Parkville, MO
Back at it!!!
(Topic ID: 159868)
Linked Games
FunHouse
Williams, 1990
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Quoted from chknlil:Back at it!!!
Yes indeed. I'm determined to not let this take 2 years, and also to stay ahead of the weather.
Priming
Blue! Starting to look like a Funhouse again.
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It helps to bring a friend, inspecting the work
"Pro" tip: olive oil works great to remove oil based enamel from your arms/hands. I was looking pretty blue until I googled that one...
When people say spray paint gets everywhere, it's absolutely true. Even the underside of the cabinet had enough blue overspray from the updraft that I had to re-sand it last night. My back patio looks like a Smurf murder scene. Any tips for removing blue spray from concrete? (Oil based)
Quoted from Aeolus7:Any tips for removing blue spray from concrete?
Get out the gray spray paint!
Try a powerwasher
Quoted from WeirPinball:Keep going - it is worth it in the end.
I wouldn't know I sold mine right after I restored it. 
Quoted from Skypilot:I wouldn't know I sold mine right after I restored it.
Same here - working on the third one to sell - then finally I can do my own...
Quoted from WeirPinball:Keep going - it is worth it in the end.
Thanks. Can't wait! Just a mental game at this point. I'm my own biggest obstacle
Quoted from Skypilot:I wouldn't know I sold mine right after I restored it.
Whaa?!! I did this with my Whirlwind and missed it immediately
Quoted from Aeolus7:On the plus side, an empty house let's me work on my game all weekend. On the minus side, I have to figure out how to feed myself.
For our reward, I'm slow cooking some meat for 8 hours, Korean-style. C'mon over! The recipe calls for 3lbs!
Man, that does not look tasty. 
Quoted from Aeolus7:When people say spray paint gets everywhere, it's absolutely true. Even the underside of the cabinet had enough blue overspray from the updraft that I had to re-sand it last night. My back patio looks like a Smurf murder scene. Any tips for removing blue spray from concrete? (Oil based)
Looks like you need a new patio anyways! 
Quoted from mollyspub:Looks like you need a new patio anyways!
Haha, true story. It's tiny & has a big crack straight down the middle. And my backyard has the majestic, natural foliage look of the Michigan lakeshore (some would say "weeds"). The benefit is the backyard is full of deer & other animals in the winter. Pretty cool. I could sell my restored Funhouse and completely redo the back, but I'd rather have the Funhouse 
Couple of things I've learned from restoring video game coin doors & control panels
Trick to painting bolts easily:
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Getting the textured finish on coin doors (scale up or down on the glossy scale depending on what you're going for). I do a 2-part process that includes the Universal "hammered" finish
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Quoted from radium:Man, that does not look tasty.
Lol, I hope you're wrong, or it will be a lot like that scene in 40-year-old Virgin where Cal describes spending 3 hours making an Egg Salad Sandwich and didn't feel like eating it.
1 week later
Small update. Important to document failure & success. I ended up sanding & redoing the wood rails on the playfield and a couple of metals parts. They turned out poorly at first and took too long to dry. The coin door turned out perfectly (used the Universal hammered paint.
I used the 2x Painters Touch on the first attempt with the extra pieces. I didn't have any issues using the blue, but for black gloss, the Universal is worth the higher price. WAY better. Even coats and quicker drying. I repainted the rails and coated them with polycrilic.
While I was at it, went ahead with another light brushed coat of polycrilic on the inside and outside of the cabinet. 3rd coat was a charm. Much more even/smooth across the board. Progress!
1 month later
Not moving as quickly as I hope, but making progress. The other day I woke up super early before work and decided it would be a good idea to apply cabinet decals (solo, dry method). I almost had a panic attack at one point as one side of the cabinet main art folded over on itself. I remember think "what's that crease?" - Ahh! Luckily, the art is good quality and I was able to peel back slowly and correct. Phew!
6 months later
6 months since my last post -- you may be wondering: "Is everything ok? Is that FH guy still alive? Did he give up?" Yes. Yes. No.
****
This winter, I checked out the shop of The Ron Kruzman with a friend. Of course, since we were headed that way, I brought my Mirco FH playfield to Ron for an uber clear treatment. Very excited to see the results. Now for some Cabinet updates:
Added a staple gun and an air compressor to my arsenal. Difficult to avoid with the ground braid. Glad I did as this was very easy with the right tools:
A little help from my buddy
Re-Assembly begins:
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If you're curious, I used metal cabinet protectors and put Velcro underneath (soft side) so they would ride above the decal. Hopefully that curbs any wrinkle risk.
Rudy day is here. I have a feeling the sequence of disassembly will be important for re-assembly. You guessed it: Pictures! I'll include a few here in case any needs them. Rudy was dirty dirty dirty
Quoted from mollyspub:Good to see this restoration back on track!
For you & me both! Thanks for sticking around.
