Finally starting my next restoration. I took some time off to build a killer VP and I had to spend a couple months in training at work. All that's done and I am looking forward to starting this project. I picked this one because it is the only one that I have that has a chance to finish by Texas Pinball Festival. This will not be as in depth as the previous restorations because it is a HUO. The playfield is really nice with no wear. There a few inserts that are sinking so that will be most of the work on the playfield. The cabinet is nice but all four leg mounting areas have wrinkles that cannot be fixed. My plan is to do a complete cabinet restore with custom graphics that are based on the original art but with some changes.

Kind of like my other restores, I have a custom features to add if things work out.
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Too funny.
This one is just going to be a nice restore.....watch out in 2020 though. Lol
Aloha...

I got some shots to show the original condition of the machine. Overall in very nice shape.

The cabinet has a little bit of fade but not nearly as much as most HD I have seen.

A couple of blemishes on each side of the main cabinet. Mostly surface marks.
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In this pic, you can see the original color behind where the leg would go. A little bit of fade and damage to the corner.
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Here is the decal damage that is on all 4 legs. Very brittle so there is no fixing this.
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The left side of the backbox is pretty nice.
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The right side has some damage on the lower back side.
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The back is pretty clean with a few surface marks at the top portion of the text.
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The backbox light board is clean and pretty white.
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Inside is pretty clean.
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The underside of the playfield and cabinet look really nice and clean.
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The playfield has no "wood wear". The only issue with the playfield is some sinking inserts which has caused some wear on the key lines and a coupl other inset issues. Overall it is a very nice playfield.

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One of the worst inserts is the S on USA, you can see the black missing on the left side.
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The speedometer has a vertical scratch on it that allows light to show through. You can see it splitting the two zeros on the left. Should be able to fix that.
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Its a shame that the right sling plastic is broken. Being home use only, the plastics are near perfect but now I am gonna have to buy at least a partial set to replace that one.
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I found this kinda funny. Being home use only, I guess they took the protective covering off the side rails after they but the backbox up and called it good. The part that was covered by the backbox hinge, still have the protective film on it on both sides.
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At this point I don't think I am going to do any custom graphics on the playfield although I thought about making a tattoo decal of my name to put on the girl.

Got a good start today. Sometimes its weird to start a new project. You almost look at it and you have no idea where you want to start.
Started digging into the wiring and disconnecting everything. It always looks a mess at this point.
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Finally to the point to take the playfield out.
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Both the cabinet and playfield wiring harnesses are really clean with no dirt or anything on them. Got the playfield secured on the rotisserie after taking the back panel off.
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Next I took the backpanel out and took out all the bulbs. Just needed a light wipe down as it is in really nice shape with no yellowing. The back is very clean as well.
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Removed the hardware and it will go to powder coating.
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I took the ribbon cables off the displays and cleaned them. You can see a little difference in the one I cleaned on the left and the one that hasn't been cleaned on the right. The dirt looked worse in person than in the picture.
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All the cable are cleaned and reinstalled. I had already fixed the issues with the displays when I first got the machine so no work is needed on those. For now I plan on keeping the original displays as they are nice and bright.
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Light board is wrapped and ready to reinstall. I wrapped it to keep is clean and dust free.
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Got the boards out. I already did all my board work when I got the machine so no work is needed on the boards.
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Boards all wrapped up until assembly.
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Removed the speaker panel. Really nice except for the top chrome trim piece will need to be replaced because its marked up where the backbox rests on the cabinet when folded down.
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cleaned all the cable holders. Yeah, this is the glamorous part of restoring. lol
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Metal backpanel was really clean. I will scan that sticker before I attempt to remove it.
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All the vents removed and cleaned. Ready for paint.
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Took pictures and then removed all the stickers that were inside of the cabinet. I will probably make reproductions of these.
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Looks like they painted the backbox after they installed the corner brackets. These are removed and ready for powder.
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Backbox totally cleaned out and ready to be scanned.
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4 more screws. They are the security kind with the pin in the center.

I had some segments missing on one display when I got it but was able to fix them and they are nice and string now.

