Bally Williams Cactus Canyon High End Restoration

[Strangeways]

Next in the Restoration queue is the highly collectible "Cactus Canyon" that will undergo the full High End Restoration. A previous attempt at a "restoration" was underwhelming to say the least, so we were approached to attend to the numerous issues, faults and poor workmanship.

Objective - To return the game to a NIB (Nearly In Box) condition.

Condition Report

As presented, the game had several faults, and was in poor shape. The "easy" work was done - rubbers were replaced if easily accessible (some white and some black) and the typical lazy "fully done up" original (broken) pop bumper skirts are still there ! The cabinet was a complete mess.

Playfield - 7/10 - typical wear around the pop bumpers. A tired playfield.
Cabinet - 2/10 - Attempted re-decal that would look GREAT on a showroom floor. Just don't remove the legs 
Electronics - 8/10 - Not part of the previous "restoration", so they are in good shape.

Before Pictures













Teardown

Everything is documented at this stage. This gives me a guide as to what needs to be replaced or upgraded. Every machine tells a story..




Fully Done Up - nice new white rubber installed - so give credit where credit is due. Typically, the pop bumper skirt is not replaced !





.. and some black rubbers. Confused ? So am I !





The underside is fully documented ;








.. And we move on to the "new" decal replacement. First lets remove the siderails.. That was easy - they simply "fell off"..








The horror story begins ..











Nice Prep work prior to "installing" the "new" decals..


Machine fully disassembled





Time to strip the cabinet..





The prep work was rushed and in one word - "Abysmal".





Time to do the headbox - hang on a minute, there are no leg protectors here.. 





Thankfully, all that is behind me now...





The Festool Setup made short work of a tough job !


Now the prep work is done correctly. All the damage is fixed, and the primer / filler / undercoat is done.





Wet Sand and base applied ;





Headbox decal applied ;





Front door decal done !





Decal centralized correctly ;





Cabinet decal application completed. The playfield has gone to Timbo at HRP for a professional touch up and clearcoat !


 

[ddstoys]

. That cabinet restore is great with the ripple effect


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[4_amusement_only]

Nice write up. Did you buy that Festool sander? Aren't they close to 3 grand? How will it make the job easier?

[Strangeways]

Nice write up. Did you buy that Festool sander? Aren't they close to 3 grand? How will it make the job easier?

There was some change from the $3K !

Yes - The job is MUCH quicker with the Festool and the dust extractor keeps the sanding pads super clean, and there's no mess to clean up. The sander itself - with the Festool sanding pads can sand a cabinet in minutes.

Usually, I do 2-3 cabinets a year. That is mainly repaints (Embryon was the only cabinet I could do in the last 18 months).

So far, in 2018, I've done SIX - including this one (resto threads are coming..) It has paid for itself already, and my productivity is greatly increased.

[pinnies4me]

Those original replacement decals were just slapped on! Awful "workmanship" to say the least. Love the chewed up pop bumper skirt, not sure how you could pass that off as a "restoration" in anyone's book. Glad to see a classic being treated like that now!

[Cursed]

Wow! Watching this with interest Nino.

My Cab sadly is wrinkled like that also, not sure if Moyra would ever let me move it from the line up though to fix it/get it fixed.

Keep the pics coming, looking forward to seeing the work that gets done on this one.

[Strangeways]

As per usual, I'm well behind on updates. Most of the cabinet work was completed 112 months ago, and the playfield has since returned from Tim. A masterpiece - as usual. So here is the cabinet completed ;












Here is the restored playfield, completed by , which looks absolutely stunning ;



































Now the playfield is mounted into the rotisserie for re assembly.







Most of the T-Nuts etc are installed on a flat table prior to being placed in the Rotisserie.







 

[Crashramp]

Looking good Nino. It makes all the difference when done right.

[ddstoys]

Wow that cabinet looks great can’t say I’ve ever seen one restored before usually all faded and crappy


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[Brunswick Brawler]

What is the going rate for a good condition Cactus Canyon?  Used to be about twice the price of a new Stern.  Is that still the case, with rumours of a remake coming?