Pinball Restoration

1 Overview

Pinball restoration spans from what is required to make the machine playable to complete overhaul that makes the machine better than new.

2 Clearcoating the Playfield

Lots of videos on Youtube if you would like to try it yourself. The automotive grade clears are not safe to spray at home and requires special equipment to spray and to keep you safe. The top professionals doing playfields include Playfield Renovations, Bill Davis and HSA Pinball. You may need to check their websites to see if they are taking in new work.

3 Using and Building a Playfield Rotisserie

A playfield rotisserie is a useful tool when restoring a pinball machine. The playfield is removed from the machine and mounted to a rotisserie. The rotisserie allows easier access to all areas of a playfield that may not be possible with the playfield still in the cabinet. A rotisserie also allows the playfield to be rotated for easier access to both the top and bottom.

Rotisseries are commercially available from pinball suppliers but can also be easily built using readily available parts from a home improvement store. Different designs are available but one of the more popular ones is discussed on rec.games.pinball.

4 Sealing the Backglass

Sealing a backglass refers to treating the backside of the backglass to stabilize any peeling ink. Like most pinball topics, there are diverse opinions on how to seal a backglass as well as when, if ever, it should be done. The goal of this article is to present the facts so you can make an informed decision.

The most common method of sealing a backglass is using Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear . The best time to seal a backglass is right before it starts to peel. (Unfortunately, no one knows when that time is.) The condition of a backglass depends on many different factors like where the machine was used and/or stored, the manufacturer, and the year. Inks and glass seem to have varied over time.

The con to sealing a backglass is that no one knows how well Triple Thick (or other clears) will hold up over the next 30 years. A backglass that is in good shape after the last (approximately) 30 years is very likely to continue to hold up well, especially considering that in your home collection the machine will be stored at a fairly stable temperature and humidity. Besides, if you notice problems starting to develop in the future there will still be time to seal it.

The basic process is outlined below:

• Carefully clean the back of the backglass with a small amount of glass cleaner (e.g. Windex), avoiding any areas of loose ink.
• Cut cardboard masking for the score and credit windows.
• Lay the backglass flat on a level surface and weight the cardboard masking down with weights (pennies work well).
• Spray a light mist coat of Triple Thick. This stabilizes any loose ink pieces. Let dry for 30-60 minutes.
• Spray a coat of Triple Thick. If you plan to do touch-up painting keep this coat fairly thin.
• Let dry.
• Touch up painting with acrylic paint can now be done. Since you're painting over the Triple Thick mistakes can be easily wiped off.

NOTE: If the backglass peeling is especially bad, one recommendation is to lay a piece of Glad ClingWrap over the wet Triple Thick in the peeling area and press the pieces down against the glass.

5 Playfield Plastics

5.1 Creating playfield plastics

Except for a some of the more popular machines, the playfield plastics are irreplaceable. There are web sites that describe a process to make your own replacement. Here are the basic steps to create your own playfield plastics.

• Start with a scan of a good part and/or retouch one.
• Print reversed onto clear adhesive vinyl.
• Cut and shape a piece of 1/8” (.060”) lexan.
• Paint the sticker with a light coat of white primer.
• Adhere sticker onto underside of lexan.

As of May 2011, TowerHobbies carried Parma brand lexan here

5.2 Flattening warped plastics

There are many ways to flatten playfield plastics. The safest is to place the plastics between two sheets of playfield glass and let them sit in the sun all day. A write-up describing this process is available here: http://www.team-em.com/FlatteningPlastics/Procedure.htm .

Since this isn't possible for many people and/or many times of the year, the following process has been tested on many plastics.

1. Preheat oven and a flat, clean, non-stick cookie sheet to 200 degrees.
2. Put plastic (artwork side down) on the cookie sheet.
3. Do not leave the plastics unattended while in the oven. Watch the plastics closely, as some oven temperatures are not 100% accurate.
4. Heat for roughly 8-10 minutes.
5. Once the plastics have become flattened, remove from oven.
6. Once removed, put plastics on a flat smooth surface, and use a flat weight (book) on top while cooling. Make certain not to use any type of textured item for the weight. Otherwise, the texture may become imprinted on the plastic as it cools.

A variation on the above is possible if you have a heat gun. Put the plastic on a smooth, flat surface. Heat up the plastic from the top (non-artwork) side moving the heat gun back and forth to distribute the heat. The plastic will curl up more and then drop flat. Put a flat weight on top when this happens. You can quickly flatten plastics using this method. While it is fast and easy, it does also carry the most risk vs. the other methods.

6 Color Matching

A low-cost way to make your own color guide is using Microsoft PowerPoint. This will give you a range of colors to compare with what you want to touch-up that you can take with you to find a matching paint color.

1. Open or create a new PowerPoint chart
2. Add autoshape -> Basic Shapes -> Rectange
3. Size the rectangle to be about 1" high and 6" wide
4. Right click the rectangle and select "Format Autoshape"
5. On the "Color:" pull-down, select "Fill Effects..."
6. Click the "Two Colors" radio button and the "Vertical" radio button
7. On the "Color 1" and "Color 2" pull-downs, select the two colors bounding the color you're trying to match. For example, for orange select red and yellow and color 1 & 2

This will create a box with a color gradient between the two colors. Find the color along the gradient that matches best.

You can also use this matching color to get the corresponding CMYK value. Save the PowerPoint picture as a bitmap and use the color picker tool in a photo editing program to get the RGB value. Converter tools are available on the Internet that convert RGB to CMYK. Search "RGB to CMYK" to find additional coverter options.

7 Restoration Service Providers

High-End Pins - Full machine restoration to the "absolute highest level"

HSA Pinball - Playfield Restorations and Clear Coating.

Phoebe's Pinball Painting - Backglass and playfield touch-up and clearcoating

"Captain" Neo - Basic playfield repairs/clearcoating.

Ron Kruzman - Playfield Restoration.

Treasure Cove - Restoration service and sale of restored machines.

Keller Pinball - Full game restorations.

Doug Huse - Reproduction cabinets.