I rarely dig that deep, but there is something satisfying about seeing everything all clean and sparkly. If it was a long term keeper and I was bored I'd probably go for it. It will be rewarding and add value.

If you know what you're doing, why not?

If I go through a major restoration like this, I usually do it. I don't always take score motors apart to shine them up but I have done it. Sanded down the board to make it shine, put in new labels, the whole deal. It's a sickness but what the hell, it's enjoyable to me. Nobody else will probably ever see it but you will and there's a lot of satisfaction opening a game up and seeing it shine like new in there.

It's an EM. As long as it is all there and as long as all switches are in the right place, it will work. If you screw it up you'll cure your boredom finding what you screwed up...

20150611_224303 (resized).jpgHere's an example of what I did with a Drop A Card.

I'm betting when you see how they look you'll go for it. 20150619_200052 (resized).jpg

20150808_215151 (resized).jpgHere's a before of the motor and the ball count unit and the bottom board after. 20150531_131234 (resized).jpg

Well, it worked great. I don't know about smoother or quieter because when I got it the game was non working and in pieces.

It went from this...

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To this...

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I was still getting my webbing technique down and the webbing on this one was a bit heavy. But overall it came out nice considering where I started. Had to put a new bottom board on it and sand off that ridiculous stain job. Fortunately the rest of the cab and the head were solid and the playfield was really nice once I cleaned it up.

If you want to do it,just do it. Thats what a hobby is all about.

The Clay Harrell Weiler brush flick method. It takes some practice. What I've found is that the further away from the cab you get, you get spatter. The closer you get, you get webbing.

I pull a few bristles away from the rest and use those. That way the webbing isn't so thick. Thin the paint down and don't get too much on the bristles.

Lots of guys do it the way the factory did it. Boilerman on here uses an air gun and he gets great results. I have the gun and I have a compressor but I've just never done it that way. One of these days I'll try it.

I would suggest directing your energies toward something else, like hunting down a new project. 9 times out of 10, if you go to rebuild something that works flawlessly but perhaps has a marginal appearance it will never play the same. I look at it this way - nobody coming over to play is interested in what the innards look like. They just want to play.

Well, that's never been my experience, but your mileage may vary. If you know what you're doing it's should play as well as it ever did or even better.

Let me look into my crystal ball. The answer is inside you.

Go for it. The restore is the best part for me. Half the problem is finding the perfect project that is in good shape and parts are available. You already have that part licked.

I've rebuilt some flippers that were working - sometimes it's improved but then other times there's something inherently different about the aftermarket parts, visually they are identical...but something about the originals made them feel better. Pehaps the mechs are "broken in" just so, worn a little bit just so makes them "feel" right. I've played some fully restored games that played ok, but still didn't have quite the feel of the original. I dunno...maybe its just me. The last couple of games, I've just passed on rebuilding flippers but overhauled and cleaned them. They worked great so no need to replace the parts just to make it look good under the hood. Play on...

Well, I guess you didn't pick up that "Delta Queen" then.

Looks great except for those painted legs.

Any advise on polishing up those unit frames that have lots of bits and bobs sticking out in weird places? They don't really fit in my tumbler.

Painted, hell. Those are powdercoated...

The thing is, lots of games back in the 50s used painted legs. I figure that manufacturers didn't want to do that because legs take a beating on location. Pretty easy to kick them, they get dropped moving games, etc. In home they don't have that issue and I think they add sometime to the game appearance.

I know it's not stock, but it's a mod that is easily reversed if someone doesn't like it.

I sold that DAC and as far as I know the guy still has those legs on it.

That is all elbow grease, my man. No shortcuts on something like that. Metal polish and elbow grease. You can use 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper by hand also.

Well, it makes me feel better. I thought I was the only one who did stuff like that. Anyone ever wish they could pick the machine up like Hercules and shake it upside down to look for a missing part?

I know it. I haven't done it yet. So far. And probably just jinxed myself.

If it happens, Steve Young has them. You're just SOL until you get one in.

When this came out the legs were not powdercoated is all. I like them the way they were when it came out it all. Nice & shiny!

Well it looks like you're off to a "flying" start then!

I don't know.

Yeah, I know that. They never powdercoated them at all back then.

I like them nice and shiny too, except when you buy real basket case projects like this one was, well, the legs don't really look like that any longer. I've got a pretty cheap powdercoating source, cheaper than buying new legs from PBR, and when you have already kind of broken the bank on PBR orders, well, you save where you can.

If someone doesn't like that look when you sell a game it's an easy reversal. That's how I look at it. I like them both ways but sometimes necessity gets in the way.

So I guess you're not going to be shining up the innards, are you?

I bought five of every size PBR carries for just such an emergency.

That's what I was hoping, but have needed three so far in my restorations

I'll sit here with none and when it finally happens you'll hear the cussing all the way there because I didn't do that.

If I did buy them, it would never happen and then I'd put them somewhere that I can't find and end up ordering them again, only to find them either while the order is on the way or after it comes in. That's how life works.

True, so true!