Well, Now I Own A Pinball Machine Too!

[shutyertrap]

Wait... One, two, three, four,..... Yeah, that's 22 pins fitting in there

Ah, if only! Need to just learn the secret of finding these abandoned dirt cheap tables that I've heard tale of.

 

[bavelb]

This thread just reaffirms to me that, no matter how bad I want to own at least 1 table, I'm totally unfit to maintain (let alone restore) one. Still jealous of anyone able to have one at home though

 

[shutyertrap]

This thread just reaffirms to me that, no matter how bad I want to own at least 1 table, I'm totally unfit to maintain (let alone restore) one. Still jealous of anyone able to have one at home though

But there hasn't even been a horror show yet!

Okay bavelb, just for you, this is gonna be the smoothest sailing fix up ever performed by a complete noob who has never soldered and complains about painting the trim in a room.

Hmmm, wonder if I just put a massive whammy of a jinx on myself!

 

[ER777]

Wouldn't be George, it'd be the Mouse...and I live only 15 miles from his house! Okay, I'll just stick to repairing the original artwork.

Yeah, I know the Mouse technically now owns the license but its so much more fun to pick on George for his infamous greed.. I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up to watch as the Mouse collected heheh.

But more seriously - You could probably do some of your own touch-ups on the paint too. If you carefully remove that black paint you could properly fill in the worn sections from a photo to make it tough to notice that it wasn't original. That would work especially well if you got the playfield coated in mylar as some have suggested.

I just wouldn't let go of that machine if I were you. Like people have said it will be good practice if nothing else and $500 isn't a lot to spend, even if the machine never ends up being just the way you wanted it. Since its an older machine you might even find someone parting one out someday, and have a chance to replace that sound board for a reasonable cost.

I used to work at an arcade for a couple years in the mid-90s, so I know how much work it is to maintain a pinball machine, but I also know how satisfying it is to play one after you have just made it playable again. Don't rob yourself of that feeling, I know I look forward to doing it again one day when I have the space.

 

[shutyertrap]

But more seriously - You could probably do some of your own touch-ups on the paint too. If you carefully remove that black paint you could properly fill in the worn sections from a photo to make it tough to notice that it wasn't original. That would work especially well if you got the playfield coated in mylar as some have suggested.

I just wouldn't let go of that machine if I were you. Like people have said it will be good practice if nothing else and $500 isn't a lot to spend, even if the machine never ends up being just the way you wanted it. Since its an older machine you might even find someone parting one out someday, and have a chance to replace that sound board for a reasonable cost.

I'm pretty much going in this direction. I've read a couple of blogs with guys that have hand painted the planet area, one did a huge section, the other with small areas like mine. While neither turned out perfect, they would easily pass a first and second glance. I just read yesterday of a guy redoing a Pin*Bot, which has WAY more stars than mine, and he hand painted all the black paint, carefully going around the stars and planets. Again, totally doable, just need to take your time.

And absolutely, who knows what I'll feel when I get this thing polished up and playing pretty. Let's just say that first week of me owning (and posting), I was going through a complete emotional spectrum. My head is in the right place, now I'm excited to do stuff to it. Money for not just parts, but paint, sand paper, cleaning supplies, lacquer, all those incidentals that are needed at the start of any hobby, that's the main thing that will dictate the speed with which anything gets done.

Maybe I should start a kickstarter. Ha!

 

[shutyertrap]

Alrighty then. Some of you keep asking if I've done anything with Firepower. I can finally say yes! Today I pulled the head, detached the wires, pulled the playfield, and completely depopulated it. Ya know what? There's a lot of parts on a pinball machine!

Here it is pulled out of the cabinet...

And mostly taken apart except for pops and flippers and coils...

Naked!

Up next...cleaning it REALLY good.

 

[shutyertrap]

A few more for ya, since I know you want it!

Weird how the screw holes there aren't centered with each other.

In this one, I have no idea if the nail is actually supposed to be there or not.

Pop bumpers gone! What a pain in the butt to remove them. Had to unsolder the wiring for the lights, and it was all stapled down and crap. I'll be doing a full pop rebuild so I don't have to take 'em apart a second time!

This one is weird. It is the ball guide of the right eject hole. Notice how it doesn't line up nice with the rubber post? Is it supposed to though?

 

[neglectoid]

you're kickin azz dude.

 

[Mayuh]

The nails are for adjusting the right gap between the plastic and the lamps (where is too much space between the posts), so the do not melt... I removed mine due to lack of time and replacing the lamps with LEDs anyway...

Great job!

Keep it fun ;-)

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Deeeeeyaaaam! ALL IN

 

[dtown8532]

It's a little off center. Here'a a pic of mine. Nonetheless, I've found things on mine that were not done correctly. For example, an original screw that was put in too far and just slightly poked through the playfield.



screenshot software for windows

 

[shutyertrap]

It's a little off center. Here'a a pic of mine. Nonetheless, I've found things on mine that were not done correctly. For example, an original screw that was put in too far and just slightly poked through the playfield.

