(Topic ID: 262269)

Flash Gordon causing me to Blackout!

By gdonovan

4 years ago


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  • 163 posts
  • 14 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 2 years ago by gdonovan
  • Topic is favorited by 16 Pinsiders

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There are 163 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 4.
#51 3 years ago

Light board mostly done, just have to polish a few more bits before moving on.

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1 week later
#52 3 years ago

I can't find a decent discussion of backglass touchup anywhere.
The attitude seems to be "just buy some paint and get 'er done"
Looks like you did a bang up job on Blackout.

I'm curious about cleaning the grime from the cracked and crazing paint.
Curious about specific brand of paints used.
It seems like Blackout (which I am also slogging through at the moment) is an ideal backglass for touching up...it is so busy and there are lots of colors. It seems like it would be tough to figure out what is original and what isn't if you are just casually looking at it.
Also wondering about the specific set up...did you back light the glass.

#53 3 years ago
Quoted from ss-pinball:

I can't find a decent discussion of backglass touchup anywhere.
The attitude seems to be "just buy some paint and get 'er done"
Looks like you did a bang up job on Blackout.
I'm curious about cleaning the grime from the cracked and crazing paint.
Curious about specific brand of paints used.
It seems like Blackout (which I am also slogging through at the moment) is an ideal backglass for touching up...it is so busy and there are lots of colors. It seems like it would be tough to figure out what is original and what isn't if you are just casually looking at it.
Also wondering about the specific set up...did you back light the glass.

I have done a number of backglass touchups over the last 3 years with the process evolving and being refined over that time frame. Here is what I'm currently doing.

1) Prep; This is difficult as you have to assess the condition of the backglass and decide if cleaning is advisable. I have had backglasses the looked fine but after you cleaned them were covered with a spiderweb of cracks that were visible when lit. My advice is to NOT clean the unlit sections at all and clean the lit sections as little as possible using cotton balls with either a mild vinegar or orange based cleaner. Cleaning the lit areas is very much a judgment call on your part, avoid it if you can.

2) Sealing; Triple Thick the backglass first, this will allow you to lock in what you have. And if you are touching up with acrylic paint if you don't like what you see you can always wipe off and try again, same for enamel but you have a shorter window. As I get more practice I have boldly skipped this step and only sealed last but there is little to no margin for error.

3) Lighting; I use a roughly 2.5' x 2.5' box on a mobile cart with two 24" retrofit LED light strips inside. Very, very bright. This lets me place the glass face down on the box and I can work and see what needs to be done.

4) Paint; Start out with your basic acrylic paint set from Hobby Lobby or other craft store. Along with a basic set it would not hurt to get small range of other colors that look close to what you need..

Will follow up with more in a few hours.. lots more thoughts on paint and lighting.

Also review this page if you have not yet- http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/index1.htm#touch

#54 3 years ago

Before going into minutia about touching up various areas lets talk about paint.

1) acrylic.

Cheap, dries fast and forgiving but goes on rather thick and will show brush strokes the most in lighted areas. Great for unlighted sections.

2) Oil in a squeeze tube.

Experimented, decided it was waste of time and money.

3) Spray paint.

Tried it for first time on Blackout as you can see in the red sections as I had a color that was very close match. Tends to spot or mottle into light and dark areas, prone to spotting or fisheye. Tentatively recommend for some areas if used judiciously. Avoid any with built in primer in translucent areas, will really cut down on light transmission. Actually wet sanded down some areas I painted to lighten them back up. Expensive if you don't have a lot on hand already, luck if it happens to be right color.

4) Testors Enamel model paint

My current go to for lighted areas, thins and brushes well and seems to transmit a minimal amount of brush strokes. Lays down nice and levels better than acrylic but less forgiving than acrylic.

5) Latex

Had some that happened to be the right shade or close and mixed it up/down with white or black. Nothing I'd spend a lot time trying to use on a backglass though, definitely not on lighted areas.

--

Near future; I plan on getting a decent airbrush setup and doing more touch up this way. On Blackout experimented with masks and frisket in a few sections, worked well so will move more in this direction. Also will start experimenting with scanning and water slide decals, have seen a places discussing this and wish to explore this avenue of repair.

Advice about touching up- I tend to do the blacks sections first and move towards lighter colors. Have a fine set of exacto razors handy to scrape dried mistakes off. Use a heat gun on low to speed things up. Reds and whites seem to flake first and are difficult to touch up when lit, do so judiciously. If doing reds consider red cellophane and utilizing red leds behind what is lit. I find colored leds are GREAT for blending lighted areas that have been painted. The yellow areas in Blackout have yellow led behind them and the cracked areas with touch ups practically vanished from view. The ball count numbers on Hearts and Spades had a few with cracking in the reds, red leds made the cracking unnoticeable.

