(Topic ID: 325715)

1976 Bally Night Rider EM Restoration

By Mathazar

1 year ago


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There are 233 posts in this topic. You are on page 3 of 5.
#101 12 months ago
Quoted from xsvtoys:

Great work so far. You didn’t comment on it (that I saw), that score pcb had 3 other wires soldered onto to it previously to fix other broken traces. I wonder what the history of that thing was that resulted in it getting so beat up like that. In normal operation I wouldn’t think those traces would get ripped off like that.

Thanks! Actually, I think those white jumpers are factory. Those traces are interrupted by what looks like factory-made holes in the contact plate and two of those holes are for the screws that secure and sandwich together the two contact plates around the spindle. Unless, of course, this whole assembly is just a hack job by a previous owner - it's my first EM and I've never seen a working Top Hole Bonus assembly to make a comparison.

I can't find a Bally parts catalog that includes the EM Night Rider - I found this for a Capt Fantastic (same year as EM NR) and others but it's not the exact same assembly and shows only one contact plate whereas NR has the 2.

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#102 12 months ago

That is interesting, the only way to confirm is to compare to another Night Rider EM and see if that unit looks the same. It seems there should be a trace around those holes, but maybe they decided on a sort of hack to get that bonus function to work. I don't think you will ever be able to find documentation on it, as the 1976 parts catalog is the last one and it doesn't show Night Rider. There are several of those that were the last EMs made and they were converted to SS, and there are only parts catalogs for the SS versions. I think Mata Hari and Evel Knievel are the other ones. They don't show up in that last 1976 EM parts catalog.

Although there was another thread if I remember correctly where someone said that there may have been a supplement published somewhere around 1976-1977 that includes some information about those lost EMs, but no one seems to have a copy of such a thing.

#103 12 months ago

Freedom and Night Rider appear in Supplement 1 to the 1976 parts catalog (shown at https://www.funwithpinball.com/resources/parts-catalog-list#Bally):

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The online version of the catalog at Planetary Pinball is apparently the original version. The one above includes the supplement pages.

Apparently Aladdin's Castle isn't in the original 1976 catalog either.

#104 12 months ago

Ok just looked all score reels in head box no boards with extra holes. But the top hole unit does 3 holes may have been a production change.

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#105 12 months ago

Top unit assembled as whole unit. Any more questions ask my top hole rotates and scores but kicker in the saucer doesn't work.

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#106 12 months ago
Quoted from cp1610:

Top unit assembled as whole unit. Any more questions ask my top hole rotates and scores but kicker in the saucer doesn't work.

Great pix - thanks! Your Top Hole Unit contact plates look much nicer than mine!

#107 12 months ago
Quoted from Mathazar:

3 - Right Bank will reset when those 5 targets are down without waiting for the 5 targets on the left back to be down despite both plugs being set to Conservative. 3000 points are awarded, the SPECIAL lamp gets lit as does the Extra Ball lamp in the Right Out Lane. The Extra Ball Lamp light does NOT alternate between the right and left out lanes no matter what target or rollover is hit on the playfield.

More incremental progress tonight. So the Extra Ball light not alternating between the left and right outlanes has nothing to do with the issue(s) I'm having with the drop targets. I found the follow circuit in the schematic:
00-90 Unit for Lamps (resized).jpg00-90 Unit for Lamps (resized).jpg

That made me want to look at the 00-90 Unit. Trouble was, for about 20 minutes, I couldn't find it - it's not in any of the block diagrams in the manual. Every other Unit seems to be! Finally found it in the back box.

I hadn't done any work in the back box yet except to fix some score reels when I first got this project and I never noticed the condition of the 00-90 Unit. It's inop and F'd up to say the least. Even if this coil would fire, the semi-melted coil sleeve is creating too much drag on the plunger to work reliably.
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I cleaned the switch stack, replaced the coil and sleeve, reflowed the solder and the 00-90 Unit is alive and clicking again. And most importantly, it's alternating the Extra Ball lamp between the two outlanes when stand-up target hits, slings, pop bumpers, and the 10pt switches on either side of the top hole are hit.
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Now, on to the drop target scoring issue that's been driving me nuts for the last couple of weeks.

