OP

Quoted from jsa:

Repairing the cabinet has begun. We're starting with the separated front corners. Insert glue, camp, repeat.

While it dries, time to give the lamp panel some TLC. We were thinking of just doing the front:

Then when we saw the nasty back, with flux everywhere, decided to give it a once-over with 80 grit.

We must not forget about the recessed lamp panel for the Future Spa logo:

The panel will eventually get painted with a bright white and the recessed panel with a matte black.
We were also just reviewing various plastics. Unfortunately, as captainneo is learning happened with the playfield under the star posts, it seems the white plastics also leached red dye from the posts where they made contact and were never moved for 40 years:

I'm going to keep these plastics, though. I may replace the red posts, but the white ones are original with the Bally logo that you can't get anymore. I'll dress them up with some small shiny washers and you won't see the red.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

I don't think a matte clear buys us anything.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

Unaltered coat of MC760 clear to lock down the colors. This is not the final surface as we will finish with a matte clear. Our intent is to sand this flatter, see how it looks, and decide if it needs another coat of clear and sanding prior to final topcoat.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

Do you clean things that no one will ever see?

OP

Quoted from jsa:

Finishing the bezel:
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Almost complete:
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Here is the last bit, coin door is done:
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Meanwhile, my son learns to use the desoldering gun.
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

Thanks, yes we did. It really comes down to whether or not we felt we could regrain it to a level we would be happy with or not, and the answer is no. Therefore, thanks to Chris at Hot Rod Arcades / pinballplating.com, we got this along with other parts plated beautifully.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

I like the permanent ones. Marco also sells the protectors that insert between with felt, but I prefer the permanent ones. On a decal, I'll score the protector and remove the decal beneath it to keep the decal from wrinkling as torque is applied to the legs. Here's our process for that:

OP

Quoted from jsa:

We've been slowly reconfiguring/cleaning up the cabinet harness...with lots of breaks. Right now, replacing diodes and capacitors, getting the line filter ready for mounting, etc.
First, some glamour shots of captainneo's great playfield work:
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

Cabinet is finished, hallelujah.
Here's some shots in crappy lighting, but you get the idea.
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

By the way, for the record: When you get chrome plated leg levelers, the challenge is that the threads get some chrome on them, and honestly you can't put lock nuts (or remove ones that were on them) over those threads without breaking the threads.
Does anyone sell chrome plated levelers where this isn't the case? Not that we need chrome plated levelers, which is really entering the silly category, but I'm curious.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

Even if you prefer to put nuts beneath the legs (I never really understood this practice, I guess to keep it locked), you can't even adjust them.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

All mechanical assemblies have been reassembled, coils have their new wrappers, everything cleaned and ready to go. Only two things to do before putting the playfield back together!
First, while the front of the playfield looks better than any Future Spa I've ever seen, the backside of the playfield is kind of gross. Wood splinters near the screw holes, rosin flux, some areas where it looks like paint was goopy or perhaps melted from a soldering iron, the inserts are dusty. Before I mount anything to this, I hit it with 320 grit. Some folks repaint the grey paint, that's not going to happen folks. No one cares. I barely cut into it and make it smooth as it possibly can be.
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A little insert cleaning and we're good to go. Second, the playfield harness. We chose to leave the sockets connected to the harness since we're replacing all the sockets anyway. As we tame the harness back into position later, the old bulbs will be clipped off but we'll use as a reference to make sure we got the right bulbs in the right place. We also left the switches attached to the harness, which has been cleaned. Out plan with these is to go switch by switch, replacing any diodes or capacitors with new ones. These switches look unused, but we find solder joints that are broken or corroded, the heat shrink used has expanded and hardened, there is corrosion on some of the solder, so doing this switch by switch is a PITA but necessary work. Would these be easier to do on the playfield? Maybe, we like doing it at a table, plus it keeps everything where it should be for the reassembly. OMG SO MANY SWITCHES.
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

Ok you glorious, wonderful, obsessive (like me) people, here is a freshly painted underside.
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I can just picture it now:
Friend 1, "Did you see Jay's Future Spa?"
Friend 2, "I did! Did you see the underside of his playfield? It's such a smooth grey!"
Friend 1, "Profoundly glorious."
Friend 2, "But what's the toilet paper in the photo for?"
Friend 1, "Best not to ask these questions."

OP

Quoted from jsa:

I should also point out we replaced the pop bumper bayonet lamps with wedge style. The original bayonets were so unreliable and corroded they were trash. While we may be able to find replacements, the wedges will be more flexible for what we need going forward.

OP

Quoted from jsa:

Assemblies in place...
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

As with all of these restorations, it couldn't happen without all your support along the way, so thank you so much from both of us. There were times when we literally thought we couldn't make it this time (automotive paints, omg) but your encouragement kept us going.
Thanks to this amazing community! I probably forgot a few, but a quick shout out to a few of you amazing peeps:
mustangpaul arcane vid1900 atari_daze bryan_kelly high_end_pins quench barakandl inkochnito mof jethrop @jjsmoth pintechev radium g94 cottonm4 xenon75 bjm-maxx jibmums trk12fire rack-em-up pinzap elicash grnrzr chill lb1 steamfitter joey_n pinkid the4horse pinballinreno tommy-dog tsskinne madmax541 legtod2 roygbev groucho hawkmoon lynnindenver nimblepin squeakman mk1mod0 redketchup wm6929 heni1977 wolffcub skins
You folks are the best.
Now help me find this source of lamp flashing. LOL!

OP

Quoted from jsa:

In her new location, at least for now:
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If you look closely, you can just see a little purple coming out the neck grill... just a little extra flair for dark rooms.
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OP

Quoted from jsa:

That's the thing, fiberglass resin, automotive paints... Holy crap, this thing is a tank. I wonder how much this machine weighs in comparison to before the teardown from bondo, fiberglass resin, paint and clear.