Fredericksburg, VA
ouch...sounds like a water invasion
(Topic ID: 169818)
Linked Games
Jurassic Park
Data East, 1993
Topic Gallery
Hi, I just started my JP restoration today. Only doing the board right now, got it all taken apart today. Like most Jurassic parks the C and A out holes are tore up. What are you going to use to build the damaged areas back up? I'm going to add the stainless steel protectors but still want to build it back up.
I have a new set of plastics I bought years ago when I got the machine, and most of the ones on the machine are still in good shape. Let me know if they send you two you are missing. if you don't get them I can send you my old ones
Joe
Quoted from happyhour:Hi, I just started my JP restoration today. Only doing the board right now, got it all taken apart today. Like most Jurassic parks the C and A out holes are tore up. What are you going to use to build the damaged areas back up? I'm going to add the stainless steel protectors but still want to build it back up.
I have a new set of plastics I bought years ago when I got the machine, and most of the ones on the machine are still in good shape. Let me know if they send you two you are missing. if you don't get them I can send you my old ones
Joe
Thanks for the offer on the plastics. I confirmed yesterday that they are working on the two plastics but if it doesn't work out, I will let you know.
I will document the fix for the holes but my plan is to put a couple small screws in the damaged area that will provide and anchor for the epoxy putty that I will use to reform the hole. Then I will air brush the art back on and cover with the cliffys.
Well, they are finally getting done with the house. Had some painting issues. Since workers have been in and out of the house, I really didn't want to clear the playfield. The last thing I need is for someone to have a question while I am all suited up and ready to shoot. lol
I took this opportunity to finish up my Galaga. I had a 60-1 board in it for years but there are so many good games missing and for someone that grew up in the arcade in the 80's, I wanted to change it. I made it a 2 player with button joysticks, a spinner and trackball. I used a 21 inch 4:3 LCD. This allowed me to play the vertical games at almost normal size and then play the horizontal games full screen. I made a custom bezel based on the original art. I also added lighted buttons. It runs Hyperspin and includes classic games, Laser disc games and some 90's games. Really happy with the result. Only thing left to do is add an amp for the speaker. Sorry, the picture is not the greatest.
I am on call for work for the next 5 days so I will probably not clear until next week. I don't want to clear and then get called out for a few days and not be able to sand when I want. I will probably start working on the cabinet in the next few days if I am around.
Chilliwack, BC
Quoted from happyhour:Hi, I just started my JP restoration today. Only doing the board right now, got it all taken apart today. Like most Jurassic parks the C and A out holes are tore up. What are you going to use to build the damaged areas back up? I'm going to add the stainless steel protectors but still want to build it back up.
I used an artificial wood filler on mine and it worked really well. I can't remember the name of it. It's like play dough, tan on the outside with white in the middle. You mix it together to activate it. It soft enough to work it into the blown out holes and it hardens just like wood. Even after its set you can slice it with a razor just like wood. I liked it because I didn't have to try and sand it down and risk scratching the playfield. Experts may have a better solution but it was quick, easy and carved perfect for under a cliffy. I did mine probably a year ago and so far held up perfectly.
Quoted from Darscot:I used an artificial wood filler on mine and it worked really well. I can't remember the name of it. It's like play dough, tan on the outside with white in the middle. You mix it together to activate it. It soft enough to work it into the blown out holes and it hardens just like wood. Even after its set you can slice it with a razor just like wood. I liked it because I didn't have to try and sand it down and risk scratching the playfield. Experts may have a better solution but it was quick, easy and carved perfect for under a cliffy. I did mine probably a year ago and so far held up perfectly.
Yep. That is the exact stuff I will be using. Plan I doing that after the first layer of clear.
Quoted from Lonzo:Yep. That is the exact stuff I will be using. Plan I doing that after the first layer of clear.
If this is the epoxy stuff I'm thinking about, I thought it goes before the clear and directly onto the wood. Some folks actually either drill some small holes into the existing wood to give extra tooth or add toothpicks ends so the epoxy can attach better. If you are worried about damaging the playfield use some masking tape.
Quoted from Lonzo:I was actually thinking about taping off the areas that I will be working on and then clearing. That way, the epoxy will be on the wood but the clear will be protecting the playfield as I level the top.
Smart move. And you will clear again after you've done the wood repair and the painting.
I have something similar I want to experiment with on an old playfield.