#108 12 months ago

In case anyone has suggestions on where to start, here's the issue again that I'm seeing with drop targets:

1 - Right Bank will reset when those 5 targets are down without waiting for the 5 targets on the left back to be down despite both plugs being set to Conservative. 3000 points are awarded, and the SPECIAL lamp gets lit.

2 - Left Bank will not reset when those 5 targets are down (as expected when both plugs are set to Conservative). When the targets are downed in the Right Bank, both banks are reset and 3000 points are scored (instead of 6000), and the SPECIAL lamp gets lit.

It's as if for the right bank, the Drop Target Adjustment plug is being interpreted as Liberal even tho it's in the Conservative setting.
Drop Target Setting 03 (resized).jpgDrop Target Setting 03 (resized).jpg

I'm going to stare more at the Drop Target circuit tomorrow and trace the wires with my MM from the Drop Target Adjustment and Right and Left Lane Adjustment plugs and make sure I've got connections where there are supposed to be connections. After that....I'm not quite sure.
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#109 12 months ago

The switch in the red box could be stuck closed or shorted:
Night Rider Drop Target Reset (resized).jpgNight Rider Drop Target Reset (resized).jpg
That would fire the Drop Target Reset relay whenever the right targets are all down.

#110 12 months ago
Quoted from MarkG:

The switch in the red box could be stuck closed or shorted:

Quoted from MarkG:

That would fire the Drop Target Reset relay whenever the right targets are all down.

Thanks for the lead - checked the switch in the relay real quick, gap looks good and it's not shorted. I'll have a closer look tomorrow. Cheers.

#111 12 months ago

OMG - I figured it out, and I'm a moron. And there's a reason why the right bank was behaving like it was set to Liberal. Because it was, and it was my fault.

Weeks ago I made reproduction labels for the Jones plugs, including the ones on the playfield underside. The original for the LEFT AND RIGHT OUT ADJUSTMENT was still on my original playfield, so that was easy to copy. The original for the DROP TARGET ADJUSTMENT was missing from my playfield, so I reproduced it based on a photo another pinsider provided but I didn't pay close enough attention to the LIB-CONS legend. ASSUMING consistency in positioning, and using the LEFT AND RIGHT OUT ADJUSTMENT as a guide for LIB being on the left and CONS being on the right, I did the same for the DROP TARGET ADJUSTMENT label. Nope. DROP TARGET ADJUSTMENT is CONS on the left and LIB on the right.

Moved the plug over, and the damn thing is now behaving and scoring like it should. I don't know whether I'm relieved that the fix was so simple, or mad that the problem was caused by my lack of due diligence in making the labels and following my assumptions. Actually, feeling both.
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#112 12 months ago

It’s always the simplest explanation! Glad you caught it.

#113 12 months ago

Finally - a beautiful spring day today (70F this afternoon) so I decided to strip all the parts out of the cabinet and get ready for sanding and repainting. Snow in the forecast for Tuesday, lol, so this cabinet work time will be short lived.
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I FINALLY got that metal monstrosity (about an extra 25lbs) off the cabinet. Going to pitch it in the trash this week unless someone local wants it for some reason (will post it in the Colorado FS thread as free). Found a bunch of screws, bulbs, and solder balls wedged between the cabinet underside and the inside of the metal plate. Along with a wedged wad of gum.
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After getting that thing off, I was relieved to find (like my wife) that her bottom looks pretty good.
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Found some structural damage near the front edge of the cabinet that I should be able to repair. This is likely what caused a previous operator to put the metal bottom on rather than fix it.
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#114 12 months ago

Really cool seeing the progress on this project. Can't wait to see the cabinet work start.

#115 12 months ago

Learning even more about EMs every day. So now that everything seems to be working on my test rig, I'm turning my attention to some of the esoteric things, like loud buzzing from hold relays. In particular, the Ball Index relay is really, really loud on my NR. It's probably more prominent since I have the whole pin set up on my workspace outside of the cabinet, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad/loud inside the cab with the coin door closed. But it's loud.

