Buck Rogers Restoration

[Slash]

I fixed up the inserts today.  Each one was only held in place with one dollop of glue in one spot.  No wonder they lifted or sunk!!

I ended up taking every single one of them out just to be thorough.  I didn't need to use any heat to remove them either.  The ones that had been under the mylar already had a healthy dose of isopropyl alcohol when I was removing that which I assume helped loosen the glue, but even the other ones higher up in the playfield, all I did was spray them with some isopropyl then give it some persuasion from behind with a socket tool.


I sanded the plain ones (these were also the ones that were sunken the most).  I used wet dry sand paper on them of 400, then 600 then 1,200.  They came up noticeably different after that being done (you can see the bottom 3 I have done in the following pic as a comparison).  The ones with writing on I just polished up with Novus 2 & 3.


Here's a pic of the main ones that were sunken badly reinstalled.  Obviously when I do my playfield touchups I will go around and do the black circles around all the inserts again.  I did notice some of the other ones with writing on were ever so slightly concave, but trying to get them flat would have meant sanding off the lettering.  I guess if I do go ahead and put some type of clear coat on the playfield when I finish then this shouldn't be an issue.


I also had a package arrive during the week:

[pinball god]

where did you get the isopropyl from? I can only find it in little squirt bottles in bunnings.

[Slash]

That's the only one I have too, the little 125ml one from Bunnings in the squirt bottle.  They didn't seem to have any bigger size, next time I'm down there I will be picking up another bottle I think, the stuffs very handy!

[Crashramp]

Looking better already, it's all of those little things which add up to make the final product so good.

[Pintoxicated]

What about rubbing alcohol like Isocol?  That is isopropyl isn't it and readily available from the supermarket?

[Pintoxicated]

I think I recall a method to fix the concave inserts.  Pretty sure they filled the divot up with super glue or similar and then sanded it flat.  No need to remove the artwork that is already on the insert.  Pretty sure it may have been in the EM section of the old pinrepair guides.

[Slash]

I vaguely recall seeing that method somewhere too. Although the one or two that feel like they could be slightly concave aren't really that bad, a ball couldn't get stuck on them, so I will probably just play it safe and leave them coz its so minor.  Plus if i eventually seal the playfield with some type of clear coat I would imagine that should help too.

I wonder if the inserts go milky or you get tiny airbubbles using that glue method?

[Pintoxicated]

Email on it's way to you with more info about the super glue method.

[goodolddays]

Great work so far there Slash .

You are lucky the inserts came out easily .. I have done inserts on a couple of EM playfields now and certainly not my favorite job .

Keep the progress pics and story coming 

[Slash]

Ok my next step in this process is the playfield touch ups. This is a step where I start to get in over my head and would definitely appreciate some advice.

I'm looking around for an airbrush and appropriate bits and pieces and after reading other threads on the topic of paints I'm thinking of taking Retropins advice in other threads and trying some Humbrol Enamel paints. How do I decide if I need matte or gloss paints?

I also want to finish the playfield with some type of clear coat that I can spray myself, can you generally use an airbrush used for playfeld touchups (with a different nozzle) for this purpose too?

Finally what type of clear finish should I consider, baring in mind a numpty will be doing it, plus I need to make sure it doesn't react adversely with my choice of touch up paint (hence why i need to think about this upfront too). I read in some other threads Retropin suggesting polyurethane as a possibility? But I'm open to suggestions?

This whole thing coud be quite entertaining ( how badly I could screw this up) so I will be sure to continue to document my comedy with pics. Whatever happens I'm having fun and learning stuff, so that's a good thing.

[goodolddays]

For the clear coat have a look at this product .

http://www.kbs-coatings.com.au/KBS-Diamond-Finish-ClearCoat-_p_30.html

I have seen 2 guys playfields now, done with this and you sure wouldn't know it was a backyarder job done with a roller (or brush) .

There's a couple of threads on Aussie Arcade about it , can't remember if its been documented here or not .

I intend using it on my Black Hole when I finally get around to working on that project.

[Slash]

Thanks for the link, I've been reading up on some threads about it and I'm sold on giving it a try. Still surprised he was able to use a roller with it and it essentially self levelled. Very impressive finish for something not sprayed on!

My only issue will be making sure it doesn't react with my choice of touch up paint, not sure how I can check on its compatibility with say enamel touch up paint?

[Retropin]

KBS is the only CC i use these days.. i did do a thread on it way back but buggered if i can find it now.
Ive used it over enamel.. acrylic and acrylic lacquer... hasnt reacted with any paints so far.. but... i wouldnt roller it as you cannot guarantee that it wont trap bubbles.. spray or brush are OK, just make sure PF is dead level before applying as it self levels.
Drying time is akin to polyurathane.. cant touch it for at least 24 hours... fully hardened after 7 days

[Slash]

Sounds like in the threads I was reading he did get some tiny bubbles from pushing too hard with the rollover. But sanding then a cut and polish got rid of them.

Have you tried a brush, does it not leave noticeable strokes/lines or do the self levelling properties tend to make that somewhat of a non issue?  One other question that wasn't clear from the threads I read, is it advisable to give the playfield a light sand first to help it bond or it doesn't matter?

[ddstoys]

My paragon restore I used a 2pak clear called armor coat gave the Playfield a couple of coats sanded flat added extra to any sunken inserts left dry then sanded flat again till it was level then gave it another coat for good luck then light block sand and a polish came up pretty well.

  This was done with a gravity feed spray gun