To repair my damaged board i used Gorilla 2 part epoxy. I cut little plastic forms and used some foam to hold them tight against the hole edges. With a small syringe i was able to put just enough in each area. Then shaped and sanded the hardened epoxy.
I did the touch up painting and then rushed out to the garage to clear it. We had a warm Saturday so I didnt take any pictures of the touch up painting. I also got a little carried away and made all new oak side frames. I picked up a radial arm saw and was itching to use it. Instead of the vinyl wrapped pine I painted these black and cleared them with the play field. The pictures dont do the play field justice. 6 coats of clear, wet sand with #1000 paper and buffed with fine cut cleaner. It looks like a sheet of glass.
Quoted from happyhour:To repair my damaged board i used Gorilla 2 part epoxy. I cut little plastic forms and used some foam to hold them tight against the hole edges. With a small syringe i was able to put just enough in each area. Then shaped and sanded the hardened epoxy.
I did the touch up painting and then rushed out to the garage to clear it. We had a warm Saturday so I didnt take any pictures of the touch up painting. I also got a little carried away and made all new oak side frames. I picked up a radial arm saw and was itching to use it. Instead of the vinyl wrapped pine I painted these black and cleared them with the play field. The pictures dont do the play field justice. 6 coats of clear, wet sand with #1000 paper and buffed with fine cut cleaner. It looks like a sheet of glass.
I really like what you have done here. I thought about it except that in my case, the hole is hexagonal so I probably will end up having to use tape, get an imperfect shape and sand a bit more. The epoxy should be super strong and really stick to the wood.
In terms of protecting the existing artwork, I don't think you need to protect it perfectly. You don't need to either because the area needs to be touched up anyway. So in your example, you had to paint the wood, the yellow strip and the black lines.
I have decided to go ahead and clear the playfield with tape over the areas that will be fixed. This will allow me to adhere the epoxy to the wood but allow me to work the top more due to the clear. There will be several more layers of clear on the playfield by the time it is done.
Got the playfield cleared yesterday. Pretty typical first application. Had very good adhesion with no fisheyes or anything. The one thing about the first application, it really shows you what work you have to do. Any imperfection in the playfield surface shows up. A lot of this is fixed by sanding and re-clearing. I had several insert seams suck the clear in but this is normally fixed during subsequent applications. overall, pretty happy with the results and the scoop repair areas are nice bare wood. I hope to sand this evening or tomorrow and get to work on the scoop repair.
got the playfield sanded. Once I got the surface block sanded you could see the inserts that have issues. In the following pictures, you can see the gloss on the areas that are lower than the playfield.
The Helicopter insert is one of the worst. It actually has some wear on the playfield above the insert.
shine 1 (resized).JPG
The other two pictures are just some examples of several inserts that either sucked up the clear on the seams or are slightly recessed.
shine 2 (resized).JPGshine 3 (resized).JPG
I then sanded all the problem areas because they have to be roughed up before the next clear. Now the playfield has a more uniform dull finish. 
shine 4 (resized).JPG
Since I wet sanded some, I will let the bare wood areas dry a bit before I start working on the scoop repair.
Worked on the scoop holes tonight. This is the first time I have had to fix a scoop so nothing you are about to see may be correct. 
I decided to drill a couple of holes in each wear area in hopes that the epoxy might have some extra grabbing power. I also put a staple in the biggest wear area.
hole 2 (resized).JPGhole 1 (resized).JPGhole 3 (resized).JPG
Here is the epoxy I used.
wood (resized).JPG
I tried to mold it as close as I could so less finishing work will have to be done. I made sure the edges were very slightly raised as to allow for a flat finish after I sand.
clay 1 (resized).JPGclay 2 (resized).JPGclay 3 (resized).JPG
My T-rex pickup is not too bad, I have definitely seen a lot worse. I decided to go ahead and make it look a little better.
trex (resized).JPG
Worked on the scoops today. For the first time fixing scoop holes, I am pretty happy with the results. I learned a few things to improve next time. I started by block sanding to blend with the playfield. Then I sanded the inside of the hole. Finally I worked on the bevel on the edge. Each hole was slightly different so just tried to match to each end of the scoop that was not worn.
