Prologue: First Things First

And for my final restoration thread, I'll be crapping all over the EM side of the forum while I struggle to restore a Jacks Open back to its better-than-original glory. I'm calling this thread a Wiki because since this is my first EM restoration I'll have questions that many noobs would have and they can use this thread as a reference. (And a lot of my questions will be REALLY stupid...just check out the second post in this thread for proof.) I'm asking anybody and everybody with knowledge about EMs to chime in and contribute. That's the only way I'll learn!

But first things first: My apologies to purists. A while back, I asked about doing a full restoration on EMs vs. doing touchups and trying to keep original paint. There were valid and passionate arguments for each side, but with this game, I fear I have to do a full restoration on everything, which you'll understand when you see the condition of the cabinet. There's a hole in the side with a dowel jammed in there that has to be knocked out and filled with fiberglass, tons of deep scratches everywhere, and a corner of the backbox that's mangled.

I'll be asking A LOT of questions along the way so as to avoid unnecessary f**k ups, and again it's my fervent hope that others that come after me get a lot of questions answered in their first restoration and get turned on to EMs the way I've been. Many thanks to Nico Volta, Boilerman, and Steve at PBR for their offers of advice, support and help. I'll need it!

Here are pictures of the game as it stands now, and the first stupid questions will follow shortly:

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Here are some playfield shots:

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...and now for some stupid questions before I rip this thing apart:

1. There are a lot of labels stapled in various places around this game. Is there anybody who makes reproductions of these like they do for DMD machines? Or do I have to try to restore the original paper and restaple it back where it was?

2. Are there any other parts of the machine that are absolutely not replaceable that I have to be extremely careful in handling?

The tear-down will commence in about 10 days and the cabinet should move pretty quickly from that point.

I'm about to learn a whole lot about how this s**t is put together...and I'm keeping a fire extinguisher nearby at all times.

(I know...no steel wool and no wet contact cleaner when you turn it on. Any other cautions or fire hazards?)

Yes...in a self-deprecating way. At least I know when I'm a moron.

I might be in the wrong place, then...but I do self-censor, at least. And thanks for the well wishes!

My last thread about a restoration, not my last restoration. I'll need the help of the EM community to get through this one and learn about all the moving parts, but posting restoration threads does kind of take the fun out of doing them. There's too much pressure for updates and I'm a really busy guy - I'd rather just do them on my own schedule and for enjoyment.

Stalker.

I'll have to look...not sure it's glued. The problem is (as you can see in the picture with the chimes...it's right above them), the dowel is sticking out into the inside of the cabinet about a 1/2-3/4". I'll have to either hacksaw it off or knock it out, cut it to size, and glue it back in.

I have U-Pol Fibral Lite fiberglass filler. I was going to drill small holes around the inside of that circle for the paste to grip, then fill it up and flatten it out. Not a good idea?

Same principal when I fix the crapped up corner of the backbox, which is what I've done on past restorations.

Nah...I respect others' right to have a relatively clean thread. I'll try to keep it clean in here, although I AM a foul-mouthed little pecker.

Oops! There I go again...

Besides, I really WILL need the help of the EM community on this one, so I'm not out to piss anybody off.

I don't really understand it, though: O-din is one of the biggest personalities here on the EM side...and also one of the most offensive. (But hilarious!)

The vernacular. That's in the testicles, isn't it?

You know...eventually this restoration thread will get off the ground. I just have to get back from vacation first!

Chapter One: The Tear-Down

Okay, so the tear-down is never the most interesting part of any restoration thread, but you've gotta do it in order to get to the interesting stuff. This took me a leisurely 3 hours (much shorter than doing a DMD game!), and here's what I love about working with EMs already: just take out a couple of screws, and the guts just lift out of the back box and cabinet. (After detaching a few other things first.) Here's what I hate about EMs: slotted screws. When you're not used to using them, your hand keeps slipping out of the slot and makes you feel like a complete moron. And I don't need any help with that.

I also spent a few hours yesterday driving up to Pinball Resource in Poughkeepsie to get a bunch of parts from Steve Young and pick his brain on a few things. Great guy, and I'm grateful for the time he gave me.

And now to the good stuff. Short, boring, but let's get it over with.

All screws and hardware were bagged and tagged. Labels were removed carefully with a industrial staple remover so that they can be reattached or reproduced faithfully. (I haven't decided which, yet!)

