I have been reading a lot of restoration threads and thought it would be fun to give it a try. Since I have zero artistic ability, a playfield is out of the question but a cabinet restoration seems do able for me (even though I have no painting experience what so ever). I bought a pinbot last week with a really nice backglass and a pretty good playfield with just minimal wear at eyes (more on that later) but the cabinet is in rough shape so I thought this would be a perfect candidate.
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this game works 100% so my focus is just the cab
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removed backglass and packed up for safe keeping
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now I wanted to remove the playfield but wasn't sure what to do with it. I couldn't just set it down for fear of breaking something and wanted the ability to strip the playfield to clean it, install new rubbers etc. so I fabricated some legs that used existing fasteners on playfield
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spent a few hours tearing it down, labeling harness connections and mapping out the ground braid...
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found some damage in this corner. I will replace the corner cleat, separate the corner and fill it with glue, then secure with ratchet strap overnight...
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didn't want the switch stacks to come apart so I backed screws out enough to slide a zip tie behind it to secure it before removal...
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We are done for the night, Ashley is wiped out from all the excitement....
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Tomorrow I should be able to finish the teardown and get the cab pieces to my shop to begin sanding and repair..

Should the coin door and visible carraige bolt heads be sprayed with the same black paint as the cab base paint or is it a different paint?

Also, I am planning on spraying cab semi gloss black, using krylon rattle cans for yellow and red, then shooting with 2 part automotive clear... any problem with that combination?

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yes, I will fabricate a rotisserie soon, I just don't need it yet.

Using what I learned in vids guide to side rail removal they came off easily
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the corners are worse than I thought...3 out of 4 are compromised, and I may have to replace the back panel but should be an easy fix
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both pieces ready to go to the shop for the next step...
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I have a friend who also has a pinbot but his is missing the topper...using mine as a template I am going to try to replicate one... It wont be an exact match but it will be close, it will work, and will be better than nothing...I will probably start a separate thread for that

your quick...I edited it instantly...then tried to figure out what you were saying when I looked back at my last picture

thanks for the links and tips

I will be using the rattle cans for yellow and red only, I have the equipment to spray 2pac I guess we will find out if I have the skills.

I believe this to be lead based paint so I opted for a chemical stripper instead of sanding all the paint off. Picked up this stuff at home depot for about 8 or 9 bucks a can (found out you need 2 cans for 1 cabinet.)
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the first attempt I did not put it on thick enough and met with limited success...
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second try was better...
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but finally found out you really have to put in on thick for it to burn through the paint...then it was easy...
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I ended up finishing the can of stripper and have half the head and half of the cab paint free, It will probably be a few days until I can get the time to finish the rest of the paint removal then on to sanding and filler.

yes, I saw an Evil Knieval painted using those and it looked great, I will be using those.

I finished stripping all the paint off cab and head, taking it to the shop tomorrow.
I also wanted to add I went to home depot to get more stripper and used this instead of what is pictured in the thread earlier, It is from the same company but worked much better, the paint just slid off... one gallon was $22 and will do 2 cabs
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I have had quite a few people ask me to be more detailed with how long each step takes and how much this project costs. I will try to include this information along the way. Keep in mind as far as hours go, I am not the fastest worker but I work steady with few if any breaks. Also dollar amounts given will be for material for this job only (for example I bought a 4x8 sheet of 23/32 plywood for cab repairs for $24 but only used half the sheet so cost for this job is $12...I will use other half of plywood for next project). I have all the tools needed for the wood work and all the gear to spray the paint so factor in your own costs if you have to rent or buy tools.
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So far the first step was teardown, bagging, and labeling parts...approx. 6 hours...$0 spent

Chemical strip paint, with prep and clean-up...approx. 3 hours (however if I had used the stronger stripper in the first place time would have been 1.5 hours). $15 spent

Purchased heavy duty leg plates/cab braces (thanks MustangPaul) $20 spent

Not too much to report on the project at this point (I got side tracked with another quick project https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/polishing-a-turd#post-2961504 ). I finished the chemical strip and brought the cab and head to my dads woodworking shop for the sanding, repair, and filler. I started with a palm sander and 60 grit to start to clean up the wood. Upon further inspection I changed the plan to include replacing both the front and back panels of cab due to soft corners...
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Popped this blister near where the head mounts, I will fix it with bondo...
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Sides lookin good, next step is to cut new front and back panels...
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Head ready for minor repairs...