Did a little internet searching and did a few things:
- swapped springs with a non-noisy relay, loud buzzing stayed with the suspect relay so it's not the spring tension.
- measure the resistance on the coil and compared it to non-noisy ones and they're they same, so the suspect relay coil has enough strength to hold the plate for extended periods of time.
- cleaned up the plate.

So the last one did the trick. Some posts I found said to "file or sand" the plate smooth, but I opted for quick and easy first - I cleaned it in my ultrasonic cleaner then let it ride my tumbler for a few hours. Came out nice, clean, and smooth. Reassembled the relay and wired it back up, and damned if it's not 90% quieter. No way I'll hear it when everything goes back in the cabinet!

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#116 12 months ago

Whether cleaning, sanding or filing the armature plate is required depends entirely on the condition of your particular armature. There's no right answer without evaluating your armature first. Starting with the gentler solution and working towards more aggressive solutions is usually a good, safe approach. Think Novus vs Magic Eraser to clean playfields, business card vs file for switch contacts, etc..

#117 11 months ago

This buzzing relay took a bit more work - this is the Drop Target relay. Cleaning and running through the tumbler didn't really do much as there are some ridges on the face of the armature plate, presumably from hitting the coil over and over a bazillion times for nearly 50 years. I took a file to it to smooth it down....much better now.

Before (Buzz)

After (Buzz Fixed)

Looks like nice 65F weather this weekend, hopefully will find some time to work on the cabinet.

#118 11 months ago

Good old #1127 is going to get a facelift! Finally got started on the cabinet but not till late in the day so only one side stripped. Still - I'm pleased with the outcome. If any of you have followed any of my recent restorations, you know I'm very much a proponent of chemically stripping old paint off of a cabinet, especially lead-filled paint from the 70's. I have a vacuum on my orbital sander and I use a respirator, but particles still fly. Plus, stripping with acetone is quick!

Started with this.....
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And 25 minutes later, I have this.....
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Proper eyewear, mask/respirator, and chemically-rated gloves are musts for working with acetone. Properly disposing of the acetone soaked rags is also a must - follow your local county restrictions and guidelines for that. If you don't mind those little extra steps, this process is cleaner, safer, and a hellava lot quicker than sanding the old paint off.

Will try to get the other 3 sides done tomorrow and the interior sometime during the week. Then some sanding with the orbital and see how much of the surface scratches and gouges come out. Then it's on to epoxy, resin or bondo fixing a couple of splits, some JB Weld Wood Epoxy to fill in the holes left by the removed metal undercarriage bolts, some surface glazing putty to smooth out any scratches or gouges not addressed by sanding, and one last once-over before primer and paint.

#119 11 months ago

Thats cleaning up nicely.
Was the paint on there lead-filled? When I sanded down my Williams Ringer (1970) I tested the paint first with one of those lead testing kits and it came up clean. Still used a respirator though. Don't need to be breathing 50 year old paint dust.

#120 11 months ago
Quoted from dhutton:

Thats cleaning up nicely.
Was the paint on there lead-filled? When I sanded down my Williams Ringer (1970) I tested the paint first with one of those lead testing kits and it came up clean. Still used a respirator though. Don't need to be breathing 50 year old paint dust.

Actually, to be honest, I didn't test the paint and only assumed - better safe than sorry. As a kid growing up in the 70's myself, I have these flashbacks of seeing PSA's from the EPA on TV about kids eating paint chips peeling from the walls because it could be sweet-tasting. By the end of the decade, lead-based paint was banned thankfully (at least from residential homes).

#121 11 months ago

Today's progress....

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#122 11 months ago

Only had an hour to work on the cabinet this afternoon, but knocked out a couple more (internal) sides. Last but not least will be the floor and the interior front (and that'll likely be the most challenging given how nasty it is). Probably will save that for the weekend.