Well. I give this a 50/50 shot of being done in time but I will give it a shot. I have a couple cool ideas.
Either way, I’m looking forward to TPF.

Got the cabinet all cleaned out today. very nice, just a little dirt.
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Of course, you do this long enough and you are gonna have one of those days. Today was one of those days.
I HATE taking off WPC rails. I have tried different methods and I haven't found one that really works well. I should have just used the blow torch since I am taking the decals off anyways. The metal is so thin that its easy to bend the rails when taking them off. You get to a point and its hard to get them to look right. I was taking the second one off and I had got to the point that I was gonna trash the rail so I wasn't really worried about it. I thought I had it off but on the last pull, BAM.
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Kinda sucks because its just more work to do but it can be fixed so no big deal.

Then it was on to scanning the decals.
I put tape across the coin door opening and put X's on it to give the stitching program something to reference.
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Since the side is such a large area, I want to get the scans as close to perfect as I can. It helps the program not have to adjust as much.
To do this I use an angle with an edge on it. I also cannot do the entire thing at once as my program only allows 4 pictures wide and 4 tall. So I will do the main logo first.
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Then I did the sides.
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then the backbox
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I'm not sure if I am gonna put the text back on the back of the backbox but just incase I do, I scanned it too.
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I got a good start on the main cabinet side art. I cleaned up all the lettering and replaced the lines with new ones that are perfect and straight.
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Glued the piece of wood that came off the cabinet back on. I would rather have the wood on there and then just fill the edges than fill the entire area. Used a lot of glue to attach it well. Use wax paper so nothing sticks. A wise man once told me (my dad), that you can never have too many clamps. He was right.
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Also fixed the front corner that had the outer layer pulled up.
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Coin door tore down and ready for powder.
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Started working on the back panel
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You can see that the plastic is warped a little. It seems that every machine I do has this issue.
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The panel was in great shape except there was a little white mark on the top. It is just above where the plastic is so I will fix it.
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The way I normally flatten plastics is with a heat gut and two clean sheets of glass. Old playfield glass works great for this purpose. I lay a sheet down and clean it. Then I lay the plastic on it and heat it with a heat gun. Normally the plastic will raise and curl a little and then start to lay down. once it starts to lay down, then I place the other sheet of glass on to flatten it out and let it sit until its full cooled off. Because of the size of the plastic, its a little more difficult to do because you can only do one section at a time.
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Nice and flat.
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The drain kickers are hard wired so I cut the wire.
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Cleaned it up and replaced the coil sleeve and added a plug.
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Normally I just replace the star posts on my restoration, but since this was HUO and they cleaned up so nice, I will just use these.
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The left outlane lane guide looked nice with just a little bit of ball trail marks. Not nearly as bad as a normal game of this age.
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I wet sanded the guide.
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Made some headway on the playfield. Cleaning and preparing the parts for installation makes the teardown go much slower but should make assembly a lot faster and easier.
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The glued side came out pretty well. Believe it or not, the edges are pretty smooth so there shouldn't be too much filler needed.
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Got the backpanel put back together and wrapped until assembly.
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Got the backbox metal panel ready for powder. I had to scan the decal and I installed screws and washers on every attach point. This keeps the attach point free of clear so there is a good ground with the boards. When I get it back, I will take the screws off and the panel is ready to use.
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Got most of the playfield cleaned off and all the parts were cleaned and stored.
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Worked on the metal ball guides today. There are quite a few in this game. Some had light ball trails and some were more severe. Here is one that had more sever marks on it.
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Wet sanded it and got a nice finish. I did all the rest of them and they are ready to go.
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Then it was on to the drop target assemblies. Most of the metal on the underside of the playfield looks brand new. For some reason, the drop target frames looked like they had some light corrosion on them. I am going to soak them in Apple Cider vinegar and hopefully that cleans them up a bit.
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At first I was pretty excited about the drop target decals because on the side bank they cleaned up to look brand new.
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Then when I got to the center bank that gets more direct hits, they showed a little damage.
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There are some reproductions out there but I would rather have a NOS set. I haven't found one yet but I will keep looking. I can also scan and make my own if I have to.

Got everything off the playfield and it is ready to scan.

