Unknown City
@awarner, nice! I will follow your progress too! Good resource for future bride restores =)
(Topic ID: 64705)
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Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The
Williams, 1991
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Heres another update!
I did a test for making the wagon bolts for the backbox hinges etc. look better. Spray painted with semi gloss black. Kind of nice result:
Also tried to do something about the lockdown bar holder (what is this piece actually called?) that looks terrible right now. I sanded it down to very thin grits and polished with a product called Autosol which is amazing. The results passed the test, now i need to get myself together and do the rest of it.
And the last thing, ive finally had enough of the backbox metal plate... ive tried a lot of different products on it but ended up sanding it with 180 grit and polished it with autosol. Its not perfect but will do!
Over and out!
Salem, VA
Quoted from TheRingMaster:what is this piece actually called?
Lockdown bar receiver. I cheated and bought a new one from Mantis a while back. They're a pain to clean up.
Ok, thats a nice name hehe
Anyway, yeah i was thinking i might buy one but if its possible to do i will clean it up. If it still looks reasonable after that i think ill go with the old one. As you say I can imagine its a pain to clean up! Cant be as bad as the coin door and backbox plate though.. or maybe it can =)
One thing i must check first is if its really the original style one. Inside the coin door its handle had made contact with one of the lights in the door causing problems. And i am not 100% sure its the one that should be there but i will double check that before putting down some hours on it.
That receiver looks great. I just sand blasted my receiver, coin box door and frame on HS and sprayed it with self etching primer, painted and sprayed about 3 coats of clear on them. You'll probably shoot me or throw up in your mouth 
but I did them in gold chrome.
Quoted from TheRingMaster:BTW here is what the plate looked like before.. if you wanna stay super true to the original i guess what i did made it too shiny but hey, at least its clean!
The FBI-sticker and fuse chart are going to get replaced too.
plate-before.jpg 101 KB
You are probably going to need to shoot some clear on that back plate if you haven't already. Those things rust like crazy after you shine them up. Same thing with the bar receiver. It's steel, so once you take off the galvanizing, you have two choices; clear coat or chrome plating. I cleared both of mine and they are still shiney.
Hi brad! Yes i think something will have to be done. Maybe eventually at least. The board has been waiting all winter in the workshop with one side sanded without any signs of rust/corrosion so maybe it's not that bad? The issue with clear on it is that it reduces conductivity (word?) and since the boards find their ground on the plate it must not cause a bad ground. It was discussed earlier in the thread I think. Long story short, I have not decided what to do yet =)
Quoted from TheRingMaster:Hi brad! Yes i think something will have to be done. Maybe eventually at least. The board has been waiting all winter in the workshop with one side sanded without any signs of rust/corrosion so maybe it's not that bad? The issue with clear on it is that it reduces conductivity (word?) and since the boards find their ground on the plate it must not cause a bad ground. It was discussed earlier in the thread I think. Long story short, I have not decided what to do yet =)
They only ground through the screws so clear it then just sand a small spot by each screw. You have to remember how dry the air is during the winter, in the warmer weather is when the humidity goes up.
Hm, that's true! I will clear it just to be sure. Do I need any special clear or does it work with a decent clear suitable for metal?
Not sure about that but don't use the rattle can stuff, I've been told there's something in the formula that turns it yellow over time. Can't prove it but that's what I've been told. You have the spray gun so get some automotive clear. Not sure about prepping the metal.
Ok, thanks! I will ask the local paint shop for advice. It's not a big surface to cover so let's hope I can find it for a reasonable price. Soon more updates on the cab and PF.
Yup, thats always a good idea!
A question,
At some point i was thinking I should replace the PF inserts too while im at it... but they seem hard to find. Do you guys think it would be enough to sand them slightly, level them and then call it good enough?
When I put alcohol on them they look pretty nice and the clear would have a similar effect i guess... some might be a bit faded but it i put leds in the game, maybe colored ones, it must look good anyway or what do you think?
The reasons I feel intimidated by replacing them is because 1, they are hard to find and 2 there is plenty of artwork on them that would need to be recreated if i replace them and that would cause trouble or take a lot of time.. .
Here is another update,
Got some screens for the cabinet warning texts and it will be very interesting to see the results!
Quoted from TheRingMaster:Yup, thats always a good idea!
A question,
At some point i was thinking I should replace the PF inserts too while im at it... but they seem hard to find. Do you guys think it would be enough to sand them slightly, level them and then call it good enough?
When I put alcohol on them they look pretty nice and the clear would have a similar effect i guess... some might be a bit faded but it i put leds in the game, maybe colored ones, it must look good anyway or what do you think?
The reasons I feel intimidated by replacing them is because 1, they are hard to find and 2 there is plenty of artwork on them that would need to be recreated if i replace them and that would cause trouble or take a lot of time.. .
Here is another update,
Got some screens for the cabinet warning texts and it will be very interesting to see the results!screen.jpg 76 KB
Now your talking about real high end resto. work with removing and replacing inserts. Look up vid1900's topic about playfield resto work, I've looked at some of it and it's way over my head. Make sure you do some test panels before you do your nice bb.
