Firepower
Williams, 1980Quoted from archaik:nice, always amazed at how beautiful colors playfields had originally, without 30 years of uv degradation and dirt.
going to mod it and put in the drop targets or stay with standups ?
knowing me, yes i will mod it, no i won't put drop targets but we never know....
i'm busy doing a lot of other things.
i'm almost done with the touch up.
meanwhile, spoke with my bother in law, he's a paintbrush artist.
made a deal with him.
the cabinet and backbox will have custom paint job, including details from firepower.
all i have to do is get everything ready, meaning, sand it down, primer, and final black paint.
then i'll give it to him so he can do is magic.
to give an idea this is what he did on my ac/dc legs.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-acdc-legs-are-on-fire#post-2815708
Man i'm busy but trying to get back to it.
didn't do anything for the past month and that's a good thing, it's gives me a good idea and how the clear settle/curing.
i encountered 2 problems before my last coat of clear.
even if the playfield was sealed from the first coats of clear (well, i thought it was... surprise!) the next coat of clear went right under the original paint on 2 inserts.
one insert was the one in front of flipper (5x) and the post under the plastic (slingshot) most is back to normal and a post will be on top, not that bad.
the other one was the extra ball insert and that was pretty bad.
i was thinking of re-doing the paint on that section but the more i looked at it those spots looks like small islands/continents, well why not leave it like that and that's what i did. Keep in mind, the goal is too have a great player game, i don't mind a few imperfections on this PF. plus, that section would have been a pain in the ass to fix (small white dots).
before i did the next coat i added more stars/nebula/clusters here and there with different colours on the playfield, not too much, just enough.
all the original starts on the playfield are white but on the back glass they are different (more colour), so i added more colour on the PF.
also re-sanded the shooter lane, much better now.
my next step, waterside decal over most of the inserts and final clear.
here's a few pics of what i'm talking about.
firepower_cleared_(resized).jpg
firepower_cleared2_(resized).jpg
Still looks real good. I finally got a spare play field to restore, I'm going to be documenting it in my own thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/la-portas-firepower-rejuvenation
I did have a question: seems like you did a lot of clearing prior to placing the decals. Any reason why, once the inserts were leveled, you didn't place them right away? I would think that more clear over them rather than under them would help them stay level and help smooth out whatever edges there might be.
i did a few coats of clear to level and fill the cupped inserts i didn't change so final clear is not done yet. it is levelled now, it's just curing. i will install the water slide decals and finish the clear. no worries, you won't see/feel any edges.
I'd fix the Extra Ball area just because of it's high visibility.
1. spray entire circle Yellow.
2. print halftone blue dots on clear waterslide, with color laser printer
3. Apply halftone dots.
4. Apply black keyline around arrow insert and text
Here is how to " do the dots":
Quoted from vid1900:I'd fix the Extra Ball area just because of it's high visibility.
1. spray entire circle Yellow.
2. print halftone blue dots on clear waterslide, with color laser printer
3. Apply halftone dots.
4. Apply black keyline around arrow insert and text
Here is how to " do the dots":
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/29#post-2024747
thanks vid, i'll probably make a test.
it's time to get back to this restoration since i'm going to have access to the paint shop.
i decided to attack the cabinet and backbox since it needs to be ready for airbrush, so what i have to do is,
repair both cabinet and backbox (holes, scratches, re-glue and all) prime, and glossy black urethane.
when all this is done i will bring both piece to my brother in law so he can do his magic/airbrush.
i will post pics of the empty cabinet and back box tonight.
here's a few pics of the cab and backbox.
backbox is not too bad, ruff corners and scratches, easy fix.
cabinet is worst but still solid, gonna have to glue a few places before i bring everything to the paint shop.
liquide in the front of the cabinet at some point, gonna have to sand the inside that's for sure.
YES! Been waiting for this thread to get some momentum again! I really enjoy following your projects, beatmaster !
fixed the lip on the front of the cabinet with wood glue.
lollll, this is what it looks like when you can't find your big clamps.
gonna let it dry for a day or two and fill the holes with wood putty.
FP Front cab. repair (resized).JPG
FP Front cab. repair2 (resized).JPG
FP Front cab. repair3 (resized).JPG
I was supposed to bring and sand the machine at the shop today but... big snow storm yesterday and still falling today.
and on top of that got myself a nice cold last week... great.
so, i'm looking at early next week to do that.
got the primer, the paint and everything ready.
This past weekend i took a closer at the cabinet back panel and the lower part was chipping off, damn press wood .
the rest is nice so i did a quick little fix and installed a larger piece so that way if it sits on something it will be stronger.
backbox and cabinet are loaded in the truck, going to the shop tomorrow for sanding.
Quoted from beatmaster:This past weekend i took a closer at the cabinet back panel and the lower part was chipping off, damn press wood .
the rest is nice so i did a quick little fix and installed a larger piece so that way if it sits on something it will be stronger.
backbox and cabinet are loaded in the truck, going to the shop tomorrow for sanding.
Is that just bondo?
Quoted from MustangPaul:Is that just bondo?
no, there's a piece of wood also.
Quoted from beatmaster:and the backbox, now ready for putty and primer.
Wish I had a place to do all the messy stuff and painting.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Wish I had a place to do all the messy stuff and painting.
i agree, a good fan and a paint shop, i'm very lucky.
sanding is done, masked under and inside the cabinet.
backbox and cabinet are ready, there's a few holes to fill, the edges and corners.
if everything goes well i might do the primer tomorrow or monday.
FP sanding under cabinet (resized).jpg
FP masked under cabinet (resized).jpg
FP masked inside cabinet (resized).jpg
FP masked inside cabinet2 (resized).jpg
FP sanding done (resized).JPG
FP sanding done2 (resized).JPG
Quoted from MustangPaul:I can see your having fun.
yeah, my fun begin when i reassemble everything.
but i can't wait to see what the airbrush will look like.
primer is done, first two coats.
can't go tomorrow, so monday i will sand it down and fix a few areas i saw when i did the primer. re-prime and should be ready for paint after that, i'm looking at wednesday or thursday.
Quoted from MustangPaul:That air brush should be cool. Got a sneak peak?
well, i'm gonna let him do his thing.
with something like this in mind.
Quoted from beatmaster:well, i'm gonna let him do his thing.
with something like this in mind.
WAY cool.
did the first coat today.
will wait 2 days, do some sanding again and another coat.
it's incredible how cheap it was made 35 years ago, the choice of wood is pretty bad, press wood in the back of the head and cabinet and with black paint you can see every details, where the plywood was joined together.
Quoted from Schwaggs:That is ridiculously cool!
i agree, it's gonna look crazy.
Quoted from eh97ac:Is that black and clear or just a black?
it's a black urethane Car Paint, you don't need clear.
Quoted from ApplePie:Fantastic job on the cab so far, I'm very jealous!!!
thanks, i think the biggest surprise will be the airbrush on the cabinet, can't wait to see what the final result will look like and a few ideas i have.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Are you going to clear over the airbrushing?
yessssssss
Quoted from beatmaster:yessssssss
OH BABY!!! 
Quoted from MustangPaul:They're good and dry. That was a smart move getting them done before you left for 2 weeks.
oh yeah they are.
meanwhile, i'll be working on the door and other metal parts.
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Beauharnois
Sana'a
Saint Paul, MN
That was a smart move getting them done before you left for 2 weeks.