A hole (resized).JPGC hole (resized).JPG
The wear area on the Control Room crossed over into the stand up target area. Here is a shot of the fix from the target side.
target (resized).JPG
On the power shed, the wear on the inside broke through to the ramp area. I built this area up and then shaped it like original.
ramp (resized).JPGs hole (resized).JPG
Pretty happy about the Trex pickup.
t rex (resized).JPG
Forgot to fix the shooter lane so I applied the epoxy to it.
shooter (resized).JPG
I sanded the shooter lane epoxy and also sanded the groove out to get rid of the rough areas.
shooter (resized).JPG
I started playing with paint colors for the playfield work that will need to be done. Luckily the red, yellow and darker wood areas are good right out of the bottle. The green, blue and light wood colors had to be mixed and after a lot of tweaking, I got them matched.
paint (resized).JPG
Here is the light wood color that will be used to fix the wood areas around the scoop holes.
wood paint (resized).JPG
Then I started working on the Fluorescent orange. I was lucky and one of the orange colors was a perfect match. Here are a couple of test matches.
Here it is on the protected flipper area.
orange (resized).JPG
Lit up.
orange F (resized).JPG
The spot behind Laura Derns shoulder was interesting. It seemed to be a little transparent. I used this area as a test because I wanted to see how it matched because I plan on painting in front of her all the way to the flipper. I wanted to make sure there would not be a big color change from behind her to in front of her. When I painted it appeared to be a perfect match. What was interesting is that the red half tones showed through. It would be awesome if I could get the orange back without having to do the half tones but we'll find out when I spray it and see how it lays down.
orange 2 (resized).JPG
Then I did a little experimenting.
I have an idea that I am thinking about doing so I tried some Fluorescent green and it was a perfect match for the green on the playfield. More on that if I decide to proceed with the idea.
green (resized).JPG
Here is it lit up.
green f (resized).JPG
Time to break out the vinyl cutter and cut some of the stencils for painting. I will paint a few areas before I clear again.
Your thread motivated me to start playing with epoxy wood putty on a Waterworld playfield that I bought to practice on.
There wasn't much scoop repair I needed to do but I found the putty needed to be really pressed into the wood for it to feel like it was sticking. That leaves me wondering how strong the repairs are going to be. I'm thinking maybe I could have added a thin layer of 2 part epoxy glue with a small acid brush to the wood prior to putting the putty in.
Quoted from lb1:Your thread motivated me to start playing with epoxy wood putty on a Waterworld playfield that I bought to practice on.
There wasn't much scoop repair I needed to do but I found the putty needed to be really pressed into the wood for it to feel like it was sticking. That leaves me wondering how strong the repairs are going to be. I'm thinking maybe I could have added a thin layer of 2 part epoxy
glue with a small acid brush to the wood prior to putting the putty in.
I know what you mean. I kinda press the putty at an angle back and forth sliding my finger along the playfield and the inside of the scoop. I put a staple in the largest hole to give a little strength. I also drilled too holes in the sides. Before I sanded, I really out some pressure on all of them and they were solid. I think it adheres during the drying process. I have heard some people use dowels to help attach it but I have never seen exactly how that's done.
Always wanted to see how mantis protectors were on a jp. Cliffys seem to effect too many shots. Wondered also if mantis would protect a reformed hole. There has to be historical evidence, right?
Anyway...back to this awesome restoration.
Quoted from Rondogg:Always wanted to see how mantis protectors were on a jp. Cliffys seem to effect too many shots. Wondered also if mantis would protect a reformed hole. There has to be historical evidence, right?
Anyway...back to this awesome restoration.
Mantis should work a lot better and they are cheaper too. Cliffy are very sensitive to the shape of the area and can be a pain to make flat against the play field. As you pointed out, they affect the shot. You could couple some small pieces of Mylar with the mantis protector so the mantis forces the mylar to stay against the wall of the hole.
Quoted from lb1:Mantis should work a lot better and they are cheaper too. Cliffy are very sensitive to the shape of the area and can be a pain to make flat against the play field. As you pointed out, they affect the shot. You could couple some small pieces of Mylar with the mantis protector so the mantis forces the mylar to stay against the wall of the hole.
Wow thats a great idea. The rattle rebound of the cliffys made me not want to play jp. It's a great product but helpless against a quick short shot like jp has.
To be honest you could fix a chewed up hole with bubble gum and you would never know it with cliffys.
Interesting about the Cliffys. I bought a set when I picked up this machine several years ago and planned on using them. I had not heard about the problems with JP. I guess I will make that decision when I am done with the playfield.
When the ball rolls right or left it skips right over the cliffys. A straight shot has to be dead perfect or it bounces off the scoop and the metal sides. My last name isn't Sharpe.
I took my cliffys off until i hear more about Mantis. Then i plan to do the rebuild you did. I did one about ten years ago using jb weld but i sold that machine.