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#123 11 months ago

All paint chemically stripped, #1127 cabinet ready for sanding. Ordered a Pinball Pimp stencil last night. If weather holds and my honey-do list doesn't grow out of control, should get first pass sanding done Saturday and initial wood epoxy / bondo / glazing repairs done Sunday. MAYBE get a first primer coat down next week?

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#124 11 months ago

Coming along well. I just used a set of Pinball Pimp's stencils on my Night Rider and it turned out great (reference my post on the Club thread). Just be sure you are getting good clean adhesion of the stencil around the detailed part of the truck as that's an area where lots of overage can happen due to all the small areas/creases. Also be sure to go very slow when pealing back in these areas so you don't tear the stencil.

#125 11 months ago

Coming along sooner than I expected. Working on the left side exterior first....repair points penciled in. E = Wood Epoxy, B = Bondo, and STAY = well, stay. Those two holes are for the thru-cabinet bolts and wing nuts to secure the tilt board (and on the other side, the chime box). I decided to keep that.

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#126 11 months ago

Bondo and wood epoxy down.....

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#127 11 months ago

Sanded down and feathered in. Pretty happy with the results, will start on the other side tomorrow or Saturday.

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#128 11 months ago

Corner repair - I'm about 80% happy with it. Need to extend the repair upwards a bit past the lower leg bolt hole.

Bottom Left Corner (resized).jpgBottom Left Corner (resized).jpg
#129 11 months ago
Quoted from Mathazar:

Corner repair - I'm about 80% happy with it. Need to extend the repair upwards a bit past the lower leg bolt hole.[quoted image]

I assume it was epoxy you used for the corner repair? What brand do you use?

#130 11 months ago
Quoted from Manny65:

I assume it was epoxy you used for the corner repair? What brand do you use?

The corner repair was small enough that I used JB Weld Wood Epoxy.

https://www.jbweld.com/product/kwikwood-epoxy-putty-1oz

If the damage was any bigger, I would've tried resin. Truth be told - I don't have the resin-thing quite down yet for corners. Every time I try to make a dam / mold, it tends to leak.

#131 11 months ago

Got the right side of the cab done this past weekend, pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Mark-ups.....
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Bondo laid down....
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Bondo sanded off....all of the gray and white areas are where there were dents, deeper scratches, and gouges (especially along the front edge where the right front leg goes). Everything is nice and smooth now - I think this is going to come out nice.
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Will knock out the front and back this week and maybe the interior. Then a less course sanding around the entire cab, then maybe first primer coat next week.

#132 11 months ago

Looking good. Keep it up!

#133 11 months ago

I was hoping to get a coat or two of primer on the cabinet this weekend, but weather has turned to the 40's so it looks like next week.

In the meantime, I've finished up the last of the cabinet repair - some missing wood from the front underside. This caused the floor to sag a little at the front (enough to show daylight through the crack). It's probably what prompted a previous operator to install that hideous black steel undercarriage.
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Other than simple bondo, wood epoxy, and sanding my woodworking skills are practically non-existent. Someone with real skills would probably remove and rebuild the entire front face, but still I managed to cut some wood trim to replace a large portion of the missing original and glued it into place held together by clamps. I used a 10lb weight to force that end of the floor up into its original groove while the glue dries overnight.
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Removed the clamps the next day and added some wood epoxy to fill in the gaps.
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Sanded down. It's not going to win any woodworking awards, but this area is now structurally sound and, most importantly, the floor is solid and no longer sags. Not worried about the looks at this point - it's the underside and no one will see it.
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#134 11 months ago

If anyone is EM-inclined and could help with a scoring / DT bank reset issue I just discovered, please see my post in the EM Tech sub-forum:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/night-rider-em-drop-target-reset-issue-amp-extra-ball-issue#post-7548470

My Night Rider came to me dead and I believe I had it all working before I tore it down for cleaning and the playfield swap, but it's quite possible I did not notice this behavior and it's been that way all along. Or I screwed something up when I re-wired everything on the newly swapped CPR playfield. Either way, if someone knowledgeable could point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it.

#135 11 months ago

Both problems resolved - details in that link above if you curious. Basically came down to cleaning (better) the switch contacts on the Total Sequence relay and adjusting the mangled leafs on the Make/Break switch in the 00-99 Unit.