Yeah ive looked briefly at vids guide and will dig into it, it feels a bit intimidating like i wrote earlier.. I dont think its necessary to replace the inserts, i mean they look decent as they are but need some touch ups and leveling. If it was really bad i would replace them but.. we will see as usual what i do =) right now it feels like keeping the originals but level them and touch up the artwork would be the best solution.
The backbox will be pretty straight forward though (i imagine...) but doing some tests wont hurt. I do NOT want to repaint the backside now that i have the decals and everything on it.
Inserts are not as hard as it seems... I had to replace broken star inserts and I pulled it off without much drama. Dealing with any clearcoating afterwards is more the risky/difficult stuff. I didn't have to deal with decals, but I've painted mine and left the game uncleared and its doing ok (Bally Flash Gordon)
Hi!
I have tried to level one insert so far but it was not flat but cupped. So one way is to sand it down or replace it with a new one. It was one of the extra ball lights.
Speaking of them, in an insert list i found on the internet it says these are amber colored rather than red (which i percieve them as when playing) so I had a look from under the pf against a light source and indeed the extra ball lights are more towards orange in color compared to the red lights like the hearts and stuff. The conclusion from this is that the inserts might not be as faded as i first thought. I thought it was supposed to be really red but was amber because of fading lol =)
The clear coating is the big thing here as you say, i wonder how to tackle it. Guess i will have to practice on a dummy board first and paint some with the same colors i will use for touch ups just to see how they react (can they withstand the coat, do they get darker, do they get lighter or what really happens...)
Interesting it is to say the least!
If the inserts are cupped not raised I would think the clear would go on better because when it self leveled it would fill in the cup. 
You do plan on more then one coat?
Thats true, the problem is the insert (have found only one so far) is convex (or what its called) and is like a tea spoon upside down so the clear would run off it instead of filling the cup =)
The plan is to carefully read vid's guide about pf restos and then carefully watch the clear coating series on the tube, from vintage pinball:
That, combined with some more reading and video watching at random sites should be enough to get goin i think! Just waiting for the sun to set now so that i can complete the scan of the pf (dont want any light leakage into the scanner). When its done i will do some tests with the air brush on the hidden top part of the pf.
If the insert comes up higher than the playfield, you need to pop it out sand it flat and then put it back in. It is not that bad. Look at Vids guide for playfield restoration as previously stated. I had one of the curved hot dog inserts on my High Speed that was crazy warped up. I just put a piece of sandpaper on a flat counter and turned the insert face down, held the insert in my hand and gently sanded back and forth until it was flat. The hardest part was epoxying it back in and keeping it flat. Following Vids guide, I put epoxy in the edge of the insert hole, put the insert back, C-clamped a board with wax paper over the playfield and insert and turned the playfield over and pushed the insert up against the board from the underside.
Quoted from BadBrad97:If the insert comes up higher than the playfield, you need to pop it out sand it flat and then put it back in.
and don't forget to rough up the sides to give the glue some bite.
Thanks for the tips brad! I have allready taken two inserts out just to try how it works hehe and it worked like a breeze. I am going to try to flatten the cupped one like you describe and see if it comes out any good.
One thing i wonder though is about the insert texts. My plan is to have a print shop print them for me since its an easy task to scan them and create new ones in an image editor, maybe even vectorize them for the heck of it and future needs. The thing i wonder though is, or i am worried about, that they wont stick good enough on the inserts. I just see a bad picture in my head where they come lose under the clear coat and ruins the pf for me... so, are there any special recomendations concerning these insert texts? Like a special kind of decal/glue..
I will read vids guide, the answer is probably there but would be nice to hear what experiences others has.
Paul, yeah thats important with the insert edges!
The pictures of the lit ramp look good! Thats something i might try. Im not a big fan of mods but a little extra lighting wont hurt =)
Great read so far, my Bride is not too bad but some knucklehead decided to try colour matching on the playfield and they were obviously colour blind to the max. Still waiting for the reproduction playfield for this machine but in the mean time i've bought myself some new cabinet decals, the reproduction face cubes and mini playfield. One of my all time favourite machines, it has far more character than some of the later machines thats for sure. Look forward to bringing my machine back to top specs soon, cheers, keep the posts coming 
Cool story. I had some pinball pictures open on my computer at work when a co-worker walked up and said, "you like pinball?, I used to love pinball when I was in college, we used to go to a bar and play this one pinball machine every night for hours."
I said, "do you remember what machine it was?"
She said, "I am sure you have never heard of it, it was called Bride of Pinbot"
I said, "I think I have heard of that one."
@Mancave, many have been waiting for the repro pf.. i dont know if it will ever happen but lets hope! I will do as best as I can with mine while waiting and hopefully it will be better than what was done to yours. My face cube sides are pretty good looking. I think i will only need some cleaning and then they should be ready to go. I agree to the game having character! Thats why i like it so much =)
@Cheddar, yeah ive seen them and downloaded them. I forgot i had, think they will work good!
