YES!!! I'm so happy all my incessant badgering paid off! Ha-ha! I'm really excited to follow along on this journey. Thanks for taking us with you on this adventure, Pecos. ...and with such a rare machine, too. How cool.

I know a guy. PM en route.

Also...

Howdy, Oldtowner! I'd be interested in reading through your thread documenting your process. Needless to say I'll be following this thread closely, but if you don't post here to let us know about your thread, could I trouble you for a PM letting me know it's live?

As a fellow el cheap-o, I can sympathize. ...but if any game warrants "the treatment," I think you found it, P! ...but as you said...

Always nice to have time to think about (come to terms with) something.

Huh! Never heard of such a thing! ...for any other newbies:

colorBack_(resized).jpg

Edit: Woop...just saw your version inside the Double Up cab:

colorBackB_(resized).jpg

Regardless, I've heard that if a product has water in the ingredients, then you probably don't want to use it. (Likely to raise the wood grain.) You might want to take a quick gander at the back label.

I would lean this way, too. As I'm sure you recall, it worked wonders as the final cleaning step on ole' Swingy:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/3#post-2626388

I know M.E. is sort of a naughty word, but as a FINAL, GENTLE, MINORLY abrasive step, I feel confident you're approaching this project with an appropriate level of respect that this would be an appropriate measure to take.

Oh...oops. Or you could not use M.E. Ha-ha! ...guess I should have kept reading.

This is looking really great, BTW!

Curious...do you plan on repainting those areas where the "aftermarket" star posts discolored the playfield? I'm guessing not as you've already waxed...but...I think it'd be nice to see a more solid area of color there. SORRY!

Ha-ha! A slide rule? It's essentially an early analog calculator, right?

slideRule_(resized).jpg

Finally, Pecos, thanks for the heavy upload of photos. You know I appreciate that. I'll do my best to help where I can. You've helped me plenty over the past 8 months. Really looking forward to following along.

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor

THIS!!!

...is brilliant. Thanks for the reminder.

Also...

...SO PRETTY! I like the painted bottom board.

Honest question here: Why are there relays elevated off the bottom board? I've never seen elevated sections like that before:

elevatedBottomBoard_(resized).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-55

Finally, more thanks for the copius pictures. I know first-hand that it's not a speedy process to take, upload, and explain. This is a great thread.

Keep it up, Pecos!
Ryan

From my understanding, Bally fuse holders were notoriously brittle, so it would probably be favorable to just replace them. (I know you're keeping everything as original as possible, but this might be a nice upgrade exception. )

Really pretty! You make me want to paint my mech board.

Keep up the good work, Pecos!

This is a great reminder, especially since I'll be tackling my first Bally EM restore in the not-too-distant future. Just for kicks, here's a screen shot of my dated folders, each one full of pictures from my Swinger Restore:

folders_(resized).jpg

I imagine my next project will look similar. Ha-ha!

You can DO IT!!! Think how marvelous that cab will look with a fresh coat of paint. Hey, that's how it was ORIGINALLY!

Re-paint!
Re-paint!
Re-paint!

GoPecos_(resized).jpg

Keep up the great work, Pecos.

Sounds like a quorum to me!

Great work on this, Pecos! It's really turning into quite a beauty. The underside if your playfield looks clean enough to eat off of. ...although maybe not the best idea with all that lead solder hanging around down there.

Loved this:

mistakes_process_(resized).png

Nice diagram.

Woof! How are you going about cleaning all that up? Does isopropyl do the trick, or do you have to get more abrasive with that solidified lube?

...so how goes it over there? Nice work on this project, Pecos.

Wow. That coil on the left really cleaned up nicely!

I kid, I kid.

In all seriousness, that's a pretty radical transformation. Nice work, Poly!

Jeez! I had to rewind just to see that there was actually a label present in that first picture. Another nice clean-up.

Pecos,

Thanks for your continued documentation. The shots of the distressed cabinet are really informative about the state of how you received this machine. Didn't realize it was that decrepit. You're really breathing some new life into this rare gem.

I'm curious how the backbox is turning out. How's its stability? Pretty sturdy? Enough for some reasonable nudging? ...or will you be tightening up that tilt-bob?