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Got a chance to do a little work today, been busy lately so have not had time to get to the shop. I removed the back panel of the cabinet to get ready to manufacture a replacement. It came out fairly easy with no surprises...
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I went around the entire inside and outside of cab with palm sander and 60 grit, it did a great job cleaning the inside of the cabinet...
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It looks like the front panel will be salvageable after all but this corner needs some work...
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I cleaned the joint and cut a new corner cleat...then separated the corner to fill with glue...
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After applying the glue I clamped it and hit it with some staples, now will let it sit and dry...
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I was able to bondo the head and hit it with some 100 grit, its looking good and will be ready for primer as soon as I sand up to 220. The next chance I get to work on it I should be able to cut and install the back panel, bondo the cab and sand up to 220...then it will be time for primer...

thanks...I will document all paints used

damn those are slick...thanks...even if I don't use them on this build I think they would look cool in some of my more modern games
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Here is what I plan on using for this project, please let me know if some of this is incorrect. A lot of people have a lot of opinions on what is the best type of products to use, I personally don't have a clue. I told the guy at the automotive paint supply house what I was doing and this is what he recommended (see photo). This crap is expensive, luckily for me a few weeks ago a customer of mine (who also happens to own the paint store) needed some minor work done at one of his rental properties so I traded a bit of labor for the supplies. Once the painting is done I will calculate the cost based again on material used, but to give you an idea what you see in the photo was $150 but some of the products will do several machines.
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This was the front corner that was loose, I glued it back a few days ago. I used filler to repair the minor damage where the old cleat was removed...
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then glued and stapled in new cleat...
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continued doing fill...
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cut, beveled, and notched new back panel...traced cutouts for vents and power cord...
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cut openings, cleaned them up with a drum sander...
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then glued and stapled into place...lookin good
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one more round of filler and sanding and it primer time

I will be doing a few coats of sealer/primer with sanding in between, then a few base coats of black (also sanded in between). Stencil and spray yellow and red, wet sand then 2pac automotive clear coat.

in the meantime I am beginning to work on the coin door, its pretty ugly...
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stripped it down and bagged all parts...
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looks like someone did a poor paint job at some time in the past...
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so now there are these 3 holes in the coin door from some sort of security device I guess...what can I do about these, if I just fill with bondo I'm sure it will just crack out...can I fill these another way or do I need to use carriage bolts to hide them?
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ha..my welding skills suck, I am afraid I might burn a bigger hole...just by coincidence I have a guy who wants to trade me a welder for some garage door repair this Saturday...I guess its time to practice...this is what Im getting....

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supposedly he says it has everything needed to start welding, I am going to look at it tomorrow so I can see if it is a deal I want to make...I will find out exactly what he has to offer

If it doesn't work out I guess I could take it to a local shop to get it welded, I can grind and smooth it myself.

Great, thanks for all the tips.

Because I replaced the panel and cleats I had to re-drill holes for the leg bolts and make sure they are exactly centered to work with the heavy duty brackets (the old style brackets were more forgiving and holes only had to be close). I drilled the holes and the dry fitted the legs and brackets, then made a few adjustments to get the proper fit...
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plugged a hole in the front of cab. Whittled down a scrap piece of wood to about the same size as hole, covered in glue then tapped in with a mallet. cut flush with handsaw then sanded and bondo...
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the cab and head are finally ready for primer/sealer, maybe tomorrow if I can get to it. Can anybody let me know what I should wipe it down with just before I spray primer?
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So the time spent sanding the last remaining paint off cab, repairing front corner, fabricating and installing back panel, re-drill leg holes, filling , and LOTS of sanding (60,80,100,120,150,180,220,320 grit) totaled 14 hours
Material used was sandpaper, glue, staples, body filler and respirator cartridges and totaled $15

Thanks ^^^

I dont think I will be spraying primer today, gonna play a poker tournament instead

The coin door, door frame, and hinge have been cleaned. Then the same chemical stripper used on the cabinet was applied to coin door paint. After that the parts were cleaned up with a media blaster and ground glass....
pictures to come

Thank you, PM sent.
Its worth the trip up just to see your car.

guy flaked out yesterday (pretty typical craigslist deal) but says we are good to meet up this week. I wont hold my breathe but there is a chance of it still happening. If not my son told me he has access to a mig at his work.

