Night Rider EM
Bally, 1976Quoted from eagle18:Not acceptable IMO. U got anybody close to u that powder coats? I get 4 legs sandblasted and powder coated for $75. I have all my Bally SS done in a dark grey metallic. If this game is not a keeper for u don’t spend that money.
I personally prefer the look of chrome non-ribbed legs instead of correct dark gray original or repaint/powder coat. New set from PBR runs about $ 55 + shipping but order over $ 100 and get a 10% discount.
Quoted from eagle18:Not acceptable IMO. U got anybody close to u that powder coats? I get 4 legs sandblasted and powder coated for $75. I have all my Bally SS done in a dark grey metallic. If this game is not a keeper for u don’t spend that money.
Well, I appreciate the honesty.
It's a keeper, for about 6 months is my guess. I've got room for 2 pins max, so small collection.
I'll be doing my thing with these. If the eventual new owner wants to shell more cash, so be it. This isn't a Fathom 
In other news, decided to freshen up the score box a little. Funny how I had ALMOST enough primer and ALMOST enough white. Both cans fell short of my intentions. That said, it's way better than before. As a bonus, I don't have nearly empty paint cans hanging around!
20210516_145559 (resized).jpg20210516_150721 (resized).jpgQuoted from Mathazar:What paint are you going to use? I've been toying with the idea of Hammertone the next time I have to refurb a set of legs. Haven't tried that yet.
I’ve done the hammertone legs and they came out great. I redid a set of Allied Leisure legs that were factory hammertone. AL legs are impossible to find because of the bolt spacing so I had no choice. They were heavily rusted and one was slightly bent so I had to straighten it. I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to save them. It took 3 days in evaporust and a lot of sanding.
So, here's what I'm thinking:
I'll cut out some "R" from the last R in Rider; the solid part next the shadow. Then I'll place some Saran Wrap there so I can adjust the location. That will give me 2 reference points. The X and the R curve.
I'm open to other thoughts though.
So, I went for it today. Might need some touch up, or I may just "let it ride". Couple of spots drawing my eye.
20210519_164729 (resized).jpg20210519_165115 (resized).jpg20210519_171235 (resized).jpg20210519_174853 (resized).jpg20210519_182225 (resized).jpg20210519_182233 (resized).jpg20210519_182241 (resized).jpgLooking at I can see the right side was high by a cm. Oh well, a few touch up and carry on.
Note to self: DONT RUSH. KEEP REGISTER MARKS.
It's official, I'm no artist.
I tried to mend about 6 areas tonight. I kept 2 of those areas. Lots of bleeding and general ugliness.
End result today, a few thicker lines to help cover some white.
Next I'll "remove" the blue that runs too high.
After that, cut and run I think.
20210521_194534 (resized).jpg
Quoted from RonSS:It's official, I'm no artist.
I tried to mend about 6 areas tonight. I kept 2 of those areas. Lots of bleeding and general ugliness.
End result today, a few thicker lines to help cover some white.
Next I'll "remove" the blue that runs too high.
After that, cut and run I think.
[quoted image]
1) No one but you will notice.
2) The factory was pretty sloppy at times too.
Don't sweat it, @ronSS! Like gdonovan said, no one but you will notice and the free-wheeling factory in the 70's released its fair share of blemishes, too! When I goofed on my Black Jack backbox (left side perfect, right side stencil alignment issue putting down the red), it bugged me for about 3 weeks but I got over it after everyone I asked said they didn't see it till I pointed it out. I'm at peace with it, now.
IMG_7526a (resized).jpgHaha, thanks everyone. I know in the big scheme it's a nothingburger, but I'm one of those guys that divulges all the faults. Personality flaw
Onward and upward!
Finished all reels today. I'll have to print some new numbers, but that's for a later date.
I've got a few light sockets to tweak, along with some wires/solder joints to check. Right now it's one of those jiggle the wire just right kind of things.
Forgot to clean the player unit before remounting in the backbox. 
Guess I'll clean that next.
