After several years of benefitting from Pinside posters like Vid, PMD (mof), High_end_pins, Honda350r, as well as many others, it is time to hopefully give back a little. The goal in giving back is to inspire someone to go one step further in their own project(s), vicariously enjoy the process of restoration without the headaches, and selfishly to learn from those who will post ideas along the way and their encouraged.

Many of the amazing restorations on Pinside have illuminated my imagination to some of the possibilities. Without the online community and my local community (identified along the way), this restoration or any for that matter would not have happened. Thanks!

A little back story might help since I am pretty anonymous to the Pinside community. I am a private collector and do my own restores (with help) for my personal therapy, enjoyment of the process (dreaming, creating, planning, collaborating, sharing a beer, FINISHING, etc.), and the love of pinball. My day job is as a psychotherapist and professor. I don't have all the tools nor the expertise (gaining along the way) but I love learning and pushing my glass ceilings.

My first project was a playfield swap of Sterns Dracula. I learned a great deal on this project. Patience, not panicking, expect complications, and the infamous it is all back together but not working. I had accidentally drilled through a wire harness. Took forever to discover and felt like the village idiot when I did find it. Since then I have completed a Harlem Globetrotters, Whirlwind, Firepower, and Sinbad each time doing a little more.

Every time I do a project I try and push myself. This project is my most ambitious one yet. Like all the others so far none turned out perfect but good enough.

So here we go:

Thanks to Pat Choy at endless pinball for finding me the donor game! It had been routed for many years and appeared to have never been waxed or cleaned.

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I started the restore about 3 weeks ago and have made some progress.

After disassembling, I started with the cabinet. Since I won't be using decals and will be doing a mixture of original art and "enhancements", the first step is making stencils. I use a product called TransferRite Ultra commonly used in the sign making business but also by airbrush artists which is where I learned about it. Easy to move from one surface to another, cuts extremely well with a blade, and is overall easy to work with.

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Kiwi Terry (airbrush artist and friend) and I took a few hours to hand draw the artwork onto the TransferRite. Honestly, Kiwi Terry doesn't allow me to help much. He can be a little touchy .

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We then mount it on white butcher paper.

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Photo copies are made so we have as many backups as needed! It isn't necessarily the least amount of work but using vinyl cutters has not proven as successful either for one off projects, which is true of all of my projects.

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After the stencils were completed and pictures were taken, it was time to take the plunge.

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The primer I used this time worked well. It helped fill in some of the imperfections without having to use Bondo. It won't be quite as flat overall but it will work well enough for the guy who will have to live with it.

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I stripped, sanded, coated with primer, sanded, primer, repeat, start over, hate the process, sanded, wish I could just quit, start again and eventually give up and say 'it is good enough'. If I had a little more OCD in me I could go a little further then I do. OCD: The function of dysfunction when restoring pinball machines. I won't be writing that book, but thankfully I have a little OCD but not enough to keep me stuck.

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Unfortunately, I must not have taken a picture of the final product but it looked like the last one minus any Bondo showing. The process was the same for the cabinet head. No pics for some reason. Oh well, I am sure our imaginations can fill in the gaps.

After the prep was done, it was time to lay down the base coat of black. My buddy Don and I use an easy up and drop clothes to create a paint booth outside. We always get a chuckle out of our makeshift booth. Southern California weather permits us to do this pretty much anytime of year. This breaks a number of best practices when it comes to spraying. Don't follow our lead, it is a little McGiver and a little Eddy Haskell.

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I was able to save the original warning and labels by masking with TransferRite. It is imperceptible unless your looking for it. Then again, you would have to pull the machine away from the back wall as well.

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We also sprayed the inside of the cabinet black and the interior and exterior bottom red with sparkle. The red coordinates with the original art but in this case (more to follow) its in homage to the original.

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The cabinet was taken over to Kiwi Terry's for the airbrushing to begin. We also hit our first major setback. The paint delaminated in a few places when adjusting the mask.

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You can see when the stencil was removed the base coat came with it and the primer showed through. Instead of risking further delaminating after final artwork was applied I started over. A sad day for me as I hate prepping. I was back to the proverbial sanding, priming, Bondo, sanding, priming, rinse and repeat.

We don't know why we experienced delaminating but in the end we switched base coats and used House of Kolor automotive paint. It could have been anything from incompatibility of primer and base coat, bad paint, or some contaminant that kept the two from adhering. The end result took the project up another level as the final surface was much flatter.

So we were back to the artwork after a week delay. In case your interested, a few pics on the next steps in making the stencils.

First, we applied the TransferRite to the photo copy.

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Second, we apply a second layer of TransferRite over the first layer.

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Third, we cut the top layer of TransferRite with a new x-acto knife using a straight edge whenever possible. You don't have to press very hard. If you can avoid cutting through the first layer then you won't need another photocopy as the first one can be reused for the other side.

Then the top layer is separated from the first and then aligned and applied to the cabinet. Whatever color your painting determines which part you remove.

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The yellow is fine line tape. The stencil provides the outline but many more steps are needed to create the final art. Here you see the first shade of gray being applied.

We waited three full days. If I had to guess, the black paint was bad. I had it a few years and didn't even think about it being risky to use. I will probably avoid using fine aged wood smoked paint again.

At this point in the project, I get to sit back and watch Kiwi Terry work his magic. Check out his work online. He does some amazing art.

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I hate all the prep. Terry hates all the masking!!! I have never seen so much fine line tape used in my life. My office is 2 miles from Terry so I drop in from time to time and sit and marvel at his ability to push and pull color to create 3D effects. Hanging out with Terry also gives me the opportunity to work on my New Zealand accent.

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More masking and airbrushing.

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The final cabinet artwork is complete.

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Thanks everyone for the kind words.

2 coats and color sand. Then another 2 coats, color sand, and buff. Then who knows from there. Sometimes it is good enough but this project may push it to another round of clear.

The machine will have a custom translite (Ferrari 430 will replace the existing mutt) and some reworking of the playfield art. Most of the playfield will stay original but the extent of the changes is yet to be determined.

Some things to keep in mind if you ever want to do custom art. If you provide stencils, prep, base color, and clear, the price will be significantly less than hiring someone to do all of it for you. The vast majority of custom artwork on cars and motorcycles is in the prep. I can spray a motorcycle gas tank in 20 minutes. It will take several days to prep.

I hope to get to the clear this weekend. Pretty excited to clear it.

Scanned the playfield today with the HP 4670. Thanks Steve for loaning me one. Super easy to use.

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Anyone know whether the gear shift black handle is threaded or pressed?

You make a good point. It does take all those pieces to put the puzzle together. These kinds of projects aren't for everyone. My first pinball maintenance experience was in 2009 when I paid a pinball repairman to change a fuse in my first machine. The experience motivated me to learn a little more about the hobby. I clearly lost my mind shortly there after.

I have got my work cut out for me today with the prep of the playfield. The original plan was to find a NOS playfield but that has come up short. The cleaning, color sanding, and the repair of the scoop begins today. Then a few coats of clear, some color sanding, and then the customization of the playfield will begin.

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Some surprises coming... hopefully good ones.

Thanks! I can always use the encouragement.

Only had about an hour today to work on the playfield. Did some sanding and cleanup.

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I am pleased to say none are raised or sunken! Total luck. This playfield has held up well.

Today I worked on repairing some playfield wear and tear. Three spots needed some Bondo work. The saucer was a two step process with epoxy as the base and Bondo as the finisher.

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I also worked on the shooter lane.
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Another one showed up after the fact. They are like gremlins apparently.

We put a few coats of clear on today so some playfield touch up work can happen this weekend.

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