Im buying...

________________________

Was hoping to use this project as an excuse to buy a nice blast cabinet, but I was able to get the job done using one of the crappy media blasters from harbor freight (I think it was about $20, I bought it a while back). I used 40/70 grit ground glass for the media, it made short work of the paint removal. I was able to get away with only using half the bottle of glass, I put the coin door in an old pillowcase and that allowed the collection of about 80% of the glass each time I ran it through. Just cut a small tip of one of the bottom corners of the pillowcase to pour sand back into hopper and re use. I used a full face shield, don't do it with just eye protection.
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time spent to dis-assemble coin door, chemical lift and blast paint off was 1.5 hours
cost was $5 ( 1/2 bottle ground glass)

And after 30 minutes of hand cleaning the last few specks of paint off it is ready for filler...just a few minor scuffs (and of course the 3 holes) to take care of before primer....

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where can I get these? I have found several but they are a little different...

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had some people tell me that they have used the epoxy method to fill holes and it works fine. I punched out 2 pieces of 18ga scrap steel to plug the 2 smaller holes.....
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When I was tearing down the game I found a 1986 quarter stuck in the bottom rear of the cab. I was going to hold on to it and toss it back into the cab when this project is finished, only because the quarter is from 1986- same year as pinbot.
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Instead I am using it to fill the top, bigger hole in coin door. Now it will always be with the game...
____________________

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im not going to worry too much about refinishing the inside of the coin door, just gonna hit it with some walnut shell to clean then prime and paint...(of course masking off the quarter)

After the epoxy cured I applied filler to a few spots and sanded...

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then a real light first coat of rustoleum primer (black)...

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Second coat of primer...still a light coat

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thanks

of course...wanted the date to show

coin door, frame, hinge, center plate and coin flaps all primed...wet sanded 600 grit between coats...
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going to try tracelifters tips to re create the texture...hopefully I will get lucky

*****************
Next up is the transformer, I could probably just wipe it down and move on but I have some down time while the coin door dries...so as I am surfin pinside I am also being productive...
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removed mounting tabs and fasteners, used the same paint stripper again to quickly remove the coat of varnish they are covered in and threw them into the walnut media with the fasteners......
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then with a toothbrush and some hot water with simple green I quickly cleaned the wire harness, wiped it all down, wire brushed the part to be painted and taped the rest off... I am not going for perfection by any means here, just a quick clean up...
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then a few coats of high temp black paint...
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tomorrow the mounting tabs will be done in the walnut and It should go back together in a few minutes
total time spent: 1 hour
dollars spent: $0 (I already had the high temp paint and it only used about an ounce or two)

Quick shot with hardware cleaned and re installed....nothing dramatic, just a little lipstick...

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I sprayed two light coats of primer.... after this dries I will hit it with some 600 grit wet sand paper to smooth it out. Then I will check and see if I need to apply additional filler or do any more sanding before I start to spray basecoat.

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next is this... what do you call this? Much like the transformer I'm not going too crazy here, just a little paint and cleanup...
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it has this little board tied in to the games played meter just sort of hanging by one screw, I will use a few small spacers and screws and mount it properly...
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got everything stripped off and base is ready for paint...metal parts in the walnut media...
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again I went to work on the wire harness just like the transformer...warm water with degreaser and a toothbrush...
before...
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and after...
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tomorrow the base will be dry and parts should be clean, then time for re assembly

No, I could slide them a bit and clean underneath, I just added some extra wire ties in other areas

I thought about removing the counter, but I think for now I will leave it in. I like the nostalgia and it shows 88k+ games, proving how popular this game is...

here is a pic of the board, painted and repopulated...
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I am still looking for these coin door parts....
no luck at marcos or PBL..

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here are some better photos...mine isn't broken it was made like that
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I would love to find them in blue but I would be happy with red

I may have to see if I can get something like that to work, I possibly have a lead on some used Wicos that I'm going to pursue first...If I do have to make due with something different they don't *need* to work, just look good...

