Your LEAST and FAVORITE Repairs/Processes?

[ralphwiggum]

After tearing down what seems like a billion machines, there are just certain things I look forward to doing and other I try to put off forever when possible. So what are yours?

My favorite? Board repairs. I love them, I find them relaxing and I think I am love with the smell of lead.

My least favorite? Easily has to be cabinet decals. It is just soooooo time consuming. I finally got my keeper Chuck E Cheese TSPP done tonight and it is just painful how long it takes to get the cabinet perfect. Every imperfection will show when applying decals, so it has to be just right. This is my 5th cabinet decal and everytime I do one, I swear it is going to be my last....

[Ken]

Looks great Tim. Although I think you may have gotten tired and decaled your bowler too.

My favorite thing so far in my limited experience is changing fuses.

[Methos]

I enjoy stripping a playfield, cleaning, tumbling, cleaning the pf, rebuilding flippers, etc - and putting it all together. Taking a dirty worn out game and giving her some life is a great feeling. If the pf is cleared when it goes back in, it's even better.

I'm ok with board work as long as I know what it is I am doing. Otherwise - I send it to experts like Tim and Pauly.

I've only done decals once, and it was so/so. They turned out alright, but not perfect. They were the head decals for FH if anyone wants to take a look. Doing full cab sized decals isn't something I would be looking forward to, that's for certain.

I hate changing fuses.

[Hilton]

I love anything mechanical and fine tuning each switch to be just to my liking. I also enjoy doing pf touchups.

I have not done any decal jobs yet but would probably have a love/hate thing with that.


I absolutely hate diagnosising and board work. Figures that the pile of games I have sitting all need board work.

[Hilton]

If anyone wants to trade work, LMK.

Maybe something like I do a full tear down and rebuild of a game for you. Happy to do a full treatment pf swap if you have something that needs it and have the clearcoated pf ready to go.

You come spend a day doing board work (I have a list of games with things that need troubleshooting).

[u2sean]

Those cabinet decals look great - nice work Tim! I have done a few control panel overlays on uneven surfaces so can only imagine the amount of time a whole cabinet would take. No thanks. If I ever find a game that needs decals I'll be contacting you since you enjoy it so much!

Least favorite: playfield touchup. My art skills stopped around 5th grade. Solid colors, no problem. Details, forget it.
Favorite: board work, soldering, mechanical stuff. I'm no good with an oscilloscope (yet) but have managed to fumble through enough machines that I feel comfortable. Of course it generally takes me 10x as long as a "pro" but I'm in no rush.

In the end, if I learn something and bring an old game back from the grave for others to enjoy, it's all good.

- Sean

[Hilton]

When I get around to it later this summer I will likely be tearing down Night Moves, doing touchups, and trying out the 2 part auto clear in a can.

If anyone has a game that need touchups and clearcoat done, talk to me. It would need to be something you are willing to take a risk on since I could completely screw it up with the clearcoat, but the cans only last so long and I could probably do 2 pfs at the same time as easy as doing 1.

[ralphwiggum]

When I get around to it later this summer I will likely be tearing down Night Moves, doing touchups, and trying out the 2 part auto clear in a can.

If anyone has a game that need touchups and clearcoat done, talk to me. It would need to be something you are willing to take a risk on since I could completely screw it up with the clearcoat, but the cans only last so long and I could probably do 2 pfs at the same time as easy as doing 1.

If you decide to dive into the world of clearcoat, take a serious look at a small turbine setup. They are inexpensive, and are perfect for playfields and small auto part/body work. This one is pretty popular- http://amzn.com/B00IGNQ1RO and is reviewed well by many in the car hobby. The two part auto clear in cans is okay, but you are basically paying them to charge up the cans, and you are paying them handsomely to do it. The turbine would still allow you to buy smaller amounts of clear, and you can use it for other mediums around the house as well.

The turbine is super efficient, no worries about setup/breakdown, water filters, etc. that come along with a traditional HVLP setup. Just some food for thought.


This has been a fun thread to read so far. I love seeing what others like/dislike doing on their machines. Funny how we are all completely different. We could all get together once a week, bring a machine, and tear it apart and only do the work on things we enjoy doing...

[Hilton]

This has been a fun thread to read so far. I love seeing what others like/dislike doing on their machines. Funny how we are all completely different. We could all get together once a week, bring a machine, and tear it apart and only do the work on things we enjoy doing...

I would love this! I enjoy working on them possibly more than playing. It would be really cool to have an owner source all the parts to be rady for the work and then have a rolling project day where a smaller group of us get together and whip a pin into shape in 1 day.

I bet a few of us could tear down and rebuild a game in a day.

[Ran]

I'm with Mark.
Love making old and dirty look bright and shiny.
Plus I live taking apart all the mechanical elements and rebuilding.

Board work is a bit out of my comfort range unless it's simple stuff like bridge rectifiers or transistors.
And I like working with freelance fine artists on cabinet touch ups.

[Hilton]

Tim,

Do you have one of these small turbine setups? Can I come over and be labor for a day when you are shooting clear so I can learn?

[ralphwiggum]

Tim,

Do you have one of these small turbine setups? Can I come over and be labor for a day when you are shooting clear so I can learn?

I used to have the Harbor Freight one (a little bigger than the other one I linked to)- http://www.harborfreight.com/high-volum ... 44677.html I loved that little sprayer. I gave it to my brother in law as I wasn't using it that often. If I spray anything (clear, paint, etc.), I have a full setup in my garage with HVLP guns, larger air compressor, filters, etc. The technique is the same as the turbine, except you move a little faster with the air compressor setup and larger gun. If I get a chance to paint the bug I just picked up this summer, I will shoot you a line and you can come over and get some hands on.

Honestly, I would just drop the coin and do some practicing on some scrap playfields. My experience is from painting/clearing VWs, but the application is the same (for the most part) to playfields. 95% of a good paintjob is all the prep work before you actually lay down the paint. It really isn't any different with pinball.

If you want, you can have one of my extra 911 playfields that is completely toast to practice on.

[Hilton]

I would like botht he hands on and the scrap pf to use for practice.

[ralphwiggum]

All yours man.... Remind me day of league, and I will bring it along with me. Of the two links I provided, given the choice, I would still choose the harbor freight one over the other one. It is a little more flexible, has a few different sized tips, and is easy to clean. These turbine sprayers are actually a bit more efficient than a lot of HVLP setups, not a lot of wasted material at all. I know a few guys that use the harbor freight turbines to paint entire cars, and they come out looking GREAT.

[Hilton]

Thanks!

That harbor freight one looks great and not abad price. Now I just need to find some alternate storage for my boat to free up garage space for a more permenant paint booth.