I could not find the 1/2 inch wide chrome trim that is on the speaker panel. I looked at all the pinball suppliers and could not find it. I finally located what appears to be a perfect match at O’Reillys auto parts. It is chrome car trim.
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Now to the frustrating part. I get sick of people selling stuff that is "Authorized" that are not even close. This is what I got for the target decals. The orange is not even close. I Authorize crap status for this junk. I will have to go to plan B.
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I don’t know. I emailed and explained and his response was to send it back because that’s all he had. But yet he talks about all the high tech equipment he has. Well, why can’t younadjust and print a set that looks like they are supposed to. I have an idea on something that might be able to reproduce them. I like to think outside the box.

Good deal. Glad to know it works well. Yeah, that’s the only reason I am having to replace it is the two black spots rubbed off the top piece from the side rails. Of course,I only need 5 feet to do the backbox. Now to find a use for the other 13 feet.

Finishing up with the playfield prep. Since I don't remove everything from the bottom of the playfield I like to block big openings so clear doesn't spread as much. This allows the clear to just drop to the floor.
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I have seen this several times. They build these side rails by splicing wood together and the seam doesn't hold. I have a few new side rails that I might be able to make work.
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Then when I was taking the side rails off, one of the screws broke off.
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Since it broke on the shaft, there was not enough left to use a screw extractor. So, I decided to just carefully rotated the side rail counter clockwise and it came right out after 2 turns.
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Nothing else to do with the playfield.
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Time to move the playfield to the hard mount for the rest of the restoration.
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Did a little bit of preliminary cleaning and since this is Diamond Plate, it looks like it is going to clean up really nice.
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Time to clean the playfield with Novus 2.
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Not sure if you can see the difference in the picture. The right half has been cleaned and the left has not. The white is much brighter on the right side but it doesn't really show up in the pictures.
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All clean and ready to get started.
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There are a few spots that I will try and fix with sanding like the shooter lane. One area that I will try and fix is the red posts seemed to stain the white areas a faint red. Doesn't show up very good in the picture. Not a bid deal because it will be covered with a post light but will try and remove it.
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I don't do anything until I get the playfield scanned.
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Now that the playfield has been scanned I can remove the mylar from the pop bumper area. It should come off with no problems since this is Diamond Plate. But it always makes me nervous and I have flashbacks to my Fire restoration.
I use freeze spray to separate the mylar from the glue.
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Turning the can upside down shoots out the propellant and it freezes the mylar/glue. So after 15 seconds and 2 frostbit fingers. the Mylar is removed. The white area is actually ice.
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You can actually see the glue and the dirt on the edge.
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So now comes the messy part. I use a liquid called TR-60. I'm pretty sure its mineral spirits but it might have something else in it too. I spread the liquid over the glue and let it sit for a minute or two. Then I use flour to provide friction.
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Then you take your finger and start rubbing the flour and you can feel the glue come up. You just keep rubbing around and eventually the flour balls up with the glue. You can feel the areas that have glue because there is a lot of friction. It is smooth where the glue has been removed. You can see the flour balling up.
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After you use op the flout then you clean it all off and then look into the light and you can see the areas that still have glue as it is really dull.
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After a few treatments its all clean. This process was pretty easy on this game. It only took about 10 minutes to clean all the glue off. Some older games take a lot longer.
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Next I documented all the graphics and their location on the cabinet. I have to have documentation of the distances from the edge so I can place the new graphics perfectly. Now if anyone makes fun of my "artwork" I'm throwing you out if here. it doesn't have to be pretty, I just have to understand it.
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Ok. I said I had a couple of ideas for the drop target decals because I do not like the two options I found for sale. It is impossible to print neon orange unless you have special equipment and the two options for sale must not have it. I do not want to put something in the game that is what I consider a down grade so I had to come up with an option to fix this. I had a few and tried one of them today. Also, the pictures and the computer do not really convey how fluorescent the orange is. Its really vibrant.