I'll post more here if anything pops into mind.

#55 3 years ago

Gary, you are my hero. Thanks for this info and the link.

#56 3 years ago
Quoted from ss-pinball:

Gary, you are my hero. Thanks for this info and the link.

No problem.

I have not touched much in regards to paint mixing aside from finding a color that is close to what you have on hand and driving it brighter or darker using different colors. In theory you can take a color and drive it lighter or darker with white or black.. but it really is more of an art form and you may take several tries to find a match you are comfortable with. I will usually take a quarter sized amount of paint and start dropping in other colors and count the number of drops that are placed into it so I can replicate the color if need be.

Some colors it is more prudent to mix a color with more pigment to darken, say if you have light blue and dark blue and to darken the light blue you add a drop or two of dark blue rather than jump to black for a darkening agent. Again you are not using much paint so feel free to experiment. Some people like to paint some thin clear plastic so they can see how close it is by holding it over the work. Acrylic tends to darken when dry so you may wish to take that into account when mixing.

Another trick and warning if you are going to repair an unlit area be aware that if you paint it black to stop light passing through this will tend to darken what you have just painted. Consider a heavy white coat first followed by the black after. Also try if you want to change the color a little of paint that has dried, a white or black masking coat sometimes helps to drive the hue up or down.

#57 3 years ago

Wood piece glued in to repair cabinet came out well, red paint sure is vibrant under the black compared to the rest. Weather was great today.

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8 months later
#58 3 years ago

Removed pictures, I did post them further up!

Going to be heading back in Flash Gordon's direction to start work again.

Plastics arrived a week or two ago!

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1 month later
#59 3 years ago

Ming awaits!

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#60 3 years ago

Lower playfield stripped of hardware.

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#61 3 years ago

Things are starting to speed up.. getting serious now.

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#62 3 years ago

Credit button hole filled, sanded and painted security plate, knocking down paint and cabinet repairs.

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#63 3 years ago

Starting to primer and block sand.

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#64 2 years ago

While primer drying, working on mechs.

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#65 2 years ago

Making the parts shine.

One side of cabinet blocked and done.

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#66 2 years ago

Things are coming along. Gonna be sweet when done.
-Mike

#67 2 years ago

i bet you are looking forward to those 5 second ball times on this game. Mine is so ridiculously fast that it just makes us laugh. I am going to film it and post it at some point.

#68 2 years ago
Quoted from rcbrown316:

i bet you are looking forward to those 5 second ball times on this game. Mine is so ridiculously fast that it just makes us laugh. I am going to film it and post it at some point.

She is a tough one for sure, the pops often fatal. One of the few games I have played at a show that was played more than once or twice.

#69 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

She is a tough one for sure, the pops often fatal. One of the few games I have played at a show that was played more than once or twice.

everything on that whole fault line is fatal. three ramps two pops and a bunch of posts right in your face. PURE AWESOMENESS. makes BSD feel like childs play

#70 2 years ago
Quoted from Grizlyrig:

Things are coming along. Gonna be sweet when done.
-Mike

Thanks Mike! I'm done repairing the wiring for the door, gave it one last scrub with a toothbrush and set it aside. Laid down some primer last night so I'll be block sanding again when I get home. The cabinet MIGHT be ready for paint tonight, might. Still have to primer and block the backbox which should take less time.

Already eyeballing the transformers to see what I have to do in regards to cleaning, painting and new decals.

1 week later
#71 2 years ago

As you can see I have been keeping busy the last few days.

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#72 2 years ago

Lower power board also saw some love.

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#73 2 years ago

New side rails and braid from PinballLife.

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#74 2 years ago

Looking sweet!

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#75 2 years ago

Doing some test fitting and picking at minor brackets and such.

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#76 2 years ago

Money pit I swear.

Playfield on order.

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#77 2 years ago

You know, I'm actually toying with building a second Flash Gordon.

Pickup a "cheaper pin" like 6 Million Dollar man, Eight Ball or Super Sonic, and move over the old stuff.

I have a playfield, plastics and backglass and spare apron. The donor pin will contribute displays and boards (minus sound of course) and some mechs. I even have a spare strobe unit for backglass.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

#78 2 years ago

All I have tonight, cleaned and polished some hardware and installed.

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#79 2 years ago

Tonight's work, almost out of cabinet parts. Door cant go on till final stencil layer is done.

Scrubbed the harness by hand with a toothbrush and Super Purple.

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#80 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

I even have a spare strobe unit for backglass.

If you don't end up building another, I would be interested in buying the strobe unit off of you. My machine was missing the strobe and the strobes transformer when I bought it.