320 was the final grade used prior to primer. all pre-primer sanding has been done with a palm sander and has been done dry...
600-1000 grit will be used between coats of primer (and base) and the sanding between coats will be wet sanded by hand.
DISCLAIMER: this thread is not a "how to guide" it is a "how I did it" documentation...believe me when I say that there is probably a better way to do every step I have shown so far.

the primer, base coat and clear coat will be sprayed with a gun and compressor, the yellow and red used during stenciling will be krylon rattle cans (they have a yellow and red that match factory colors)... I will post a pic of equipment used and also of the rattle cans for color match...Thanks for the link to Steve, I will send him an e mail if the lead I have on some buttons falls through...

pm sent

Today I ran into my first problem, this corner of the cabinet has plywood that continually bubbles up and blisters. I noticed it after sanding the paint off and first I tried to remove all the loose particles with compressed air and a small screwdriver and then fill with body filler...after I sanded down filler it would look perfect, only to bubble up again and have loose wood fibers flaking off...Then I thought that the primer would seal the loose fiber and I could proceed with no issue...this morning I went to sand primer and spray final coat and I noticed blistering again in the same area.... this time I used glue and spread it around the whole area to soak into loose fibers and lock it down, tomorrow I will sand the area again, check for blisters, and finish with primer...
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Special shout out to tracelifter ....I had a chance to make the trip up to his place today and he was gracious enough to give me boxes of parts, sheets of glass and a rotisserie....some stuff I can use on this project, the rest will come in handy in the future....He is a stand-up guy with a vast wealth of knowledge, he will be sorely missed on this site and I consider myself lucky to be able to get help or advice from him...Thanks Eric (Outstanding job on the GTO by the way)

As far as the coin door goes it looks like I might have a lead on some NOS reject buttons, I will post pics when they arrive....the coin door, frame, flaps and hinge were given the final coat of ace BBQ black then checked over and approved by, well, me.

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Once that dried I used tracelifters suggestion and put a can of ace black laquer in the freezer for about 15 min and barely pushed on the nozzle to get paint to spit...this was after one "spritzing"....I need to do a bit more but it looks great...

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And its all done with the exception of the clear...going to spray it with 2pac when I spray the cabinet...I am really happy with the way it turned out.
Time spent epoxying plugs and quarter, filler and sand, spray primer with wet sand between coats, bbq black paint with wet sand between coats, spritz laquer : One hour
dollars spent $10.25

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I really appreciate the kind words guys, thank you....this week I hope to lay down the base black, I read that I should wait at least 3 weeks after base but before stencil so I would like to get it sprayed soon...

I have read that some people have sprayed clear over base coat before stenciling....any advantage to doing it that way, or am I ok to stencil over base then just clear when its all done?

A few parts showed up today...mostly shooter rod stuff, new leg bolts, transparent blue flipper buttons and flex LEDs to light them and a few more odds and ends...

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Now that the coin door is done I will focus on the legs, lockdown bar and siderails...legs are rusty but they will polish up, I use crumpled up aluminum foil and water or soda and it strips the rust off quickly, then they will get polished...legs will get new bolts, levelers and cab protectors when it gets re assrmbled...

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One siderail is in good shape, the other has a few small dings I will try to remove before polishing.....

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Heres just a quick pic of how easy the foil works...these front legs just have light rust, it wont take much to clean them up...the rear legs are a bit worse

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just foil and water and honestly only 10 seconds or less of scrubbing for light rust such as this....

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looks much better (I only did a small section in the middle of the leg for photo)... for the rears if they dont come clean quickly then I will use soda instead of water...

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********** ***** ***** *********
Well the rear legs are not that bad after all, a bit heavier rust than the fronts but I have seen much worse...it looks like they rigged up something for the leveler, it will be replaced...

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and after just a bit of rubbing...(again I only did a few inches for photo, if you look at the last pic you can still see rust a little farther up the leg...it will come right off)
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basecoat is 1 with reducer....clear is 4 with activator and a "splash" of reducer...
the colors will be done in several light coats with sanding in between...

You are right, I edited post to reflect that I only used about $10 in supplies for coin door paint...there is enough left over to do another door....thanks for the correction.

I'm not sure what will be more startling when I total it all up...the dollars spent on this or the man hours, but so far it has been fun.