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#136 11 months ago

Nice weather this weekend!

Final sand prep.....
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2 coats of Kilz primer.....
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1st coat of Gloss white....(sun was on its way down...the Gloss White is much brighter than the photo shows).
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I'll get another coat or two of Gloss White down this week. Then paint the neck Black while letting the Gloss White cure for a week or so, then it's stencil time.

#137 11 months ago

What's your paint method? Roller, brush, or spray. Or a combination.

#138 11 months ago
Quoted from dhutton:

What's your paint method? Roller, brush, or spray. Or a combination.

Combination of roller and rattle can.

For my first several cabinets, it was exclusively rattle can spray. By the time I got to Black Knight, I became unsatisfied with the splotchy coverage of spray on the larger cabinet sides...just so much area to cover and a lot of work (and maybe some paint skillz I don't have) to get those sides coming out looking even. So on BK, I tried the roller method for the sides, front and back and was really pleased with not only the even coverage it gave, but the fact that it only took only a few minutes. Still use spray for the stenciling colors, tho, as well as the interior and hard to reach areas of the exterior like the cab neck. For the paint, make sure to use oil based when rolling on to match the oil based rattle can sprays. I typically use Rustoleum 2x UltraCover for the spray cans, and Rustoleum makes little quart size cans of oil based paint in many base colors of their 2x UltraCover spray lines so they match up nicely if, after rolling, you want or need to touch up areas quickly with a rattle can.

With Night Rider, I rolled on the gloss white to the cabinet exterior but I got stung by my lack of skillz (I think) - I may have not loaded the paint properly in the roller, or perhaps I used too much pressure, or maybe it was the cheap/low end roller I have. I used a 6" roller which means I had to do several strokes to achieve full coverage, and I could see streaks in the paint from the roller edges. Didn't have this problem with Black Knight so maybe gloss white is less forgiving than gloss black? Anyway, instead of redoing everything over and going thru another oil-based paint clean-up session for my tools, I decided to knock down the cabinet exterior with 220 grit, wipe away the dust, and lay down a top coat from rattle can. With two coats of base white already established via roller, getting even coverage using rattle cans with no splotches was really easy.

One of these days I may invest in air tools and a real paint sprayer. I'm not there yet, tho. I'm averaging maybe 1 pin restore a year and I can't really justify the cost in tooling, especially a decent air compressor.

#139 11 months ago

Painted the cab neck this afternoon. Masked off the areas around the neck that need to remain white, and also cut out some cardboard to fit in and block the neck hole into the cab to prevent black specs of overspray from getting into the now-pristine gloss white interior.

I'm sure lots of people are going to think this is overkill, but it works for me and makes things easier: at this stage, I also wrap the entire cabinet with shipping stretch wrap (large roll, about 2' wide). I'll wrap the cab longways with several passes so it's nice and thick, and then wrap continuously around the sides with several passes so it's nice and thick. Why? Protection, protection, protection.

- Protection #1 - overspray, of course.

- Protection #2 - keeps the fresh new exterior cab paint getting nicked or scratched in my garage as I move it around while stenciling. Learned that the hard way with Mata Hari a couple years ago - picked up the empty cab to move it into position for the first stencil and the cabinet rubbed up against my chest. I was wearing my work apron which holds tools and what-not, and sure enough a screw driver in one of my holders made a nice scratch on the new base paint that I had to repair.

- Protection #3 - once stenciling is done and I'm happy the painting is as close to perfect as I can get it without going insane, it's time to move it to my basement rec room to put back on all of the hardware and reassemble the pin. It's a narrow, winding staircase of 24 steps down to my basement and inevitably my son and I will bump a wall or a handrail on the way down (or up). The wrap guards against any mishaps to the cabinet (and the walls).