Love the shot of the 3 different clamps. Ha-ha! Whatever works.

Keep it up. You've got to be pretty giddy at this point being so close to functionality!

Kudos,
Ryan

Cool video. Nice to see the multiple iterations of start-up. (Nice for me, anyway, to know I'm not the only one who doesn't get things working perfectly on the first try.)

About that pesky coin relay problem at the end, it looked like when that single switch in the relay was actuated, the desired results were achieved. Is it possible the switch is just not gapped appropriately for the whole relay movement and just needs some adjustment, but when moved manually (and individually) it is forced into making contact? Just a thought. Here's hoping you don't have to do a bunch of disassembly.

Pecos,

I'd think there's got to be a donor switch or motor out there somewhere. Maybe post in the looking for EM parts thread or even your own Project pinball thread. I'd be surprised if you didn't get some offers.

In the meantime, nice work with the...

NEAT!!!

I've taught classes in Adobe Illustrator before, so if you need some help, please PM me. With that said, your playfield looks fantastic!

A-men! Thanks for all your hard work on this, BorgDog! Looking forward to trying this out!

Sincerely,
Ryan

Ha! That's a great quote.

Although...

...might take the cake. *LOL*

I gotta say, though...

"backglass_with_mylar_cracked_glass_(resized).jpg"

...was a fabulous shot of the reflection atop the mylar over the crack to show that the whole thing was actually mylar'ed together. (Not easy to see/show in photographs.)

Anyhow, this...

...is really a bummer, however...

Also...

...that would be interesting historical information to have, and...

I'm happy to help, but as you said...

...and it seems to be working swimmingly. Best of luck polishing-off those finishing touches you mentioned previously. Can't wait to play it!

Finally, thanks for all the great pix, Pecos!

Sincerely,
Ryan

Nice!!! Congrats in tracking down that outlane problem! Looking forward to the rule set. That should help BorgDog with the virtual table, too. Good luck with the final fix!!!

Holy poo! That's gotta be a better write-up than the manual! Fantastic work, Pecos! The visuals really help, too!

Congrats on the playable pin! Thanks for the video and explanation of rules. Sounds like a fun game! You've really done an honorable job with all the restoration and documentation, Pecos! Ted Zale would be proud!

P.S. Good luck trouble-shooting that special/credit counter.

Huh! Those look great! I like the fact that they're not wed to the playfield. Nice install. I might need to grab a few of these for some of my machines.

Although...

...this made me wonder if, perhaps, mylar WITH adhesive would work better at keeping the area under the pops clean and protected, as it would not allow dirt/movement/friction underneath the mylar.

Although (again), I guess you run the risk of your adhesive mylar becoming cloudy and not being able to remove it.

*sigh* Such a double-edged sword.

Does anyone have experience with both? Do you know how long it takes for adhesive mylar to wear? Do you have much trouble with the non-adhesive mylar tearing up the playfield surface due to dirt? How often do you clean the PF to keep the non-adhesive mylar trouble-free?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Thanks for the food for thought, Pecos.

Pecos! You're my play-tester! I'll be haranguing you for non-adhesive updates in the months to com.

I'm gonna respectfully doubt this claim. You know I've got love for ya, BingoPodcast, but rubber cement is actually a really great FLAT adhesive for working with craft projects, like paper. Try gluing a couple substrates together with Elmers white glue and then again with rubber cement. With rubber cement you get none of that unsightly beading-up of the glue or worbling of the paper, like you get with the Elmers. Because of that, I'd IMAGINE (again, I've never tried it) that you could apply the rubber cement pretty thin and evenly (even without thinning it) and it would lay pretty darn flat. Now, I make no claims to it's transparency(would it look like you had a film of something in front of the artwork?), archival quality(would it do anything adverse to the artwork/playfield over time?), or ability to be removed without taking some screen-printed art along with it, but I have a feeling this rubber cement theory has a fighting chance of working-out.

Pecos, please keep us updated if you decide to move forward with this thought.

This is so interesting. I'm genuinely curious about this issue, since I'll likely be forced into this same decision-making process soon. Poly and Bingo, have you ever experienced the non-adhesive dirt-trapping becoming an issue first-hand?

Cool! Thanks for documenting this, Pecos!