All 3 targets in the center back looked like this one with damage to the edges of the white area.
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Using a new blade, I very carefully cut out the white area of the decal. It came off in pieces but was able to get it off and clean off the adhesive that was left behind.
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Then I cut some flat white vinyl out.
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Then I placed the new vinyl in place where the old part was. Finished next to one of the 3 other targets that were not damaged.
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The 3 damaged targets finished.
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I will now get a thick mylar and cover the entire target to protect them from damage. I will cover the 3 undamaged targets as well so all 6 have the same finish look.

Playfield ready to clear. It was scuffed up to get rid of the shine to give the clear something to grip. While the playfield looked pretty good, I didn't want to try and do to much and damage the playfield before I got a layer of clear on it. I prefer to clean as best I can and then get a layer of clear to lock everything down and then start my work.
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One thing I did have to fix before I shot was one insert that had a slight ghosting on the bottom right corner.
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Instead of trying to inject clear under the edge I just cut out the area the was ghosted. The clear will fill in the area and then I dropped a little clear on the seam I cut out after I was finished shooting. This builds up the area that was missing and then I will sand it flat in a day or two. Here it is now. This is also a good picture of the damage to the key lines around the inserts.
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Finished spraying. The playfied normally doesn't look that great after the first spray because the clear will follow every imperfection on the playfield so the finish is rarely flat. This will all be fixed after the first sanding. Also, if you look close, you can see some areas that I filled in low spots around the edges of inserts etc. I should have a nice flat surface after the first sanding and the insert outlines are the only areas that will require major work. Glad to have the first layer down.
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I use Sherwin Williams Finish one. I have been using it for 5 years or so and really like it.

Yep.

I did a light sanding of the playfield to open up the surface to help it cure. I will do a normal sanding tomorrow.

Time to attack these decals. This is one of the things I do not care to do but you have too.
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I have used a blowtorch and a scraper and that leaves glue that's hard to clean up. I have had better luck with a heat gun but it still leaves glue. Today I said screw it and I tried sanding and it actually worked better. It still was a long process but the end result was a nice clean cabinet and the total time was probable about the same because after you scrape the decals off, you have to sand the entire cabinet anyways.
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Started cutting the graphics for the cabinet tonight. I always start with the hardest part because sometimes it takes a few cuts to calibrate the blade height etc. When there are suck small pieces, sometimes the adhesive on the piece is not enough for the blade to pick it up so you have to play with the type of blade and pressure etc. to get it right.

The beak was my test piece because of the small pieces. Also, if it messes up, there is not that much waste. It took about 8 cuts to get the final two good ones. Then it was the Talons.
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Now that the cutter seems dialed in, I cut the white on the backbox. The Eagle head is probably the most detailed with small pieces. These cut perfectly the first time.
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Then I started printing the rest which should be easier.
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If I don't have to go to work tomorrow, I should finish cutting the rest of the graphics.

Sanded the playfield today. I had to drop clear around some of the edges due to cracking etc. This ends up leaving a bump that needs to be sanded off. Here is an example of one around the K and E inserts.
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When done, it is nice an flat.
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Took a while but got it all sanded and ready for work. As of now it is sanded with 1000 grit. This allows tooth for the next layer of clear and a good surface for vinyl to stick too.
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It is a dull finish but if you get really low, it will shine and you can see how it looks.
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Had the cutter working overtime tonight.
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Main Cabinet cut.
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Main Cabinet weeded. Big simple graphics are pretty easy to weed. When they get complex line Williams Fire, it becomes a nightmare.
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The Harley text for the main cabinet.
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And for the "Live to Ride Ride to Live" text I am going with a silver metallic.
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Front of main Cab.
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a simple test and the stripes match perfectly.
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Cut the rest of the backbox with the orange and silver metallic.
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Finally the body of the Eagle. It is in gold metallic. Pretty complex but weeded pretty easily. Just had to work on a could little pieces but not bad.
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So all of the graphics for the cabinet are ready to go. I just have to design and cut a custom graphic for the back of the backbox. I am not putting the text back on.

Got the insert key lines cut today.
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Did the first round of cabinet repairs. This cabinet is in really nice shape and the only damage is on the corners. If you don't count the part that ripped off with the side rail.

