Stern Ali Restore

[Mr Pinbologist]

G’day All
It’s been a LONG time between resto threads so I thought I’d do one on a game I’m currently working on for tonyt here on AP.

This one had been in the resto queue for quite a while, Tony had contacted me about restoring it for him a couple of years ago. I had been pretty busy with other resto/repair work (as well as working several other jobs, which is still the case btw), and I finally had some time earlier this year and a spot in the queue so I had Tony send the game up to me.

Pics below show the game as received.. this game will get the FULL treatment, cab respray, playfield resto, backglass sealed plus some minor board work etc etc..















Playfield had already been partially stripped before I received the game, so all of the parts were sent with the game of course, along with a few new parts to go on the game. Overall the playfield is not too bad, with the only bad wear below the kickout holes. Inserts will need to be removed and reinstalled level also.

The only mylar on the pf is in the pop bumper areas, and will be removed.











The backglass is in really nice shape, with only a few small areas of paint loss. The bg will be sealed with Triple Thick and will probably get a few minor touch-ups.

[Mr Pinbologist]

First job I started on was the cabinet. After removing all of the components and having a good look it was decided to replace the back panel as it was in really bad shape and was already coming apart in one corner. The front right hand corner was also coming apart as well and needed regluing.











Notice the difference in the colour I found when I removed the side rails!!





Back panel removed and replacement panel cut, ready to be fitted.







And glued and screwed into place. I cut new corner pieces for the leg mounting plates as well.

[Mr Pinbologist]

At this point I set the cabinet aside and started on the backbox, stripping it and started tracing the artwork so I could make the stencils later on.









Then sanded off all of the old paint, ready for the repairs needed.


















Ready for the first coats of primer!





First primer coats.









Next step was filling of any imperfections found with spot putty.. this was a step that had to repeated several times before I was satisfied that it was ready for its basecoat.





And finally fast forward a few weeks.. ready for the basecoat, after the aforementioned multiple sessions of prime/sand, prime sand etc!

[Mr Pinbologist]

Time for some stencil making; same process as I’ve always used for my restores, trace the artwork then transfer that onto cardboard and cut out.









Cabinet stripped and repairs started; same deal as the backbox.
 
Before I did anything though I took the cab into the paint shop and had the colours matched and mixed. I’m using automotive acrylic for all my restores now, having stopped using rattle cans for cab repaints.













Something I do on most cab restores now is to add new timber to the bottom where the ply is usually damaged/chipped away. On this cab even though the back panel is new I got some strips of Tasmanian Oak from Bunnings, cut the bottom edge of the back and added the new timber over the bottom edge of the ply. My reasoning behind this is to help prevent the ply being destroyed if the game is slid into the back of a ute or trailer etc.

It can be seen in this pic below where I have also glued new timber onto the inside bottom edge of the sides where the plywood has usually fallen off.





First primer coats.. As with the backbox this process had to be repeated several times due to the amount of damage/planking of the plywood, one side was worse than the other.







And here are the cabinet and head box ready for the basecoat. These were left for a week or so before I sanded them out in preparation for the basecoat.. I did this right through the whole process, left the primer to allow all of the solvents to escape and allow for shrinkage before sanding.. less chance of repairs showing up in the finished product.

[Mr Pinbologist]

And finally some pics of the finished basecoat. This was done last weekend, and I’ll move onto the playfield (and other jobs) until I get another run of warm weather to do the stencilling.




















this is where i'm up to at this time, will add further updates as i make more progress  

[Crashramp]

Awesome work, love to see these resto threads. I'll enjoy following your progress on this one. Thanks for taking the time and sharing. 

[Cursed]

Agree, awesome posts and thanks for taking the time. 

[tonyt]

Really appreciate the effort you are putting into this for me.

Glad you could fit me in; you are very thorough and excellent at what you do.

[Strangeways]

Thrilled to see you back on the restorations 

I'm glad you moved on to the acrylics rather than spray cans. The results as so much better - that basecoat looks amazing. The headbox edging is chipboard and is very difficult to paint as the timber absorbs the paint very quickly and leaves a different finish from the plywood. I can't notice a difference - so you have done very well. The lower cabinet chipboard back panels are always a pain to replace. I think the last one I did took almost a day of fiddling to get it right - but it was worth it.

I know tony LOVES his boxing games - so I know the finish product will be worth waiting for !

[Mr Pinbologist]

Thrilled to see you back on the restorations 

I'm glad you moved on to the acrylics rather than spray cans. The results as so much better - that basecoat looks amazing. The headbox edging is chipboard and is very difficult to paint as the timber absorbs the paint very quickly and leaves a different finish from the plywood. I can't notice a difference - so you have done very well. The lower cabinet chipboard back panels are always a pain to replace. I think the last one I did took almost a day of fiddling to get it right - but it was worth it.

I know tony LOVES his boxing games - so I know the finish product will be worth waiting for !

Thanks Nino, I've been a busy boy the last few years so there will be a few more resto threads to come for some of the other stuff i've worked on (there's a fair bit of stuff documented on my FB page).  Its just a shame i havent done any work on my OWN games in about 3 yrs!! (still trying to get to my Pinball Pool and finish it) 

The backbox surround on this is MDF, and yes it does soak up a lot of paint, another reason for the multiple coats of primer/filler. And yes the switch to acrylic paints from enamel i used to use saves me a HEAP of time.. especially if something goes wrong! Any screw-ups while painting can be put right in a fraction of the time as opposed to enamel.. can be fixed in a matter of hours as opposed to a week or so!!

Plenty of other resto threads to come when i find time.. including;

Gtb Solar City
Gtb Card Whiz
Gtb Pinball Pool
Gtb Surfer
Gtb Ouick Draw.. all of which have been completed and picked up/delivered.

plus in addition to Ali at the moment i'm also working on;
Gtb Buccaneer (total resto)
Gtb Outer Space (pf resto)

and waiting to be started F14 Tomcat at the end of the queue
Oh and i almost forgot Cam's Wms Line Drive pitch n bat game

AND an Aristocrat one arm bandit 

[Mr Pinbologist]

Really appreciate the effort you are putting into this for me.

Glad you could fit me in; you are very thorough and excellent at what you do.

Thanks Tony.

Having worked mostly on EMs lately i'm really looking forward to seeing this one completed, as Ali is an old favourite of mine from the good ol' days 

[howzat]

Hi Tony
It must be nice watching your game come together  Ive been over at Mitchs place checking out  the progress and its looking really good

i bet you will be keen to get it back   and I know it will be worth the wait    Howzat

[pinnies4me]

Thanks for sharing Mitch, looking forward to the next installment.

[tonyt]

Hi Tony
It must be nice watching your game come together  Ive been over at Mitchs place checking out  the progress and its looking really good

i bet you will be keen to get it back   and I know it will be worth the wait    Howzat

Really enjoying watching the progress of this Howzat.

Mitch's attention to detail is excellent and I am very confident I will be happy with the finished product.

Tony

[big dog]

good to see the jobs back up here again. nice watching the jobs from start to finish.