******** *** *** ************

This part was easy...the shooter rod had been broken and epoxied by previous owner, the housing had black paint on it from someone doing cab touch up...
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I used a Q-tip and a touch of the same paint remover and it made quick work of the leftover paint, then into the vibrator/walnut again for another day...looks better, not perfect but acceptable...it looks in the photo as if it has rust on it but it is just flash from camera doing weird things...
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new shooter parts...
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And ready to be installed....
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Time spent on removing paint and re assembly: 10 min
dollars spent : $8

My shelf of dirty parts is slowly becoming a shelf of clean parts ready to be installed...I have to finish rust removal and polish on legs, rails and lockdown bar...clean and repaint the back box door (is that what it is called? the wooden board with the backglass bulbs and score displays) ... I am not doing anything at this time with the board sets, just focusing on cab features, Im sure I will clean and bulletproof them using vids guide at a later time

Thanks for the tip, I was going to shoot a scrap piece to test the clear...I will shoot a few extra pieces for color testing as well.

Gotta thank fellow pinsider girloveswaffles who was kind enough to hook me up with a pair of NOS wico reject buttons and springs for the coin door...can't wait to see what they look like in the door, I really appreciate it gir!
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The buttons look so good I wanted to see if I could clean up the coin chute sleeves ... in its past someone spray painted the coin door with some black paint, getting quite a bit of it inside and on the front lip of the sleeve...
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I soaked them in some alcohol for a bit...
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then used a paper clip and 600 grit sandpaper to clean out all the black paint...the lip is ever so slightly distorted, probably a reaction to the paint I'm not sure, but I doubt you will be able to tell when it is re assembled
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let me know when your ready, I have a lot of supplies left over

Hopefully got past a major setback today...remember this...

Well what was happening was that this cab got very wet years back and the plywood near the corner started to delaminate...the more I filled it the more I found...chips of plywood separated from layer underneath (sorry...didn't get any photos during this stage...was trying not to panic)...only thing I could try was to carefully pick away at any spots that were delaminating until I hit solid wood in every direction, then used filler and sanded smooth...finished that and checked for more delamination and found none...hopefully it wont show up again later but at this point I have to move on...sprayed what will probably be the final primer coat today and it looks good...I will hit it with some wet 1000 grit just a swipe or two to knock down the whiskers and if all looks good then I am finally ready to spray black basecoat...

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Should I clear coat over the basecoat before I stencil colors?

Thanks guys...Yes, I was referring to clearing over the black base coat before stenciling, I read some threads where this was done...I did not think it would be needed but thought I would ask...Looks like I will be completing all black base paint then stencil colors, then clear it all when I'm done.
should be spraying black this weekend...

that makes sense...thanks for the tip...I would have sanded it too smooth

I'm not going to document it step by step in this thread but just wanted to take this opportunity to remove, dis assemble, clean, tumble, and polish every mech under the playfield...change every sleeve, check every solder connection...then I will strip the playfield, level raised inserts, take care of bubbles under mylar, polish mylar, wax, clean plastics, and re rubber...

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meanwhile, back at the ranch...
I hit the primer with 400 as suggested above and then sprayed the first very light coat of black paint...I must say this automotive paint is expensive but it sure is easy to spray, even for someone like me with no experience...

light first coat...
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will hit lightly with sandpaper and spray second coat in a few days

great, I will spray the remaining coats in this fashion, I was going to do the second coat fairly quickly after the first but simply didn't allow enough time...lesson learned, now I know...

ordered pinball pimp stencils today...

thank you...

Well it was looking good...Today I was going to spray the final 2 coats of black and I was going to feel pretty good about being close to done...then BANG!, the pinball cabinet restoration gods laughed and said "we don't think you have paid your dues yet"...as I was setting up to begin to spray I was examining the cab in the sunlight and I saw A tiny blister at the top of the cab near where the head attaches...I knew this area would covered with the side rail and I could probably leave it and it would be ok, but I didn't want to half ass it now so I took a screwdriver to see what I was dealing with ( this blister looked similar to the ones I had to deal with when I found the delamination but they were in a different area that never got wet) to my horror what I had uncovered was an area where when the plywood was made the splice between two sheets of wood on the same layer had about a 3/8" gap between them when the sheet was glued...this was then covered by the next layer of the plywood (the last layer)... creating a 1/4"x3/8" channel covered by one layer of wood through the entire sheet of plywood they used to make the cab originally ...I had no choice but to chip it all out, fill it...then go back to sand and fill again before I can prime and paint the area...uuggghhhhh!... After a chance to let my blood pressure drop to normal I guess its better I found out now rather than after I was done...
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I thought about it...