There was only one corner to fix on the backbox. I am toying with the idea of filling in the T molding channel and making it a solid edge but I haven't decided yet.
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A couple of corners on the cabinet. I know they are behind legs. but I am fixing them anyways. Anything that is subtle like the impression from the legs will be fixed with Bondo in the next step.
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And of course the side rail damage.
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When I had my house built I had the large third garage insulated and I have a mini split heat/air unit In there so I am good to go all year. I plan on building a shop with a dedicated paint area sometime this year but this works well for now.

Sanded the cabinet today after the first round of filler.
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Next, I applied Bondo to the areas that were sanded and to the leg areas where the legs marked the cabinet.
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The sanded these areas and feathered it in so the final surface is smooth.
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Will probably Bondo the Backbox corner one more time since I sanded a little too much off this time.

I rebuilt the Drop target mechanisms and they are ready to install.
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Now to the playfield. I started working on the black rings around the inserts.
Here is a typical example of the damaged ring on the "S" insert.
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New ring applied.
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Then I started on the lower part of the playfield. Here you can see the Extra Ball, Ride Forever and the 2X inserts have been done.
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I got everything from the BIKE inserts down done along with the USA inserts at the top. Had enough for one day.
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Sanded the cabinet for the final time. Originally the underside of the cabinet and backbox were not painted. I painted it black for a more finished look and I want the bottom finished before I start spraying it.
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Found a couple of specks in a couple of inserts. Probably a crack that trapped sanding residue. No bid deal. Take an Xacto blade and scrape it out and drop clear on the area. I could have just waited until the next spray but I would rather drop it now and sand and put the insert ring on so the entire playfield is at the same stage when I clear the next time.
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Sanded those drops of clear on the inserts and put the rings on.
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3 of the 5 big "X" inserts had scratches on them that would let light shine through.
Here are the 2X and 4X to show what I mean.
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I just couldn't let that go so I cut some new insert text for those as the BIKE inserts that I will show in a bit. I already cut the 2X out when I thought about taking a picture. lol
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Here are the 2X and 4X fixed.
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I had to do all of them so they looked identical. All done.
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The BIKE inserts had some scratching too. The B and I were fine but the K and E were ugly. This is probably worse than it would be in a game because its a super bright flashlight but I still have to fix it.
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Fixed
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Painted the inside of the cabinet today. I hate unpainted vent holes. These were painted but not very well so I always paint them before I paint the main area.
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Its a little to hard to spray the inside of the cabinet so I brush and roll the inside with gloss enamel paint that will stand up pretty well to wear. Pretty happy with the finish on this cabinet as the wood was in really good shape.
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Cleared the playfield today. Really happy with how it came out. There are slightly raised areas where the vinyl rings and text are. That will be sanded flat. I might be able to do that without sanding all the way through or I might have to spray again for a final coat.
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The following picture shows the raised areas over the vinyl that was placed around the inserts.
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I very carefully block sand all the inserts to try and get them level with the rest of the playfield. Sometimes you can do this in one sanding and sometimes you have to clear and sand a second time. I was able to get them virtually flat in the first sanding.
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In the following pictures you can see that on some inserts I was just getting to the vinyl so it worked out pretty well. The discoloration you see on the insert rings is the overhead light reflecting different on the vinyl vs the clear. When I clear again it will be a solid rich black outline.
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I might be able to shoot the final clear tomorrow if my schedule works out.

Shot the final coat of clear on yesterday. I hope to sand tomorrow if I have the time.

Primed the cabinet.
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Here is a close up of that area I ripped of taking the side rail off.
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Thanks. Had some personal stuff come up so I don’t think it’s going to make it to Texas. I will still try but if not, no big deal. Family comes first.

Making progress. Stored the playfield in the gameroom while I paint the cabinet. That paint is nasty in the air. I have a ventilation system but just playing it safe.
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I got two coats of paint on the cabinet. Normally I only have to paint one coat but I got a couple of light areas so I decided to paint a second coat. I didn’t get any pictures of the cab between coats and I don’t want to open the booth to take any now since I just finished the second coat.