Here's the cabinet before being gutted:

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Here's the worst mushrooming I've ever seen on a shooter rod:

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I'll have to regrain and de-scuzz the lockdown bar and lockdown receiver, but I decided to replace the yucky side rails. So I didn't have to be too careful about removing them, but I found that with a chisel or staple remover to lift the nail up slightly, it was easy to use a pair of Vampliers to twist the nail out once you could get some purchase on them. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Vampliers are worth every penny and essential at some point in every restoration.

Here's the stripped cabinet, ready for sanding:

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One more thing before I sign off on this step - I noticed one area that I needed to measure because it doesn't fall under the auspices of stenciling for this game. If you're going to restore a JO, you have to make sure you know the measurement on this painted section beneath the back box. And if you forget, I just did it for you!:

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Hey...it just occurred to me...maybe I should just call this thread "A JO Restores a JO." Fitting, no?

Before my next update, a word about cabinet color. This was asked about in another thread, and I'll copy this info over there. I sprayed some Rustoleum 2x Heirloom White (satin) on a bare piece of wood and let it dry. I then held it up against various spots that had been protected by large parts for nearly 40 years, so there was no fading or discoloration. I took pictures in sunlight and in shade. I think you can see that the match is nearly spot on, so that's the color I'm going with.

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And now for a question for the EM masses:

My research has found that Krylon Banner Red is the preferred red color for a Jacks Open cabinet. But that color only seems to come in gloss. I'm spaying the cabinet in satin, and I originally wanted to do all the colors in satin. Is this wrong? Now I'm thinking that doing gloss stencils over the top of a satin base will actually make it look almost like it's decaled, which could be pretty cool.

What's are people's thoughts on this? Is there another red I should use instead, and should I stick with satin or go with gloss?

Thanks in advance...

I didn't know you lived up that way. Everything in New York is just ... New York. I'm jealous that you live so close to PBR...you should probably get into EMs more.

I never had any interest in EMs until recently. My first machine was WOZ, and I've been working my way backward through pinball history. I'm up to 1977 now, and I don't see any stopping in my retrogression.

Here's the great thing about EMs: The newer faster games are great until you've had a few too many drinks (which I don't do, but my wife has to be married to me, so she likes to drink). Then, the slower pace is perfect! It's also great not to have a ruleset that reads like a novel.

Any recommendation on brand for satin clear coat? Just go with Rustoleum?

EM owners are a product of their time. (i.e.: they're oooooold... )

PS - I'm 51, so I could go any day myself.

Chapter Two: The Cabinet
Part One: Cabinet repair and paint base coat

Doing at least one restoration a year (two this year), I spent the money on a Festool, which made stripping the cabinet a breeze (I also took note of the serial number before starting: 08144). I used 80 grit paper to do this:

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Once the cabinet was stripped, it was time to start repairing stuff. I glued all delaminated plywood and even had to replace one strip of wood on the underside which was beat to hell:

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To rebuild corners, I used U-Pol Fibral. I drilled small holes so that the Fibral could "grip" the wood better. There were notches cut out of the corner pieces at the front of the cabinet; these were rebuilt with fiberglass as well, then smoothed over with U-Pol Fantastic (which I like better than Bondo). Every nick and dent was Bondo'ed flat, both inside and outside the cabinet.

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Everything got sanded smooth, first with 120 grit paper, then 220 grit paper (again, the Festool is a monster in helping you do this quickly!). Once it was smooth like buttah, I sealed the entire cabinet with Zinsser Seal Coat, then sanded smooth again with 220 grit paper. (Thanks, Nico Volta!!! )

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Finally, it was ready for painting. I used Rustoleum 2x Heirloom White (which looks plenty white in the last picture, regardless of people's concerns over it being too almond - it all depends on the lighting!). I used at least 3 coats, and went through 5 cans of paint.

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Next up: I fire up the HVLP sprayer to paint the black spatter, and get ready for some stenciling (after at least 5 days of curing!).

I learned my "Soup Nazi" lesson during my phone call to him. I told him I would pick up the parts so I could meet him in person so he could put a face to the name. I think that's important in doing business with people and with this hobby. So I went into the one parts room, and looked through the door into the other parts room. Just a bunch of shelves with brown boxes full of parts.

Sorry you had to stand in the parking lot.

Well...that's a problem. I used Rustoleum for the white, but am using Krylon for the stencil colors.

Crap.

Good point, and thanks for bringing it up. The Festool is hooked up to a HEPA vacuum, but for further safety, I do wear a sanding mask. (And a respirator when painting.)