Madison, AL
Quoted from NeonNoodle:I can appreciate both methods as well. But, "better than new" restorations of EM's don't work for me either. Kind of like an over the top restored 56 Chevy that is way more perfect then GM ever could manage (or even tried to) in 1956.
The genuine patina of age takes years or decades to develop, and I personally prefer that on my EM's, which is why I take pains to retain it when I do my "restorations". What do I do? I simply disassemble and thoroughly clean everything then put back together. I've never clearcoated a playfield or restenciled a cabinet.
And, whenever possible I attempt to reuse all of the original parts other than the obvious consumables like rings, bulbs, etc. Recently I was working on a machine where all of the posts had turned chalky. Ordered new ones and started to use them but quickly realized how wrong it looked. Found nice used ones which looked appropriately aged and all was well.
Fattdirk...absolutely agree with you about the "battle scars" that old machines often have accumulated over the years. I would never paint over carved in initials, phone numbers, and high scores, cigarette lighter burn marks, etc. I feel like these things all add to the character of the game because they reflect its particular history.
The problem I see with that is - If you leave the worn cabinet alone, you can always decided to touch it up or restencil it someday, or a future owner could. If you have a playfield with loose paint or major wear, and don't seal in the repairs with a proper clear coat, it will just continue to wear. I am with you on keeping patina and I tend to lean towards original whenever possible. However, I am restoring a '58 Bally Carnival Queen bingo, and in cleaning and touching up the playfield, I will be using a 2 part clearcoat to repair the playfield for good.