I did take these with my phone thought. I can’t figure out which one is the fresh air and which one is the exhaust.
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Today was an interesting day. I was getting ready to clear the cabinet and I realized I didn't have enough clear to shoot three coats so I had to go get some. Only to find out they closed my local shop and I had to drive 40 miles to get some. Anyways, after the delay I got the cabinet cleared and I really happy with the results. All I have to do is a light sanding and the decals will be ready to apply.
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Tonight I was able to get the playfield sanded. I sanded up to 5000 grit and there is a dull shine. I will buff tomorrow to a mirror finish and then it will be ready for assembly.
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Got the miscellaneous cabinet decals done. I print them on a vinyl material. I want the front side to be laminated so what I do is I put a thicker piece of paper behind the decal and then I put it through a heat laminator. I use a thicker piece of paper because it will tend to curl some if you just use a standard piece of paper.
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Then I trim around the edge and that allows the paper along with the back side lamination to be removed. This just leave the front lamination and the adhesive material on the back of the decal
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Then I trim them up and run each piece through the laminator again just to make sure all the edges are sealed good and then they are ready for application. I changed up a few to match the theme better.
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Started to sand the cabinet. The finish looks pretty good but it needs to be sanded so its flat for the final clear and for the application of the decals.
You can see a hint of texture in the clear.
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It becomes obvious when you do your fist sanding. Anything that is still black is slightly lower than the rest of the surface. Here is a close up after a little sanding with 800 grit.
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After a complete sanding with 800 to level the entire surface, I will sand with 1000 grit to prep the surface for the decals.
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Using Nahphtha, you can see the reflection on the surface is more of a true reflection without the texture.
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Now I just have to sand the rest of the cabinet.

Thanks. It’s a fun game. It’s not as complex as the games of the time but it has some fun stuff with the drops and spinners. You have a goal of traveling across country to the cities. It’s a Fun colorful game that you don’t see too often.

Got the cabinet sanded and ready for decals. I decided to start with the backbox since it is the most complex. The most important is the first layer since everything goes off that layer. On this one, since I am doing a custom graphics, I am having to split some of the colors. I use the measurements that I wrote down before I sanded the original graphics. I use blue tape to set up where the first layer should be.
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I put the orange down first minus the "Bally" logo. I am putting some blue outline around the orange Bally logo to pay homage to the blue in the original scheme.
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Next is the white minus the eagle head.
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Then a metallic silver. The metallic doesn't really show up in the picture.
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Added the red "U" and blue "A"
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Now the yellow Eagle Talons.
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Next is the metallic gold eagle. Once again the metallic doesn't really show in the picture.
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Now the white eagle head.
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Now the orange/yellow beak and the blue/orange Bally logo.
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Now and original idea for the back of the cabinet. I don't care about the text that used to be on there so I want to do my own thing.
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Backbox is finished and ready for Clearcoat.Dscf3599 (resized).jpg

Now the front of the cabinet. The main cabinet is a lot easier as there are only two colors on the front and three on the sides.

I started with the orange without the Text so I can add the blue background to it.
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The blue background
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Finished with the Orange text. The blue background ties in to the blue in the original scheme.
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Thank you.
I get my vinyl from a place called USCutter. They have a color guide book you can order that has all of the colors on a clear sheet. You can detach the sheet and take it to whatever you are trying to match. I use the high performance because it is the thinnest and best quality.
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Got the main cabinet finished and ready to clear. Same as the backbox. Gotta get that first layer set right. I actually cut an extra piece of the orange stripes on bot sides. That way I could line them up with the front decals for proper alignment.
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I got a phone call and got distracted and forgot to take a picture of the orange. Here is a shot of when I did the other side.
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White.
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Metallic silver. Looks like white with the reflection of the lights.
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Done and ready for clear. I like doing decals but there is a relief when it is done.
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Buffed the playfield out.
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Where are my sunglasses?
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Prepped the cabinet for its final clear. I might be able to squeeze it in in the morning.

I got all my powder coating back so I assembled some of the stuff for the cabinet.