Quoted from Lonzo:Interesting about the Cliffys. I bought a set when I picked up this machine several years ago and planned on using them. I had not heard about the problems with JP. I guess I will make that decision when I am done with the playfield.
Here's a thread I started a while back to see if anyone ditched their Cliffy's after using them. I wasn't liking the shots to those scoops with them on. I still have them on. Been considering just taking them off and leaving them bare. I figured I wouldn't cause much more harm to the 20 years of arcade wear.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ever-ditch-cliffy-protectors-after-using-them
Quoted from woody24:Here's a thread I started a while back to see if anyone ditched their Cliffy's after using them. I wasn't liking the shots to those scoops with them on. I still have them on. Been considering just taking them off and leaving them bare. I figured I wouldn't cause much more harm to the 20 years of arcade wear.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ever-ditch-cliffy-protectors-after-using-them
In regards to home use wear that is a good point. How much can it really wear when compared to years of abuse on route? I noticed my control room cliffy is lifting on the right and splitting. On top of that a lot of shots there "rattle" and bounce out. You can see a slight bevel in the playfield wood around the scoops and the cliffy pretty much eliminates that. Interestingly enough I really have zero issues with the bunker and power shed protectors. I was debating on removing the control room cliffy and replacing it with the Mantis type found here: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/HG-31. As shown here: http://www.mantisamusements.com/jurassickit.htm it appears to let you have the natural flow of the playfield bevel while still protecting the edges.
Would love to know the Mantis long term effect on holes that have been repaired.
Sorry this thread is taking a left hand turn...
I worked on the artwork last night and hope to get some of the stencils cut tonight.
I got the cabinet sanded today. The T-Rex didn't go without a fight. 
trex (resized).JPG
Will have to do some work on most of the corners and glue some of the wood back down. I sanded all the water marks out of the back of the backbox.
back back (resized).JPGback side (resized).JPGcab front (resized).JPGcab side (resized).JPG
Worked on the cab a little more tonight. Several of the corners will need glued but I will have to go to my dads to get some pipe clamps. Until then, I went ahead and glued a couple of things and then put some epoxy putty on some of the bigger areas that had chunks missing. Most of these areas will have to be further finished with wood filler but this will be the base for the fix. I also put some wood filler on the areas that I could.
back 1 (resized).JPGback 2 (resized).JPGcab inside (resized).JPGcab back (resized).JPG
Here is a corner I could glue with some creative engineering.
cab front (resized).JPG
The backbox hinge lock access hole was blown out pretty bad. I applied putty and will reform the hole.
lock hole (resized).JPGlock hole putty (resized).JPG
Quoted from eh97ac:Are you replacing the bottom of the cab, sanding it, painting it...do tell?
Not planning on doing anything with the bottom of the cabinet. It's in pretty good physical shape and nobody sees it anyways. Lol
Sanded what I had done so far on the cabinet. I am pretty happy with the results. I will still have to use wood filler on the spots again to do a final blend. I also have one more place on the backbox that will need glued and I have to build up the places with putty that I couldn't get too because of the clamps.
Nice new corners.
Dscf5307 (resized).jpgDscf5308 (resized).jpg
Front will need some more work.
Dscf5310 (resized).jpg
The bottom of the front is not level so will probably have to build it up and sand to the shape it needs to be.
Dscf5311 (resized).jpg
The backbox hinge hole is filled. I will shape the hole later.
Dscf5312 (resized).jpg
Some shots of the backbox.
Dscf5314 (resized).jpgDscf5313 (resized).jpg
I thought about doing some painting but decided to go ahead and clear the playfield again. I couldn't paint all of one color so I decided to clear and have a good solid canvas to start the touchups. I sprayed a little thicker than normal to help the inserts level. I am very happy with the finish. After I sprayed, I dropped some clear in a couple of the inserts that were still not level.
Here are a couple of shots of the shine.
Dscf5321 (resized).jpgDscf5316 (resized).jpg
The Epoxy repair areas took the clear perfect.
Dscf5318 (resized).jpg
Dscf5320 (resized).jpgDscf5319 (resized).jpg
My plan is to let the playfield cure until probably Tuesday and then block sand and get ready to paint.
Did some more Epoxy work and wood filler on the cab and glued another part of the cab. My dads pipe clamps were not long enough to go from the front of the cab to the back. I went to Harbor Freight and found a 60 inch clamp with padded ends for $15. I also picked up a 30 inch clamp for $7. This should allow me to fix anything on the cab.