How do I stencil with the wrap on? I'll provide some pics in the coming weeks as I enter this stage. But a quick description would be: using an Xacto and/or scissors, I cut along the bottom of the cabinet side I'm working on. The tape at the top of the cabinet side acts as a hinge. I left up the "window" and drape it over the back to expose the side I'm working on/stenciling. Once both stencil colors are down, I "close" the wrap window and re-tape it down along the bottom, rearrange the cabinet position, and work on the next side. This does mean I stencil one color, one side at a time. Folks may balk with that method as this does adds time, but IMO it makes for a better end result. By stenciling the cabinet laying on it's side, it prevents drips and, at least for me, it makes it much easier to remove the stencil itself.

Cab should be ready/cured enough for the first stencil color by the weekend if I can find the time.
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#140 11 months ago

Just curious - does wrapping the freshly painted cabinet slow down the curing time in any way? I always thought it had to sit out in the open air to cure.

#141 11 months ago
Quoted from dhutton:

Just curious - does wrapping the freshly painted cabinet slow down the curing time in any way? I always thought it had to sit out in the open air to cure.

That's a good question - the answer that I can give you is "I haven't noticed any issues". I've seen a lot of videos and posts from guys who try to do the whole cabinet in a weekend....base color and the two stencil colors. I usually wait a week between ending the last base color topcoat and starting the first stencil color, and the cabinet is usually wrapped a day or two into that week wait. Using this method for the 2 previous cabinets, I didn't have any issues. Hopefully this one goes the same!

#142 11 months ago

Yeah - when I've done stencils I've always let the base coat sit for a week too. The LAST thing I want to do is mess up the base coat while removing the stencil because I didn't wait long enough.

#143 11 months ago

Pretty happy with how the neck turned out:

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Got a little booger in that last photo where some paint leaked past the tape, but I'll touch that up by hand. You likely wouldn't see it with the side rails and the backbox attached, but I'll know it's there.

#144 11 months ago

With the cabinet set aside for curing before stenciling, might as well do a little work on the backbox. Here are a few "before" photos:
IMG_3927 (resized).jpgIMG_3927 (resized).jpg
IMG_3928 (resized).jpgIMG_3928 (resized).jpg
IMG_3929 (resized).jpgIMG_3929 (resized).jpg
IMG_3930 (resized).jpgIMG_3930 (resized).jpg

Spent about an hour clearing off the old paint with acetone - got about halfway done, need to quit for the day:
IMG_3935 (resized).jpgIMG_3935 (resized).jpg

The one side I did looks pretty ok - just simple light sanding needed. Hopefully when I strip the other side tomorrow it'll look as good:
IMG_3938 (resized).jpgIMG_3938 (resized).jpg

I was surprised by the top - while the original paint looked dank and dingy like you'd expect on a 47 year old machine, it didn't show any evidence of planking until I stripped the paint off. It's smooth, but I'll need to put down a thin layer of bondo or glazing putty to make sure this lasts and the planking doesn't eventually break through and ruin the new paint job sometime down the road:
IMG_3936 (resized).jpgIMG_3936 (resized).jpg

Also found some delaminating on the underside. Again, no one will see this but I'm going to fix it anyway and make this as sturdy as possible. Will glue and clamp down those delaminated strips and let it set overnight, then tomorrow or Friday I'll put a layer of bondo over the top to fill in any gaps to provide some extra strength:
IMG_3934 (resized).jpgIMG_3934 (resized).jpg

#145 10 months ago

Got the majority of the rest of the paint off of the backbox. Here are the two corners I need to fix - I ran out of wood epoxy so these will have to wait until the weekend.

IMG_3939 (resized).jpgIMG_3939 (resized).jpg
IMG_3940 (resized).jpgIMG_3940 (resized).jpg

Put a thin layer of bondo down on the top to help prevent planking breaking thru the new paint down the road. Also noticed some cracks in the bottom interior....I had the bondo mixed already so why not put a layer down there, too.
IMG_3941 (resized).jpgIMG_3941 (resized).jpg

Letting the glued-back delamination set overnight. I'll probably put a thin layer of bondo across the top this weekend as well.
IMG_3942 (resized).jpgIMG_3942 (resized).jpg

#146 10 months ago

Well, a couple of minor setbacks. Things were going too smoothly.