And brad, i love stories like that! =)
And here is a link to todays tech question:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/confused-by-the-micro-switches-and-diodes#post-1519252
While assembling the new ramps i noted that the pre-drilled hole for the mini-coil on the left ramp was a bit too narrow for the screw. I used a larger/wider drill and tried to make it match the screw a bit better. Its not the exact same screw in the before and after pic but you get the idea:
A picture of the cleaned up parts and the new ramp while soldering the switches in place. Last pic is the protection gear i use when soldering, dont want to inhale the fumes!
Quoted from Luke_Nukem:Wow, a gas mask for soldering, now I've seen it all.
Hehe might be overkill but if the solder contains lead I don't want it to accumulate in my body. Maybe I inhale more when taking a walk on the city sidewalk but better safe than sorry
Quoted from TheRingMaster:Hehe might be overkill but if the solder contains lead I don't want it o accumulate in my body. Maybe I inhale more when taking a walk on the city sidewalk but better safe than sorry
Lead melts around 620F, it does not vaporize/ boil until about 3200F. Breathing lead from soldering isn't an issue, touching it will give you more exposure.
calvin12, ok =) sounds like its more important to use gloves or wash your hands after handling it then. Well, if you solder a lot it might be good with a mask but maybe not at home in the garage once in a while.
Quoted from TheRingMaster:I have not been able to find any yet, out of stock, but I need to have some that's for sure!
If the "usual" places are out of Cliffy protectors, just e-mail him directly. He is amazing to work with!
Chris
Quoted from SilverUnicorn:If the "usual" places are out of Cliffy protectors, just e-mail him directly. He is amazing to work with!
Chris
I should also add that Cliff is incredibly busy and it can take time to get a response.
Quoted from MustangPaul:You DO have Cliffys for the new ramps don't you. Don't want cracked ramps.
Are these Pinball Inc. ramps? If so, why are you worried about them breaking? As far as I know, there has never been a broken Pinball Inc. ramp in the 14 years that there have been Pinball Inc. ramps. James is a good friend of mine and I have worked his booth for him at various shows. They are made 2-3 times as thick as the originals. I actually have the first set he ever made going back into my BOP. They simply don't break.
Quoted from awarner:Are these Pinball Inc. ramps? If so, why are you worried about them breaking? As far as I know, there has never been a broken Pinball Inc. ramp in the 14 years that there have been Pinball Inc. ramps. James is a good friend of mine and I have worked his booth for him at various shows. They are made 2-3 times as thick as the originals. I actually have the first set he ever made going back into my BOP. They simply don't break.
Are they the only one to make ramps? I got both ramps new in the bag when I got my game but they do feel alot thicker then the originals. I guess you could say my game is "bullet proof" now.
Quoted from awarner:Are these Pinball Inc. ramps? If so, why are you worried about them breaking? As far as I know, there has never been a broken Pinball Inc. ramp in the 14 years that there have been Pinball Inc. ramps. James is a good friend of mine and I have worked his booth for him at various shows. They are made 2-3 times as thick as the originals. I actually have the first set he ever made going back into my BOP. They simply don't break.
I met James at one of the shows in Atlanta and it was amazing to me to hear that he was able to get so many of the original dies used by Williams. SO cool.
Yes, Pinball Inc. is the only manufacturer of reproduction BOP ramps that I'm aware of. It's possible that there are still some NOS WMS ramps still out there, but the nature of the plastic used back then would be that they would be prone to premature failure. As plastic ages, it dries out a bit (it's a chemical change actually, but this sums it up) and gets brittle. A new ramp will live a LOT longer for multiple reasons.
Quoted from awarner:Yes, Pinball Inc. is the only manufacturer of reproduction BOP ramps that I'm aware of. It's possible that there are still some NOS WMS ramps still out there, but the nature of the plastic used back then would be that they would be prone to premature failure. As plastic ages, it dries out a bit (it's a chemical change actually, but this sums it up) and gets brittle. A new ramp will live a LOT longer for multiple reasons.
Are they the same kind of plastic just thicker.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Are they the same kind of plastic just thicker.
It's a different (better) plastic now and thicker. I am just a scaredy cat with new ramps... I always put on Cliffys...
Quoted from BadBrad97:I am just a scaredy cat with new ramps
Me too.
Hi guys! =)
I will check the bags the ramps came in but i bought them from marco so that might give some clues..
Quoted from TheRingMaster:Hi guys! =)
I will check the bags the ramps came in but i bought them from marco so that might give some clues..
Marco is a distributor of Pinball Inc. I'm sure you have Pinball Inc. ramps. If you compare, you'll see how much thicker they are than the originals plus they are clearer. Details are in my last "Pins and Vids" video (available at pinsandvids.com). We even use BOP as the example ramp for our talk on how they are made. And Pins and Vids IV is also available from Marco.
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