking you about the paints you will be using and the method, happy to wait until the story continues to unfold.  I know that there is Clay's guide as well, but it's always good to learn this interactively with a resto thread on the forum.

[Strangeways]

Steve - I will be using the same paint (Jo Sonja) that Timbo recommended. Plan is to attempt the easy parts (sail and sky section), then deal with the hard part - the match numbers. Anything is better than missing paint. It will be challenging to match the paint, but the great thing about Jo Sonja is that there are a wide range of colors and it is really easy to mix colors to find a match.

[ktm450]

Do you triple thick all your backglasses Nino, or just the ones that are starting to flake?  The reason I ask is the Volley I restored was fairly good but had a couple of small sections where it had just started to lift similar to your buccaneer bg but not quite as much, is it worth doing to prevent any further damage?

[Strangeways]

Do you triple thick all your backglasses Nino, or just the ones that are starting to flake?  The reason I ask is the Volley I restored was fairly good but had a couple of small sections where it had just started to lift similar to your buccaneer bg but not quite as much, is it worth doing to prevent any further damage?

I decide on whether I'm going to triple thick on a "case by case" basis. If there is any sign of flaking, I will attempt to TT the area  - if it is small enough, or if there are several sections, I will TT the entire glass. In this case, I had one large area and a couple of smaller areas. It is easy to just to do the entire glass once you gain confidence and know how to apply the TT. I would have to see pictures of the rear of the Volley to decide. Certainly, if it is peeling, I'd definitely takes steps to arrest the peeling with TT.


I've waited almost a week and I'm really pleased with the TT on this glass. I cleaned the scorereel windows and started the task of touching up the peeled sections. Again, I'm using Jo Sonja paints, but with a fine brush. No need to use the airbrush. Here's a picture of the area that has had significant peeling (now sealed) ;





And the REAR of the section that I will be touching up





The overall bacjglass prior to the touch ups ;





So all I did was match the paint. The "sail" area was an EXACT match with a paint "off the shelf", as was the yellow sections. I mixed the read and pink closely, but I had to redo the blue as initially it was too dark. That's the beauty of sealing the backglass and working with these paints. I was able to check the color match AFTER it dried - it was too dark, so I used Metho to rub it off and start again - mixing the blue a little bit lighter.


Here's the finished backglass that I will test with some backlight before completely finishing it ;





It looks MUCH better in this photo.


Playfield Update


Waiting for Aussie Post to send me some insert stencils from Gavin, so I thought I'd add some hardware and work on the playfield. The wooden siderails were sanded and repainted using the Cabot's clear that I've been using on the clearcoat work. The finish is incredibly good. I mixed some flat varnish so it was not too glossy. I've installed the metal arch as well. This was polished using Brasso on the powdercoated white finish, and I polished the metal hardware on the buffing wheel. A bit hard to see in the pictures, but the entire section looks great. I used the treasurecove kit to polish the entire playfield (except the right inlane and outlane that need the inserts painted) and it come up VERY nice. It has the exact sheen I would expect from an EM. I used their NEW wax compound to finish it off and it really looks great. One word of warning - the polishing compound react with sharpies - so be careful !














I'm really pleased with the progress of this restoration, but it has taken me SO LONG ! Results are pleasing, so I will continue the work. A rather massive order arrived from PBR late this week, so I'm keen !

 

[Mr Pinbologist]

Looking pretty sweet Nino  

re backglass touchups in lit sections, i usually shine a light from under the glass as im brushing the paint on. this gives me a bit of an idea how thick the paint is going on and how translucent the paint is. I did this today with my Quickdraw glass. I usually apply the paint with the light shining from underneath, then flip the glass over to see how its looking with light shining thru it...

Just a little trick that i use doing Bg touchups. Your Bg is looking great btw  

[Steve2010]

That sail and flag have really seen the battle front during the years!

Looking at the wider image you have shown for the BG, it really is a matter of fortune that the affected areas are more straight forward to touch up.  Colour matching is still very important of course (and the result is stunning).  But you can imagine if the affected areas were say the pirate's faces, or the intricate details on the distant ship.  I would imagine that touching these up takes on a whole new level.  Keenly following this, as I mentioned, I have a few BG's to do in the near future.

Is this a case of simply brushing on the paint (thin layers at a time)?  You have mentioned the paint that you have used (Jo Sonja), but what types of paints can be used, or should also be avoided?

Playfield - again, stunning.  I now am beginning to know how you guys feel who have done restorations.  They seem to take forever!!  But the patience and effort is worth it.  I'm doing 6 machines at the same time (first time doing it) - a little bit here and there.  Man, it just eats up the hours.  Yes, resto threads will appear sometime in the (hopefully near) future.

Nino, wonderful stuff, keep it up, the pain is worth it! 

[Strangeways]

The sail area is where the match numbers are, so the touch ups will be seen at the conclusion of each game. The area is not backlit, so I'm "getting away with it". I brushed the jo sonja paint on - a little too thick - and two coats. I might TT the repainted areas depending on how it looks. I thinned the paint so it could be brushed easily.

[ktm450]

The sail area is where the match numbers are, so the touch ups will be seen at the conclusion of each game. The area is not backlit, so I'm "getting away with it". I brushed the jo sonja paint on - a little too thick - and two coats. I might TT the repainted areas depending on how it looks. I thinned the paint so it could be brushed easily.

What do you use to thin the jo sonja paints with, is there something special to use?

[deadlydave]

Good stuff Nino 
Interested in the backglass touchups, we don't see too much of this on the forum.
Playfield looks great, can't be too far away from having a game?
Cheers
Dave