...... The Playfield Artwork ...... This was a major project for me, as the pics show that when I cleaned the playfield properly, a lot of the original artwork was missing, gone, caput. To make matters worse, someone had re-done the artwork on the girls' legs, but had just made up another version of their legs, shoes etc.....
....... So, we first had to get pics of other Ace High playfields so we could know and re-draw the legs, shoes etc the way they were supposed to be. My wife, Kerrie has always been very artistic, and has a lot of skills in this area. She re-drew the outline/s with pencil. Then we colour matched for the different colours. This is always a slow and tedious task that can take all day, sometimes, just to match one colour. .... Some basic knowledge of colours and mixing colours is more than handy for this part. .... Don't rush. Look at colours after they dry to determine how close you are.
........ The Gottlieb sign. ..... I scanned another Gottlieb sign from a 1959 machine. Some of the small writing on the sign was different, so I changed all this on saved copies of the scan. When the scan was cleaned up and ready, I sent it to a place that makes transfers (stickers). These are the kind that you put in water to loosen the glue from the paper. .... To get the playfield ready for the transfer, you do all the artwork around the sticker area. Then, I clear coated where the sticker would go, but leave the area in a 'hollow' about 2-3 mm compared to the surrounding areas. Then you apply the transfer just like you would do for any of these kind of transfers/stickers. Leave it a whole day to dry. Then you return with more clear coat. You build up the hollow area with clear coat (several coats). Then, because the whole area is now clear coated, you can sand it with 400, 800, 1200, 1500, and even 2000 grade paper. This means that the whole area is now the same smooth surface, with none of the 'hollow' section remaining. It is all now the same even surface. The Gottlieb sign is now under many layers of clear coat, and is very well protected from any wear and tear in the future.
........ I use water based paints as a preference. The great advantage of water based paint is that if you make a mistake, or don't like what you have just done, you can take it off easily and redo any day's work. Even the clearcoat is water based. I know that this paint is not as 'hard and tough' as non water based paint....BUT.... any playfield will wear if the playfield is not clean and protected with wax, a mylar overlay or some other option. If you clean a playfield, give it a little wax and polish, and clean the pinballs themselves, then a playfield should last indefinitely, especially for 'home use' machines. They just don't do the volume of games that a commercial machine does. ..... despite how much you love a machine or play it at home. ..... I had a Buckaroo for about 15 years and during the whole time I had it I only racked up about 5000 games. .... Compare that to an old woodrail or wedgehead that has been retired from commercial use. By the time you even buy such a machine, many of them have done well in excess of 100,000 games!!
........ One of the main things in restoring p'field art is this .... NEVER EVER RUSH. DON'T LOSE FAITH AND START THINKING THAT YOU WILL NOT FINISH. If you keep your focus and remain patient, you will finish, but you should accept that it will probably take you some months to do the job properly. ......... BUT 6 months will take 6 months to pass, whether you rush or whether you are slow and careful. The only thing that will be different is how good the job will be when the 6 months passes.
........ I hope that is helpful to other folks who are looking to bring back a p'field on a machine that they love.