The 30 inch clamp is on the table.
Dscf5322 (resized).jpgDscf5323 (resized).jpg
Got the playfield sanded. Most of the crack seams of the inserts leveled out really nice. There was one insert and just a couple of spots that needed drops of clear. I put the drops of clear on yesterday and will let them settle for a few days and then sand them level.
a very nice uniform level dull finish.
Dscf5329 (resized).jpg
An interesting thing I noticed was at some time in the past, somebody put a center post between the flippers. It was removed before I got the game and I never noticed it until I was sanding yesterday. Because the post was not supposed to be there, I am sure it wasn't installed correctly and it raised the wood around the hole. The original wear which you can see in some of the previous photos is a little bit smaller and rougher looking. On the first clear coat sanding I sanded through and it took off the rough edges that you can see below.
Dscf5324 (resized).jpg
I want to restore this to normal so I filled the hole with Epoxy putty.
Dscf5327 (resized).jpg
Today I sanded it down and but a drop of clear on it.
Dscf5328 (resized).jpg
Should be a pretty easy paint job as it will just be while and black. Luckily it didn't go into the half tone area.
I hope to sand the cabinet for a second time tomorrow.
Got the cabinet sanded for the second time. I was hoping I would be at a spot to go ahead and prime it to see where I was at but I found some spots that needed attention so I am going to wood fill and sand again. Then hopefully its ready for primer.
I did decide to sand the bottom of the inside of the cabinet. It was filthy even after I cleaned it so I sanded it down.
Here is a picture showing how it looked right after I started. What a difference.
Dscf5330 (resized).jpg
Here is it all sanded and cleaned up.
Dscf5331 (resized).jpg
I hope to get the clear drops on the playfield sanded tomorrow and then its ready for some airbrushing.
1 week later
Got another set of masks cut.
Dscf5332 (resized).jpg
I had to cut twice due to a needle issue so I ended up with a couple of extra masks. I decided to test fit one of the masks and it fit perfectly. I test fit the wood color mask.
Dscf5333 (resized).jpgDscf5335 (resized).jpg
If the stars line up tomorrow, I should be able to paint a little.
Well the stars lined up enough to get one color painted. Got the wood color on the scoop holes today. Here it is ready to paint.
Dscf5336 (resized).jpg
Kinda cool when you get the masks on and you can see what will be painted.
Dscf5337 (resized).jpgDscf5339 (resized).jpgDscf5340 (resized).jpg
Got it painted and I forgot to take a picture before I started taking the paper off.
Dscf5341 (resized).jpg
Really happy with the results.
Dscf5342 (resized).jpg
Dscf5343 (resized).jpgDscf5345 (resized).jpg
I think I am gonna use the inner scoop protectors instead of the Cliffys. Even though most of the inside will be covered, I wanted to paint the inside of the holes as well to have a more finished look.
Dscf5348 (resized).jpg
Painted the wood area by the TRex. I have seen so many color variations for this area that its kinda hard to judge what is "right". Mine was kinda dark. I guess it was a lower ply layer that was a darker color. I have seen some that are light color. In the end, I decided to try and match the upper ridge color. It is darker than the scoops but lighter than the lower area. I am not sure about the color yet. I like it but not sure if I could do a better job. The good thing is that I can repaint it at anytime so I am going to keep working on the rest and see how it all flows towards the end. The sticker that goes there covers up much of that area so it will look better once the sticker is applied no matter what color it is. The bare wood is different colors on every part of this playfield. I still have to decide how to paint the wood area on the shooter lane too.
My original plan, was to paint the area a hunter green to go along with the sticker. After thinking about it, I decided not to do that because it the area ever started wearing again, then the wood color would start showing through and that would not look good.
My masks take into account all the little imperfections from the hand draw art. I am, however, fixing some of the screen printing issues. You can see the white bleed trough in the picture below indicated with the arrow.
Dscf5351 (resized).jpg
Dscf5353 (resized).jpg
White areas gone.
Dscf5354 (resized).jpg
Here is the old sticker for reference.
Dscf5355 (resized).jpg
damn that was a rough starting game. Hope you got that one cheap. Like $500 cheap. this is going to be a huge project. Nice work so far.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:damn that was a rough starting game. Hope you got that one cheap. Like $500 cheap. this is going to be a huge project. Nice work so far.
Thanks.
And yeah, I got it pretty cheap. 
Did a little trading with a guy that I have gotten a couple projects from.
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