Overall, it's starting to come together.
20210606_172352 (resized).jpg20210606_172402 (resized).jpg20210606_184859 (resized).jpg20210606_185101 (resized).jpgQuoted from RonSS:The glamorous side of pinball, cleaning steppers.[quoted image]
Envirorust!
What I ended up doing was taking off the fingers and nylon gear shaft/wheel unit. Along with the springs, as pictured. I used a small wire wheel dremel to remove most surface rust. Lots of isopropyl just for good measure.
I also removed the coils, although not nearly as deteriorated as the score reels, so I took a Q tip with iso in the sleeve and plunger, then ended up cleaning the plunger more.
Seems as though more grease like junk was holding it back than anything.
Could it be cleaner and shinier? Yes.
Is it working now? You bet.
I'm doing a HECK refurbishment, not a HEP. 
As in, when I'm done, this thing will be a heck of a lot better than before!
Keep in mind, this is my first all out repaint project. And its a Night Rider...
I've got a few other projects lined up just waiting also (Bazaar, Space Station, a pitch and bat) so I'm trying to do a good job, but not working with a CQ cab to start. Small steps as they say.
Thanks for riding along with me!
Quoted from Mathazar:Do you completely disassemble to clean (looks like A LOT of work)? One of these days I'm going to get my first EM but it looks really daunting.
You know what, in retrospect, I could "probably" separate that bracket from bakelite fairly easily.
I may have to go back to this stepper.
Nicely done...extremely minor paint loss. I had tons of paint come up when I de-mylared my EBD but I didn't care at the time because I was installing a hardtop.
What method did you use to lift the mylar so cleanly? Cool spray, heat gun, both?
Yeah, I lost a little on the top left. I think because I was a little hasty. Most of the other paint loss you see was pretty much there already. Probably the cleaning took a little more from each.
I use upside down compressed air can, and a mask... because you only make that mistake once!
Peeled up incredibly easily.
Something very strange happened this morning...
I decided to do a few quick touch up, and happened to grab this "light orange". Turns out it is a near perfect match! But here's the odd part, I had been trying different colors from my stash to match earlier, and never saw this one. Secondly, it was just sort of out in the open, waiting for me.
I'm not gonna lie, it was a touch spooky.
Anyhow, here's one of my pop touch ups. Not a bad match, right?
20210619_113429 (resized).jpgDone for the day.
Whites under plastic - terrible match, don't really care, just trying to lay paint on bare wood and brighten it up a bit for lights.
Yellow around pops - pretty good match! I'll lightly sand or chemically level the 2 top pop areas tomorrow.
Aqua truck lanes - nice match. Only had a few thin chips. So looks pretty good.
Pop area blue - worked a while trying to match this. I think it turned nicely.
Still can't match by slings. I'm getting close. But seeing as though that's do close to the player, I need it a very good match. Fight another day.
Here's what it looks like now... (funny how light angles display imperfections so cleary one way, but not another)
You’ve done a great job so far Ron. I’ve had good success with Createx paints. They dry the same color as when they were wet but they are on the pricey side.
Quoted from Murphdom:You’ve done a great job so far Ron. I’ve had good success with Createx paints. They dry the same color as when they were wet but they are on the pricey side.
Thanks Chris,
Yes, I looked into that brand, but you are correct. A little pricey for this project.
So long as I don't make things worse, I'm happy!
Quoted from swillie:Nice work on a super fun game. Look at my play field...I’m not about to try any touch up on that thing either lol. It’s a player and it plays 100% fast and furious. My most beat up pin but the one I play most and the last I would ever part with.
[quoted image]
Dayum!
Any thoughts on filling in worn wood around the slings?
I was thinking maybe I'd sand, lay a light layer of wood glue, followed by wood filler/putty, then paint. I have some deep gouges there.
Good day to level inserts. Using dropper method as so many have decals on them.
I figure if I can even 1/2 level them now, the final auto clear should just about finish the job.
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Hamilton, OH