I know... a material defect from 30 years ago finds a way of kicking me in the nuts...nothing I can do but smile and move on

Its ok, if that is the only setback then I will have this done shortly..... I took a few days away from the cab project to fabricate some LED panels for behind the translight of my IMVE and SM... I will get back to the wood repair probably Wed or Thursday...
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before...
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after...but too much blue...adding some white to war machine and the clouds on the left hand side..
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hmmmm, it really does look better in person than in that photo... ^^^^^^^
edit...looks better with the white...

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sorry to hijack my own thread... back to pinbot restoration

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/diy-pinbot-topper#post-3070867

Back on track after a minor setback... dished out the area and filled it, sanded smooth and primed...If all goes well then I will spray final coats of black tomorrow and let it dry for about a week until I have time to stencil...Pinball Pimps stencils arrived yesterday.....
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If it was easy everybody would be doing it...

Finally got the last bit of black sprayed before we get some rain in So Cal. ... It looks good, I am probably a little too picky as I can find blemishes if I look hard enough but I learned a lot so far and am happy overall...I'm not sure why in these photos there seems to be white areas on the corners and such...must just be a flash issue, believe me the cab is all black!

Anyway, now I'm going to let the paint cure for awhile while I continue to completely dismantle the playfield for a good cleaning, service, and mylar polish with just a tiny bit of key line touch up...
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Cool...what game are you doing?

Spent the last week working on the playfield teardown and extensive shop job
..it is really cleaning up nice and all mechs look brand new.

I found several references to these two krylon colors (banner red and sun yellow) as a match for both Pinbot and High Speed stencil colors (perhaps others as well)...both colors look a little dark to me but I don't think I have seen a Pinbot or HS without cab fade so chances are these are correct... $20 for 4 cans (2 cans of each color) but I don't think I will need the second cans....

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A stack of Pinball Pimp stencils, I have never used stencils before but these seem pretty durable.... cost was $160

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Getting ready to apply stencils for first color on head and cab...

Well I fumblefucked my way through a bit of stenciling today....made a lot of errors (minor but still annoying) that I should'nt have...I blame it entirely on being out late last night drinking (which I almost never do) and partying at the Iron Maiden concert...paid for it this morning...

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Anyway, I trimmed the corners of the stencil to be able to line it up with the cab...
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then applied stencil using tips from pinball pimps you tube video and also instructions that came with the kit...
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Taped off to prevent overspray...
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ok so now when I sprayed the paint I went way too thick...the reason is that the stencil is white but my basecoat is black so when spraying the red it didn't look like it was hiding the black...it looked almost translucent ...once I figured it out it went better with the next stencils20160417_105340_(resized).jpg
not only did I spray it too thick but I tried to remove the stencil too early and had some thin strands of color stretch then break and fall to the black area...very hard to see but I noticed it and made the necessary adjustments in the next sprays and it worked better with a bit longer dry time
Did a light coat on the cab with the yellow, then followed up with a heavier coat...
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let it dry a bit longer this time then removed the stencil...
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waiting to be finished...
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used this set of tweezers with a pick to remove delicate parts of the stencil after painting...
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I will fix the bit of red on the head, a few circles have some rough edges due to paint being too thick and stencil removed too soon..

today was laden with errors:
paint too thick
stencil removed too early
dropped a bit of stencil in some wet color (be careful when removing stencil as some small loose ends can drag in paint)
touched the yellow with my finger to see if it was dry (it was not) and left a big fingerprint
did a shitty job masking off the rest of the cab and got some yellow overspray where it shouldn't be
opened SUV door when it was windy and had to chase 3 stencils down the street

Overall these issues will be easy for me to fix before clear coating

Also the stencil maker recommends removing the stencil before the paint dries. I don't see how I can prime a white/grey and then color with one stencil but like I said I don't really know what can or can't be done...after removing the stencil I could see that the color over black was OK and I did'nt need to go so thick...next sprays will go better....I am happy with the yellow, just need to touch up a few spots where the stencil or my finger left an imperfection but the red and yellow color both look correct....I had the head and cab in the sun after spraying today and could see many flaws overall, but inside the shop under the lights it really looked a lot better...looking forward to seeing it with the clear coat.