That's what I figured. The way the ball would eject and then bounce, just seemed completely wrong for a Ritchie table. Interesting that the star rollover is off from the art on yours the same as on mine. What about the lane guides at the FIRE inserts, are the screw holes centered up on yours? And yeah, I too had a screw that was too long coming up through the playfield. Fortunately it's under the metal apron, as it didn't come thru cleanly but split a small bit of wood.

This weekend it looks like I have a date with a can of Naphtha and a Magic Eraser, try and clean this thing as much as possible and get it ready for paint.

 

[shutyertrap]

So I suppose an update is in order.

I need to replace one of my star rollovers, so I popped it out. And then I popped out every other insert too!

There was cupping on every insert on the table, so I'm gonna sand 'em back flat. This also removes the lettering, which I'll then have to replace with decals. I also wanted to remove the 3 purple inserts that are supposed to be blue.

I did wind up breaking 2 of the white, well yellowish now, bonus inserts, which means I'll be replacing all 9 so they are the same color. After doing all that, I was all set to sand down the bad paint area to make it even with the rest of the table. I put low tack painters tape down to mask the area. I wasn't pleased with one of the pieces, so I pealed it up. That's when I noticed the back of the tape covered in paint flakes.

I removed the rest of the tape and it was the same story everywhere. My playfield is too weak to even handle tape.

That area inbetween the laser and the 'power' insert, yeah it got that way thanks to the tape. So now what I have to do is put a locking layer of automotive clear coat so I can actually put tape or frisket down for actual painting. But before I do that, I gotta put all the inserts back in, which means ordering them up much sooner than expected. I also need to figure out if I'm gonna do the clear myself or pay an automotive place to do it. My neighbor has the equipment, but neither of us has the experience. Not to mention auto clear is damn expensive!

The one good piece of news is that I removed all the mylar with zero issues.

I used the freezing method, which is where you take a can of Dust Off and turn it upside down while spraying it at the mylar. You then peel it up, leaving the adhesive on the table. Plenty of YouTube vids on it, and they all look incredibly violent and scary to do. Trust me, after seeing what low tack tape did to my playfield, I was nervous as hell. But it worked like a charm. To remove the adhesive, I used naphtha (though most people use alcohol) directly onto the affected area, and then sprinkled flour on top. You rub it in with your finger, the naphtha works away the adhesive and the flour binds to it. You wind up with little balls of grey and a completely non sticky table!

So that's where I'm at. Gotta put in my order for the inserts at 2 different online stores, what a hassle. Then I have to clear coat, and THEN I can get on with painting. Oh by the way, I bought my Createx airbrush paint the other day too. It's gonna be a long while before I get to play this beast again. One thing's for sure...when I do it'll be on a nice shiny rock hard glass like surface!

 

[Kevlar]

Wow, you are doing really well. After this you'll be ready to tackle almost any restoration project.

 

[shutyertrap]

So they tell me! Once I get past painting I'll be inclined to agree...

 

[Mayuh]

! Since it is your first ever pin... Wow!

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Geeze! Dive right into the deep end with a weight belt Good Luck man and great update.

 

[shutyertrap]

I'm waiting on parts, those inserts to be exact, before I can move forward on the playfield. There's plenty of other things I can do in the meantime. I could clean the interior of the cabinet, clean and rebuild the plunger, dust out the interior of the head, polish all the metal on the table...

Polish metal you say? Hmmmm...

This here is a metal cheese plate grill in the neck of the table. Every table I've seen that has one of these, they all look the same. Just a rough piece of steel meant to be a vent, not to look pretty. But it bugs me. So of all the inconsequential things I can do on my table...

Nasty looking, right? Same cheese plate covers the vents and speaker hole in the cabinet. No, I won't be dealing with those. Maybe.

I'm sure there are better ways of cleaning this metal up. I simply use the tools I have available to me. First I took a Dremel with a pumice stone tip and ground away the metal till it had a dull shine.

Then I took a sander with 250 grit paper and polished it. Problem is, there's little peaks and valleys between all those holes, so it takes forever to get it polished. If I had a buffer wheel...well, I don't so no use thinking about it! End result isn't perfect, but it shines now.

And finally, here it is back where it belongs. In a place that while visible, nobody is ever really gonna notice. Maybe I should install some lights behind it.

I had initially taken the metal to my dad's, as he has tools whereas I don't. He was finally getting a nice polish going when it struck me, we were doing the wrong side! So yeah, that thing is shiny on both sides, and that back side will NEVER be seen by anyone unless the head is removed again. Somehow I feel good about that!

 

[Heretic]

great stuff man, seems your headed in the right direction!

how are you gonna polish her balls?

 

[shutyertrap]

great stuff man, seems your headed in the right direction!

how are you gonna polish her balls?

With many strokes, obviously.