#81 2 years ago
Quoted from bluebomber:

If you don't end up building another, I would be interested in buying the strobe unit off of you. My machine was missing the strobe and the strobes transformer when I bought it.

I'll keep it in mind but at the moment planning on pressing forward with this idea. Might have already found the drop target assemblies and metal ramps so all I'd need is a donor game.

#82 2 years ago

22ga stapler on order, this far into the program..

#83 2 years ago

Gold paint shoot out!

1) the rustoleum looks the nicest but when I rub gold flake transfers to my fingers.

2) krylon is the 2nd, not as nice shine as number one, but no transfer.

3 ) the rustoleum advance formula went on thin, no transfer, but good gloss with less shine than #2

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#84 2 years ago

Today is the day!

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#85 2 years ago

A most satisfactory conclusion.

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#86 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

A most satisfactory conclusion.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Looks great!

#87 2 years ago

Gary, Flash Gordon asked me to tell you that he would like red led lit flipper buttons.
Looks really sweet, great work.
Maybe consider doing restorations on the side.
-Mike

#88 2 years ago
Quoted from Grizlyrig:

Gary, Flash Gordon asked me to tell you that he would like red led lit flipper buttons.
Looks really sweet, great work.
Maybe consider doing restorations on the side.
-Mike

Don't temp me about the flipper buttons.

Maybe when I retire! No time now.

Gary

#89 2 years ago

So last night decided to install legs with cabinet protectors and hook up the electronics. After much stress and shenanigans "Emperor Ming Awaits!" Was finally heard in the workshop after long absence.

Broken wire on J4 of the MPU 12v line really caused some blood pressure issues.

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#90 2 years ago
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#91 2 years ago

Coin door and trim installed (missing a bolt darn it) shooter too. Finished up some minor wiring repair and rerouted the backbox wiring till I was satisfied with it.

Need to install side rails, repin the MPU connectors, print out and attach the tech cards and do a minor bit of braid installation.

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#92 2 years ago

Post office was here, air stapler! You know what that means.. ground braid and tech cards got installed and the new side rails too.

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#93 2 years ago

All MPU connectors replaced and everything checks out. Time to move on the the playfield...

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#94 2 years ago

Testing..

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#95 2 years ago

Plug for Todd at Big Daddy!

Not feeling like going through Mouser search results building an order? Todd has ready to go kits for most of your pinball needs. Couple of quick clicks and.. done!

No more IDC connectors! damn things caused me no small amount of grief.

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#96 2 years ago

My order for Pinball Resource for reference to those doing a playfield swap.

4x LEG-28GR (set of 4 for 1981 Bally)
40x Transparent Red C952-1 Finned posts
15x lamp sockets A1363 (stapled)
8x lamp socket A2913 (lay down)
20x lamp socket A4762 (1/2")
30x lamp socket A2916 (1 1/8" Bracket)
40x white acorn nuts (BLY-POSTCAP)
6x Bally Spool Spacers (Williams reference #03-8371)
8x GTB-D11968 (insert stars)
12x HDW-TEE-8-32 (T-nuts)
4x DE-530-500500 (posts)

#97 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

Plug for Todd at Big Daddy!
Not feeling like going through Mouser search results building an order? Todd has ready to go kits for most of your pinball needs. Couple of quick clicks and.. done!
No more IDC connectors! damn things caused me no small amount of grief.
[quoted image]

+1 to this. When I did my Meteor my Big Daddy order ended up less expensive than my Mouser order was going to be. Great service!

#98 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

My order for Pinball Resource for reference to those doing a playfield swap.
4x LEG-28GR (set of 4 for 1981 Bally)
40x Transparent Red C952-1 Finned posts
15x lamp sockets A1363 (stapled)
8x lamp socket A2913 (lay down)
20x lamp socket A4762 (1/2")
30x lamp socket A2916 (1 1/8" Bracket)
40x white acorn nuts (BLY-POSTCAP)
6x Bally Spool Spacers (Williams reference #03-8371)
8x GTB-D11968 (insert stars)
12x HDW-TEE-8-32 (T-nuts)
4x DE-530-500500 (posts)

Just following up on this.

1) The first number is a set of new legs, not needed for playfield swap =)

2) Some of the numbers are not exact but have a few extra padded in there in case I missed anything while counting. I'll update once the actual work starts for a proper parts list.

3) I need ball wire guides M-121-59, both are broken. Looks like I'm going to be bending stainless wire in the near future..

#99 2 years ago

Almost go time on playfield swap!

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#100 2 years ago
Quoted from gdonovan:

Almost go time on playfield swap!

Looks like fun! You've got a nice weekend ahead of you

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