Addams Family, The
Bally, 1992Got that over with for the day.
Now onto the playfield.
It is ready to sand.
Then sanded nice and level.
Now cleaned .
I can start evaluating all the spots that need work.Too much to show in one post but it is mostly wood issues,ground in dirt,insert issues,discolorations etc.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Translite is cleaned as much as possible without damage then rebuilt and touched up as needed.
Chris, you do amazing work and I love your shop, it always looks clean and organized. I wish I could keep mine that way. Thanks for sharing your an inspiration and I love following your build threads. I would like to know what do you use to clean the back of the translite? I have a TZ that I need to clean but I don't want to damage it.
Wood part 1.
Still a little grain left showing but most of these areas will be covered so it is most important to me with a playfield like this to just get it looking good overall.
I would love to have all natural wood but it isn't always possible.
The shooter lane will be a work in progress as the playfield issues shrink I can go back and dial it in but for now I just need to get it to a certain point. That point is smooth and uniform looking.
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Quoted from High_End_Pins:Plan on getting into the playfield repaints later today if I am not too tired.
While the cabinet flashes off (dries enough to move out of the way) I will work on myself a bit.Too rainy to run so it is inside to the pinball dojo
OK. Enough of the weight lifting pics. That shit'll kill ya!!
I want to see what kind of beer is consumed on a Friday. 
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:OK. Enough of the weight lifting pics. That shit'll kill ya!!
I want to see what kind of beer is consumed on a Friday.
Starting out light.Need to cut straight lines right now.
When it gets low I text my wife this picture.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Starting out light.Need to cut straight lines right now.
When it gets low I text my wife this picture.
LMAO!! I knew it!! You are just like the rest of us.....only with a shit ton more talent. 
Quoted from ita47:Chris, you do amazing work and I love your shop, it always looks clean and organized. I wish I could keep mine that way. Thanks for sharing your an inspiration and I love following your build threads. I would like to know what do you use to clean the back of the translite? I have a TZ that I need to clean but I don't want to damage it.
I wet them ,spray them lightly with a very diluted ZEP orange cleaner and lightly rinse.NO SCRUBING at all or you will be looking for a translite. Ithe sort of reactivated the white film on the back which removes the stains .
After a couple minutes you can lightly wipe dry.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Ithe sort
See!! You need to put the beer down and step slowly away from the playfield.
BTW, I love how that coin door turned out.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:LMAO!! I knew it!! You are just like the rest of us.....only with a shit ton more talent.
Thanks BK. You have been here so you know the drill
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:See!! You need to put the beer down and step slowly away from the playfield.
BTW, I love how that coin door turned out.
I think I can get one or two more colors dun 
White is done very sparingly because white has a tendency to look more floated than other colors so just the absolute wear is addressed.
Minor hand work is done and we are ready for the next clear application.
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I do not have any idea what arcane magic you are using with the masking and painting, but wow, it sure looks good when you peel it off.
Cleared once more.
Should not have too much more in the way of repaints when I do the final sand and clear but there are,a couple things to shore up.
This was a real good stopping point an enormous amount of,progress for the playfield itself.
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Quoted from comment23:Chris,
I would drive to NC just to take a class from you on your techniques.
That would only bore you further after a long drive 
Honestly you can't teach it is just something I have , developed from many kinds of experiences or jobs but I suck at plenty of other things. I can't do much more than post and check emails with a computer.I routinely disappoint myself when I have to fix my own lunch too.
Is this real-time? Of so, I thought you are supposed to let the clear set for a few weeks between layers? Either way it's already fantastic! So jealous... You should install a big window in your garage so I can come down and watch the progress.
Quoted from lurch:Is this real-time? Of so, I thought you are supposed to let the clear set for a few weeks between layers? Either way it's already fantastic! So jealous... You should install a big window in your garage so I can come down and watch the progress.
Yes it is real time.
The products people use vary so there is not a set time .
I use an autoclear that is ready to deliver after an overnight dry so a couple days is more than enough at this stage.
Thanks for the encouragement. It is coming along pretty well now that the major hurdles have been cleared.
Hi,
Looks great!
Is it correct that you don't clear between all the airbrushing? How do you avoid damaging the paint when doing a new color?
Quoted from tezting:Hi,
Looks great!
Is it correct that you don't clear between all the airbrushing? How do you avoid damaging the paint when doing a new color?
This is avoided by picking which colors to do first.
The idea is to shrink the problems and focus by doing the largest needs first because the smaller the areas the more fragile.
