Bally Delta Queen Restoration

[Steve2010]

Ahh my first “resto thread”.  Now, I don’t know if this (and more resto threads to follow) “qualify” as being a restoration.  After seeing some of the work done on this forum by others, I do know that what I have done is not bad, but certainly not to the level or thoroughness exemplified in other restorations.  But, it is really a good learning experience to just get in a do it.

Nevertheless ….. here it is.  Bally Delta Queen from 1974.  This was amongst the first pins I played, somewhere in late 1976 just around the corner of the school I started Year 7.  I remember this game being placed amongst others like Jumping Jack, Twin Win, Jive Time, Sure Shot, Sing Along, and others.

This game is really nothing special in itself, but it does evoke great memories back in those days.  Lindsay on this forum one day sent me a PM saying one was up for sale (knowing I was after one), so sold it was.

Condition
The game was received in pretty good condition.  The cabinet was a bit rough, but still the colours were there and it was structurally fine.  The PF was really good to begin with, and that was my initial attraction to this one.  There were some minor touchups needed on the PF itself, and unfortunately the apron was wrecked somewhere in its history with apparently stickers.  Plastics were in excellent condition for a game of this age – no damage at all, and no cracked plastics.  Pop bumper tops to be replaced, as well as the flipper buttons.  The coin door needed a bit of attention as well.

The backglass had some work done on it previously, as the paint had begun to flake and was treated with Krylon TT.

The main focus of this effort was primarily to strip the PF, clean it, and give attention to the PF and apron where needed, as well as a few other areas.

Here are some initial images.  Sorry for these being somewhat dark (a setting I later realized on the camera I should have changed).




Prior to playfield being stripped.




The playfield on its way to being stripped, and prior to cleaning.  As mentioned, the PF was in really good shape to begin with, and the paint in the PF area was really top notch for a game almost 40 years old.

[Strangeways]

Looks to be a game in very good condition. But it is always fun to strip and restore the game to a high standard. I can't say I remember playing this title, but I look forward to the updates.

[goodolddays]

Great looking machine to start with ! Backglass and PF looks to be in really good shape 

[48]

looking forward to seeing how this comes up Steve. Always like playing this machine.
Do you have any ideas for the backglass?

Hey I love the topper in the 1st pic!   

[Retropin]

Lovely looking game.... no wear at the kickout on LHS! My guess is that this area cops a flogging!

[oldpins]

I haven't seen one before. Interesting theme.Great to see another EM collector. 

[spacejam0]

Hi Steve

I remember over a year ago when I brought the Jungle Princess off you that you were chasing one of these to restore as the main machine on your wish list. Glad to see you got there in the end. I think that I also recall you saying you could only own 2 pins at a time due to funds or storage space or something like that...looks like you broke that rule. Princess is still going strong. Good luck with it.
Regards.....Tim

[Steve2010]

Backglass and PF looks to be in really good shape 

Actually the backglass has alot of issues, but Lindsay arrested this as much as possible with TT.  There are areas where the paint is "hanging in there", but the damage should go no further.

Hey I love the topper in the 1st pic!   

Hey Lindsay, yes, should have removed that before taking the image!  That's one of my kid's old drinking cups (decorated with who knows what), and now used as temporary container for spare globes.

I think that I also recall you saying you could only own 2 pins at a time due to funds or storage space or something like that...looks like you broke that rule.

Well I suppose more funding was found


After cleaning the playfield with Nifti, it was time to turn the attention to the areas of the PF needing touchup.  There were a few areas where the paint had been beaten away over the years, and others were there were some minor touchups needed.

These were done basically with some basic paint pots and brush – nothing special here at all.  I raided my kid’s paint pots, and where needed, tried mixing paints to get as close a match as possible.  I wasn’t fussed with it looking exactly like it did when it came out of the factory, but certainly was looking for a decent improvement.

Here’s an area usually affected alot on this machine, as I have seen in images of other Delta Queen’s – above the middle eject hole.  The paint was quite worn here, and I was happy with the end result.






Another area – significant wear on the right side of the left pop bumper and a bit on the left side of the same pop bumper (near “8000”).  There were a number of areas such as this one around the GI lighting hole to be addressed.






After touchup.






More areas – I wasn’t too happy with the colour match for the gold in the end, but left it at that.

[48]

The old girls looking good Steve, pretty good job mate.

What's the plan with the repainted areas, going to clear over them or just wax it up well?
Just wondering what your thoughts are basically.

Keep up the good work.

[Steve2010]

What's the plan with the repainted areas, going to clear over them or just wax it up well?
Just wondering what your thoughts are basically.

Wax, as you will see below.


Time for another update.  After the touchups, here is how the playfield looks.








It was now time to apply wax to the playfield to preserve the paint that has lasted so many years already.  In this case, I used Meguiars.  First was an application of Novus 2, then the wax.








I did not attempt to remove any further dirt from the upper rollover lane area, as the paint is very delicate and I did not want to risk paint removal.  Not the ideal outcome, but nevertheless fine by me, as the paintwork is as good probably as it gets.




The condition of the paint immediately around the pop bumpers was just starting to be affected by the hammering of the ball from the pop bumpers.  The game did not have any mylar rings around the pop bumpers, so I applied adhesive ones to preserve the paint.






The playfield was now ready to put the parts back onto it.  First order was new posts.  These really stand out, and the whiteness of the posts is much, much whiter than the faded, discoloured “cream” posts.

[Steve2010]

The ball arch had weathered the 37 years fairly well, all considering.   But, it was worth stripping back and repainting.  I found a colour in a spray at Bunnings that was a very good match.  Here are the before and after images.








The playfield rails also warranted a repaint.  These could have been left as-is, but I decided to remove them and sand them back, and paint.  The new colour wasn’t an exact match with the original, but given that the original had probably faded over the years and the new colour was pretty close, that was fine by me.

Here are the before and after images.






Onto the apron.  Now this was a real shame ….. the apron looked beautiful for its age, except of course in the areas where it had been mutilated with who knows what.  Lindsay advised me that this was likely caused by operator stickers, and what a shame.  Look at the left side of the apron -  I would have gladly left the apron as-is if the condition of it were like this side.




Thankfully Pinball Rescue “came to the rescue” on this one.  Lee was literally just putting the finishing touches on the correct apron decal for this Bally era, and the decal was made available when I needed it.  How good is that.

Here is the original apron, with the Pinball Rescue decal below it.




The apron was sanded back, primed and painted with gloss white.




This was one very large decal to work with, and it escapes me a bit as to how I managed to eventually line this one up on the apron.  It did take at least 3 goes, and thankfully the instructions were useful in advising to wet the surfaces first.  This allowed me to reposition it, and I would have messed it up otherwise.

[48]

Coming along real nicely Steve, how good does that apron look now? 

[pinnies4me]

That really is a nice looking game in awesome condition for its age. Love the backglass! Great work, thanks for sharing.

[swinks]

Doing well Steve, Look'in good.

[Strangeways]

Glad to see a classic Bally restoration. Often overlooked for the Gottliebs of the same era, I much prefer playing the Ballys. Keep up the good work, Steve - that apron looks great