Power box and transformer.
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When the ground braid attaches to a part that is powder coated or a metal piece is attached to a powder coated piece and it is grounded that way, you have to remove the powder so it makes the grounded connection.
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the lock down receiver. Installed the decal but will keep the protective film on until the machine is finished.
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Just finished clearing he cabinet which is the last major thing. It’s gonna be tough because I got some family medical things going on and that obviously that is more important. I will try to the last day to get this thing done. And looking forward to seeing you there bro.

Dscf3630 (resized).jpgDscf3627 (resized).jpgDscf3629 (resized).jpgCabinet Cleared.

Now the fun part. Cleaning all the sanding residue off the bottom of the playfield. Basically removing all switches and GI sockets and cleaning the playfield and the sockets.
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Got the pops and drop targets installed. Along with all the switches.
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You can do it either way. If you want it flat you sand the clear off the vinyl and just scuff the areas that didn’t have clear. After you spray again you sand the entire thing and you will be level. Depending on how much clear you sprayed, you might have to do a third coat.

For cabinets, I typically don’t do that. The only way you can tell that there is a small edge is too feel it. It’s a pretty small level difference.

I love this stuff so I will try and answer any questions. You are actually correct on that one. The logo is one of the rare instances where I stack the vinyl. I try and avoid that but I added a blue outline to the logo so there are two layers of vinyl with a larger blue layer and then the orange text placed on top. That and the Harley Davidson text on the front of the cabinet are the only two areas on the entire cabinet that are stacked. So yes, there is a little more level change there vs the rest of the cabinet. But I do think the picture exaggerates it a bit.

Yes. I apply wet to both. It allows for movement of the vinyl as its on the surface. The vinyl is pressure activated so when you get it perfectly placed, you start running a plastic applicator over it ton”set” it and work all the fluid out. The application tape has micro holes in it so you spray some fluid on the outside and work it around and in a couple minutes, you can take the tape off and wipe it all down.

I use a vinyl application fluid.

I am illuminating all the star posts. There are 24 on this game.
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This area was a nightmare to get done. I want to hide the wires as much ass possible and there is only one hole and that is the GI lamp. It took a lot of work to get the wires routed down through that socket.
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There is one post that I could just not make work. I had to replace it with a bell rubber like the ones next to the pop bumpers. I actually modified a post LED and thought I was going to get it to work. I put a hole in the lamp panel and the metal guide fit perfectly through it. The only problem is that when the metal guide went through it shorts out one of the connections. There is no room to make the hole any bigger so I will have to accept defeat on this one. I replaced it with the rubber because I don't think it would look good with one post not lit. I think it would look like something was broke.
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All installed and waiting to wire up.
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Most of the playfield is put together with out the plastics on.
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Bottom of the playfield is done except for the post lights and organizing the wiring.
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New style corner brackets. I trimmed the orange stripe before I cleared so there should be no issues.
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Installed the newer style leg brackets and new grounding braid.
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Installed the cable mounts.
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Lockdown bar receiver. You will see in a later picture that the movable part is black chrome.
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Installed the power box with a custom fuse decal.
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Shaker motor and transformer installed.
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Added the playfield support bar. Inside is complete.
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Added the side mirrors.
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Installed the corner brackets and new ground braid.
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Installed the metal back panel with a custom fuse sticker.
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The FCC sticker did not have any sticky left.
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Even though nobody will ever see it, I fixed it anyways. I used 3M adhesive tape.
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You can see the wear areas on the top chrome piece from resting on the lower cabinet.
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I found the exact match at the auto parts store.
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I used an old side rail as a guide to put the strip on straight.
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Installed. Shiny chrome.
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Boards installed. Complete except for the light panel.
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Cabinet Finished. The legs are my shop legs with wheels on them. The legs will be black chrome like the rest of the trim. I also have a set of Metallic orange that match the inside trim but I will more than likely use the black chrome as I like the way it goes together.
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I'm glad you are enjoying it. It's been a fun one to do.