Cosmetic hiccups with Rudy
1) ideas on whitening the eyes without losing the iris paint?
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2) top layer on the eyelids have started to peel & have a dull look to them. I'm not sure if it happened in the ultrasonic cleaner (mistake?) or over time in the game. Salvageable? Something I can sand/buff? Luckily there are replacements, so I'm willing to experiment
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Quoted from Aeolus7:And wheezin' the juice! A+ if you catch the reference.
Quoted from Aeolus7:Cosmetic hiccups with Rudy
1) ideas on whitening the eyes without losing the iris paint?2) top layer on the eyelids have started to peel & have a dull look to them. I'm not sure if it happened in the ultrasonic cleaner (mistake?) or over time in the game. Salvageable? Something I can sand/buff? Luckily there are replacements, so I'm willing to experiment
You could try hydrogen peroxide in a sandwich bag and bright sun. Cover the color with frisket first.
The plastic eyelids you can try sanding then buffing.
Thank goodness for long weekends. Spent a couple hours today prepping and clearcoating the light panel and Rudy's wood base (neck?), polishing metal, and tumbling. All the pieces I haven't had time for are coming together nicely (with a little help from my friend)
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On deck for clearcoating. I sanded and buffed Rudy's eyelids as @Ib1 suggested. Turned out fairly well. I wasnt sure how the clearcoating would turn out, but so far I'm glad I took the extra step as it brightened them up with a "new" look.
The white edges of the decals had been bothering me for months. And I've been sitting on how to amend it, but finally settled on simply touching up with leftover blue & a small paint brush. Results were great. I'm quite happy with how well it smoothed the look of the corners.
I have some concerns about the durability of the decal at the lockbar and plungers, so I went a little clear happy today in those areas. Not sure how the clear will like that surface, but I figured it couldn't hurt since those are low visibility areas.
2 weeks later
3 weeks later
Quick thoughts:
* Re-assembled Rudy with no issue -- one section took a couple attempts, probably shouldn't have been watching a movie while doing this 
* After seeing Rudy assembled, the yellowness in his eyes kept grabbing my attention. I picked up some Frisket and am taking the sound advice of 
lb1 and trying the peroxide/sunlight treatment. 
* After re-soldering a couple of pieces in the cabinet, I was able to test the game without the playfield. Game powered up fine. No surprises, smoke, or explosions. 
* Spent time this weekend thinking about LEDs. I typically go with Comet. I've mixed the Warm & Natural whites before depending on color, but Sunlight is calling my name as a good compromise. I'm looking for crisp & bright but not blinding/distracting, and possibly going the LED OCD route. Is frosted 2xSMD or 2xLED too much for the GI of a classic Williams?
Make sure whatever LEDs you use in the clock preserve the lighting wipe effect, which was designed for incandescent bulbs and would be a shame to lose in such a nice restoration.
Quoted from arkuz:Make sure whatever LEDs you use in the clock preserve the lighting wipe effect, which was designed for incandescent bulbs and would be a shame to lose in such a nice restoration.
Thank you! In the past, I've done the non-ghosting, but that won't help me on the fade effects (been down that route with TSPP). I'm likely going with the LED OCD board this time around.
curious to try these in my FH for the inserts as they state "This bulb will reduce flickering due to minor voltage irregularities.
It wont stop controlled fading from a game, that causes flickering in attract mode."
http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1-flux.htm
If these dont do it, then I may go the OCD route too.
1 week later
Ouch. I attempted to bleach Rudy's eyes with peroxide and with frisket to cover the iris & pupil. It worked really well to turn yellow into white, but it also caused peeling on the first layer of plastic, giving a coarse, bumpy, & dull effect. I may have left it in the bag too long because it wasn't yet as white as I wanted (24 hours). 8 hours of sunlight may have been smarter. I'm attempting to sand the white and clearcoat the eyes to restore, but that is looking like a dead end.
Either way, I'm in the market for a set of Rudy eyes if anyone has a line on one...
Good news though: my playfield is ready to pickup after getting the full clear treatment. Yes! Also bought a rivet punch set to redo plastics. Definitely ready for the next steps.
1 week later
stunning!
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:So THAT's the playfield that's been holding up kruzman to work on my Monster Bash! Looks amazing; would love to own a FH some day
Haha. I waited my turn, believe me!
Quoted from Aeolus7:Haha. I waited my turn, believe me!
I believe you! Amazing work he did, and this whole project
Quoted from Aflacjack:I just spent a couple hours reading this thread. Awesome work! Having a funhouse myself and I would be scared to death to undertake what you have been doing.
Thank you! Definitely an undertaking. Some may say obsession, I say a lifestyle. At this point, I can't even replace rubbers on a game without feeling compelled to take everything apart, clean, & rebuild. Once everything is apart, you start thinking, "this playfield doesn't look as good as I thought" and "well, if I'm swapping the playfield, may as well re-do the cabinet". A year later, here I am 
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