Makes perfect sense...next cab I do will be done this way...this cab I need to finish the same way otherwise I fear the colors will be different due to dark and light basecoat...thanks for the tips, this has been a great learning experience so far and I am currently keeping my eye out for the next project (I would like to do a F-14 next with full playfield swap)

Pinball Pimps stencils were very easy to use, even for a first timer...I will use them every time as they are a great product.

not long...maybe 5 minutes between first light coat and second, then 5 more minutes between 2nd and 3rd...then about 12-15 minutes until stencil is removed

I like the look of the casual overspray from the factory, the stencils now give too crisp of a line I wish I could get results more like the original...and thanks for the kind words

Today I sprayed the left side and front of cab which completes the first half of the stencils....overall it looks good but again its easy to find fault...I still had an issue with gooey stretchy strands of color flying around when the stencils are removed, however it was not as bad as the first attempt....I believe if I increase the time from final coat to stencil removal just a few more minutes I will have the results I am looking for...

Getting close to the end now, starting to think about game reassembly....I took just over 1000 pictures total during this project but most of those were of the playfield shop not cab resto....I feel pretty confident about the completion and eventual final outcome....playfield work is almost completed and the only thing left to do is the lightboard (?) facelift and them start putting the guts back in the cab after the clearcoat cures

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I have not gotten that far yet (I got a little ahead of myself looking forward) after I spray the final stencils I will probably wait about a week or so before I shoot the first coat of clear...then sand the clear between coats ( im not sure how many coats of clear will be needed)...

Also, I am considering clearcoating the coindoor at the same time as the cab...anybody have any advice on this? Is there any reason to not do this?

Yeah, when I started this project it was just going to be a quick cab repaint....then once I took the playfield out I told myself that a light cleaning would give me something to do in the down time between cab painting...I now have 30 hours into the playfield alone with another 10 to go....I was not going to touch the inside or underneath the cab but when I was painting the cab I figured I would just hit the inside quickly with some 60 grit, then it looked so much better I thought I would just prime it but ended up painting the entire inside...I guess I just cant bring myself to half ass any of this project so the eventually I will clean up the bottom of the cab....
This just keeps snowballing but I am having a great time doing it and I am now familiar with every nut, bolt and mechanism on a Pinbot!

* * *
Well I would like to post this picture and tell you that I stenciled the second color on 2 sides of the pin today and that everything looks perfect and birds are singing as angels fly around the backbox playing harps....
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...But what really happened much to my chagrin is that evidently I should have hit the first color with some sandpaper after installing the second stencil (so that the bottom color is only sanded where the second color will go on top) before spraying second color as the second color did not stick to the first color (combined with letting the paint dry too long this go around)..I had entire pieces of art come off clean as a whistle and other pieces slide around a bit...and awful looking edges ... ...
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...Really made me nauseous, and I am a pretty even tempered guy but I could feel my blood pressure going up and it was all I could do to not kick the ever loving shit out of the cab and anything else in a 5 foot radius...
then I took another look at the paint and started to press down on some areas that looked a little weird to try to stick it back on... whatever...it looks like shit and I am really disappointed at this point.....
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... I cant just quit now so I apply the second stencil to the left side of the backbox, then hit the exposed red with some 120 grit so it will have some bite and spray the yellow...I wait for a few minutes for paint to set and then remove the stencil...second color stuck perfectly and I had no real issues except that once again I dropped the stencil into wet paint as I was pulling it off...I suck today, really I should take up darts or something and leave this to the pros ..
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As I am cleaning up I look at the cab because now that I'm not steaming anymore I am trying to figure out the best way to fix this...My first attempt will be to re create parts of the stencils (mostly just circles) and use thin tape to mask missing radius on wrist and a few other spots and re spray those areas after hitting the area with some fine grit sandpaper to knock down the edges...then I will use fine artist brushes to clean up a bit of the black and colored areas before proceeding to clear...so I feel better about getting the rest of the cab to come out OK, just pissed about the first attempt today..