I divided the post lights between 3 GI strings. I added the lead wire to a GI socket. I used the Comet Matrix system which makes it easy to connect them all together.
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I like to completely wire the playfield before I put it in the Cabinet. That way I can run all the tests and fix any problems while its on the rotisserie and not in the cabinet.
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Its alive.
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Had to fix two connectors on the post lights but everything else is working well.
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Added two bright white flasher strips on the bottom of the cabinet. These are the same ones I used on Jurassic Park and I am very happy with them. Mounted with some custom designed brackets that I printed in Transparent orange.
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I put plugs on them so if I have to remove the playfield at a later time, it will be easier.
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I attached the wire spools to the machine connector and I just set them to the side. Once I put the playfield in, I will run the rest of the wire to the playfield flashers.
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I just love it when you open a new product and something is broke. Bought new CPR plastics and made the mistake of not opening them until now. There was no damage to the box so I had no reason to believe that anything was wrong. The area that broke is around a mounting screw cutout and there is just not that much plastic there so it is a weak point. I am sure that just moving around in the box just snapped it off. Nobody's fault and I am sure CPR will send me a new one. I just should have looked when I got it.
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The good news is that with this machine being home use only, The original corner plastics were darn near perfect so I used the original. I got lucky on that one.

Playfield is now complete and ready to install into the cabinet. I leave the side plastics off because it is easier to handle while putting the playfield in.
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I apologize for not having this thread updated. A lot has been happening on my end and I will try and get an update done in the next few days. The machine is done but I haven’t had time to update the thread.

TPF was a blast. It was great to hang out and help out.

Sorry for the delay in getting this updated. Going through some medical issues in the family and spending time with my dad during the day and staying up until 3am for the two weeks before TPF trying to get this done in time and just didn't have time to document.

The last thing on the playfield was the apron. The paint on the apron had a few scratches in it. Other than that, it is in really nice shape.
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I scanned the painted areas and cut vinyl.
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I didn't get any finished pictures during the restore but here are the ones after the show. Barry signed it at the show.
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The last thing was the topper. I always like to add a little something to my machines that is unique. I had a few ideas but there is a fine line between adding something to a machine that looks good and functions well and something that is too much and looks like it doesn't belong. I settled on a topper that I thought would look good and my hope was to make it interactive with the game. I started this topper on Tuesday evening. I was starting with a blank slate and not really sure if I would be able to finish it in time since I was designing it as I went.

I have a Harley Davidson. About 9 years ago I put new Vance and Hines pipes on it. The two exhaust shields had a very minor blemish in them that probably only I would ever notice but I called them about it and they sent me two new ones and told me to keep the originals. They sat in a box for 9 years until Tuesday night. I got them out and I thought they would look perfect on top of the machine. I do not have any pictures of the build process. I built a mount for the pipes and then put two orange flashers in each pipe. One flasher in each pipe is hooked to the left spinner and the other flasher in each pipe is hooked to the right spinner.

Here are the pictures of the finished pipes.
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Flashers
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Here is a short video of a spinner hit. It wasn't a great hit but you see the effect. Its cool because the frequency of the flash is related to the speed of the spinner so as the spinner slows down the flashes do too. Kinda like letting off the throttle.

So the machine is finished. Here are a few pictures of the machine.

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New custom manufacture date decal and patent numbers.
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I put custom Harley Davidson vinyl on the bottom of the playfield and on the speaker magnet.
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Mirror blade protection removed.
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Many thanks to everyone that had comments on the game at TPF. I enjoy talking pinball with all of you. I was fortunate enough to win 1st place in the 90's category and they announced that the Grand champion was between myself and Kevin Moores TOTAN. Congrats to Kevin on a beautiful machine and I was honored to be mentioned along side him. Awesome show and see you guys next year.
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On to the next one....

I forgot to add this picture of Barry O playing the game. B24FB687-94B9-43D9-8DA7-8F47D4B8A5A3 (resized).jpeg

Hello everyone. Got some cool news (or at least I think its cool). lol
I am starting a YouTube channel that will be mostly dedicated to pinball restoration. Many of you have followed my restoration threads and I appreciate all the feedback. It's fun so I thought I would expand a little bit. I will still have my restore threads but I hope to add videos that compliment and show what and how I do things instead of just pictures.
I have a few videos up and would appreciate any comments. Keep in mind that I am just starting this so I will get better. Please be gentle.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPh4fgdB6s2clf50tpaMwSg

There is a segment in my latest video that talks about all my Harley Davidson mods.