The top came out ok. Took more bondo off during sanding than I wanted, but it's nice and smooth and flat. I'm trying to not let "perfect" be the enemy of "good" so I'm calling this part done and I'll move on to the next thing. That bottom crack fix with bondo turned out ok too.
IMG_3944 (resized).jpgIMG_3944 (resized).jpg

Mostly happy with that big missing corner. I decided since it was so big that I'd go with bondo instead of wood epoxy. Right call, but I didn't quite have enough bondo material in the bottom right (darker looking) corner. I'll square off that shape with some wood epoxy over the weekend.
IMG_3945 (resized).jpgIMG_3945 (resized).jpg

This corner turned out ok but I need to touch up the edges with some glazing putty and work my way up to 220/400 grit sanding before laying down primer.
IMG_3946 (resized).jpgIMG_3946 (resized).jpg

Things went south with the exterior bottom fix. After the glue set overnight with the clamps, this is what I was left with (I also broke off a loose piece in disgust). Quite unexpected:
IMG_3947 (resized).jpgIMG_3947 (resized).jpg

Hindsight is 20/20....what a probably should've done is put a block of wood between the cabinet and the clamps so that the clamp pressure was more evenly distributed. Live and learn.

So I ripped out the pieces that I could and built up some layers of bondo to make this stronger. Will sand it down flat over the weekend and see what we get.
IMG_3948 (resized).jpgIMG_3948 (resized).jpg

#147 10 months ago

Not my best work cosmetically, but it's 100% stronger and will last for years and years. Normally I'd obsess over the levelness, but I'm ready to move on. Plus...this is the bottom of the backbox so it'll go unnoticed anyway.
IMG_3952 (resized).jpgIMG_3952 (resized).jpg

Made that corner a little better, call this fix done, too.
IMG_3953 (resized).jpgIMG_3953 (resized).jpg

#148 10 months ago

Final prep sand and wipe down with naphtha, ready for Kilz primer.

IMG_3954 (resized).jpgIMG_3954 (resized).jpgIMG_3955 (resized).jpgIMG_3955 (resized).jpgIMG_3956 (resized).jpgIMG_3956 (resized).jpgIMG_3957 (resized).jpgIMG_3957 (resized).jpg
#149 10 months ago

First coat of Kilz primer. One of the dangers of painting outdoors without a booth - had a small bug land right in the wet primer on the top panel. Had to pull him out with tweezers....the left over mess will sand out when I knock this down after drying before putting on the second coat of Kilz.

IMG_3958 (resized).jpgIMG_3958 (resized).jpgIMG_3959 (resized).jpgIMG_3959 (resized).jpgIMG_3960 (resized).jpgIMG_3960 (resized).jpgIMG_3961 (resized).jpgIMG_3961 (resized).jpgIMG_3962 (resized).jpgIMG_3962 (resized).jpg
#150 10 months ago

Attention turned to lower cab work while I wait for the Kilz primer on the backbox to cure.

Cut out a window so I can paint the front......
IMG_3984 (resized).jpgIMG_3984 (resized).jpg

Window of shipping wrap folded back, exposing the entire front while still protecting the rest of the cab.....
IMG_3985 (resized).jpgIMG_3985 (resized).jpg

Coin door area blocked and tape over the coin door frame bolt holes from the interior, don't want Red or Blue spray getting inside the nice white cab....
IMG_3986 (resized).jpgIMG_3986 (resized).jpg

Stencil (Red first) down, everything masked off......
IMG_3987 (resized).jpgIMG_3987 (resized).jpg

First color on the front done. Got a few boogers where some Red leaked past the masking....I could clean up later but I may not...they'll all be covered by something (coin door frame, legs, and lockdown bar). Still...some touch-up white paint when this is all done would take maybe 5-10 minutes to fix. Pretty happy with the crisp lines, hope the rest of the sides and colors go as well.
IMG_3988 (resized).jpgIMG_3988 (resized).jpg

I'll give the Red a couple days to set, then put the blue on the front. It's a tiny area for the Blue, should take only a few minutes.

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