Wow have I learned a lot so far, here are my tips gathered from the last few steps:
Mask everything as overspray can really find any hole or opening
sand surface before paint (Really, I messed that one up? I feel like a dumbass)
take lots of pictures
don't add up how much money you have spent until your done
don't expect perfection, its not possible

Sunday I will spray the remaining 3 sides and then take a serious look at the side that needs touch up and see if my plan of attack will work...if not then I will have to start over on that side only and I really don't want to do that, I would like to put this one to bed and use what I have learned to do a better job on the next one...

now that I have had some time to think about it perhaps the best course of action would be to remove any paint that didn't adhere and apply a new stencil to that side, scuff and re spray... Pinball Pimp offers to re make one stencil at a time if you mess up so I will have to order one (after I finish the other side just to make sure I only need one)
I feel like this guy but I'm getting over it...
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When my wife got home yesterday I showed her the pictures and she said she couldnt see anything wrong...when I pointed out the missing circles on the helmet and arm and the irregular lines she kind of laughed and simply said "I'm sure you will fix it, it looks great"....thats when I looked at the photos again myself and it really does look good, the colors are great and really pop...once I fix up the paint error, put it in the line up and play it no one will even see a few minor imperfections...
Thanks for all the support...

I am happy with the krylon, the colors are a great match (rustoleum probably has similar colors) although both cans started to "spit" a bit at the end.... I think the coverage is similar to the 2x rustoleum

Cant say enough good things about Pinball Pimps stencils...I reached out to Jeff today and explained my mistake, he was kind enough to not only reply back to me today (saturday) but to cut the one stencil I need to fix the cab today as well ..
Great customer service...thanks Jeff

Back at it again today, however this time I am very happy with my results....the left side of the cab came out just like it was supposed to with no issues...after installing the stencil I used some 220 grit paper to scuff up only the areas of yellow to allow the red to get a bite, It has been sticking to the black areas ok the problem was only where the red sprayed over the yellow...
my guess is that the first color I sprayed was too thick, and had a surface like glass.. when I sprayed the second color over it I also sprayed it too thick and just got no adhesion....
Jeff already cut my replacement stencil and I should have it this week, once I respray the red on the right side of cab I am going to touch up a few spots where I have some minor blemishes and prepare the surface for clear coat...

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side by side to really see how the first attempt failed...notice the missing red circles on helmet and wrist/elbow

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I got over it fairly quickly...just trying to document both my success and failures so anybody using this for reference doesnt make the same mistakes
Thank you for the words of encouragement, several people in this thread have been cheering me on and it really helps get past the setbacks...

What grit do you recommend?

quick update...re stenciling went good, both sides look the same (forgot pictures but I'm sure by now you get the point)...I wont have time to start the clear coat process until next weekend, hopefully that will go smoothly...before that I will sand cab to knock down edges and give clear some grip

this would have prevented my problem...next time I will get it right

thanks...

Had a little something interesting happen when I removed the last stencil....I was admiring my work when I looked at the robot on the left side and noticed that one of the squares in his chest was stark white??...I was scratching my head, it was yellow just moments before, my primer was grey,I had a black base with red and yellow accents...where did the white come from?
(Photo coming)
Upon further inspection I found that although the stencil was properly cut for this square the vinyl was not removed...I did not notice it and painted yellow as needed...when I removed the stencil for the yellow the vinyl square stayed attatched to the cab as the rest of the stencil peeled away..leaving a perfect looking yellow square, just like the rest of them...
So then, as I was peeling off the next (red) stencil, it peeled all the yellow off the vinyl square but did not remove the vinyl from the cab...leaving a perfect white square that should have been yellow...
I removed the piece of vinyl stencil and used frog tape to mask for a quick spray job...

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It came out great and I spent a bit of time using a very fine art brush to touch up a few imperfections and sanded entire cab and head for the next step....
(Photo coming)

I was preparing to move to the next step of preparing the cab and head for clear coat and needed naphtha, after checking several sources I found out naphtha is not available in Ca.... after some on line research I found that this coleman fuel is indeed naphtha...
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I used 320 grit paper to knock down any edges and made sure that all shiny spots were sanded dull...then cleaned with rag and naphtha, followed by tack cloth...then sprayed first a light coat, then a heavier coat of clear...It came out well with no drips or obvious blemishes...

Special Note:
2 part auto clear is nasty stuff... make sure to always wear a respirator, gloves, and safety goggles (chemical type that seal against your face, not safety glasses)
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Yes, I did see it available via amazon or e-bay, but I didnt attempt to source it until the last minute as I assumed it would be an over the counter sale...
Next step is to let the clear cure, check for any last minute touch ups, then block sand to prepare for final clear coat....I will also clear the coin door and frame at that time...