Also I use auto base so it is made to be masked and worked on top of although you still have to be extremely careful.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:This is avoided by picking which colors to do first.
The idea is to shrink the problems and focus by doing the largest needs first because the smaller the areas the more fragile.
Also I use auto base so it is made to be masked and worked on top of although you still have to be extremely careful.
Thank you for answering my question. Very helpful/informative
Would you share what paint you are using?
I have two choices of TAF cabinet decals on hand.
In person there is absolutely no question which to use.
One is IPB the other is Classic Arcades.
The Classic Arcades version is faded and milky looking in my opinion and even worse has a lot of trash and fish eyes in it.
They also look more brown in certain areas and light.
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Quoted from tezting:Thank you for answering my question. Very helpful/informative
Would you share what paint you are using?
I am certified in most lines but personally prefer Dupont brands which are now Cromax.The basic chemistry between all brands is about the same though it is just about what suits the actual application best.
One brand might work better on something like a plastic primer while another is really good on color matching a certain colors.
so when something like decals are being sold, do you buy a ton at a time? or do you look for them as needed. For example the phoenix arcade decals were screen printed, but the rights to print those were taken away and you can't buy those anymore. If you do 5 TAF's a year, i would imagine it would be hard to track down the high quality items even though others are available in sub par condition or not at all.
Quoted from lordloss:so when something like decals are being sold, do you buy a ton at a time? or do you look for them as needed. For example the phoenix arcade decals were screen printed, but the rights to print those were taken away and you can't buy those anymore. If you do 5 TAF's a year, i would imagine it would be hard to track down the high quality items even though others are available in sub par condition or not at all.
It depends.I typically do a head count of what is on hand and what I will need but with the way the licenses and quality work for this stuff these days it is very hard to know what you will or wont be able to get,for how long and of what quality you also never know the next games coming in .That being the case you could burn a lot of resources speculating.
What it really all comes down to is I just do whatever I have to do to put something out that I can be happy with.There are times where I have to track things down,pay more than I would like,paint cabinets because decals are unavailable or not desired so it is just part of the deal.
One thing I like to do on games like TAF with a topper is make a recess for the bolt heads so they will set closer to flush allowing the topper to set flat .
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Quoted from High_End_Pins:One thing I like to do on games like TAF with a topper is make a recess for the bolt heads so they will set closer to flush allowing the topper to set flat .
That's an awesome thing to do. You leave no stones unturned. The whole machine is stunning! Thank you for sharing your work and methods Chris.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Edges are finished and I am prepping the head to be installed on the lower.
Bolts are a little glossing than normal to best match the decal.
What's your thoughts on removing those bolts on the side of the headbox altogether?
They seem a little redundant for home use with the cabinet joint and the screws inside on the bracket making the joint pretty strong.
I've always retained them, but it has crossed my mind to fill the holes and not use them ...
Thoughts?
rd
Quoted from rotordave:What's your thoughts on removing those bolts on the side of the headbox altogether?
They seem a little redundant for home use with the cabinet joint and the screws inside on the bracket making the joint pretty strong.
I've always retained them, but it has crossed my mind to fill the holes and not use them ...
Thoughts?
rd
I think they are good on factory cabinets because those almost always break at the joints.
I am sure a new well constructed cabinet could do without them but I would probably put 45s in the corners in place of the bracket and bolt.
I actually think that is they way the factory was doing it up until some point in the System 11 games.
Quoted from Firebaall:This would rock as a video.
I think a lot of people would kill to see a HEP pinball restoration documentary.
That is a really good idea. Talk about a treasure of information.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:I think they are good on factory cabinets because those almost always break at the joints.
I am sure a new well constructed cabinet could do without them but I would probably put 45s in the corners in place of the bracket and bolt.
I actually think that is they way the factory was doing it up until some point in the System 11 games.
Yep. The back board also provides some bracing too, even though it's just stapled in.
On some WPC artwork the bolts really stand out (obviously not an issue in Addams or No Fear) but on Indiana Jones for example they stand out on the yellow artwork.
I'm about to do a CV, I might unleash my woodwork skills and brace the cabinet and leave the bolts out. Worth a shot.
rd
Lower edges are finished and that is ready to build up.
One thing that is kind of a quirk for me is that I will repeatedly measure and map out several alignment points because I really want these points to measure out exact from side to side.
Using these hole locations for example
Right then left.The art is not always exact and on TAF it doesn't get the exact same positioning from right apply to left apply because they are far different so getting this close takes some math, trial placements and measuring.
Of course centering of the start button is crucial.
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Matthews, NC
Regina, SK
Auckland, NZ