I picked up a basket case Paragon with the intention of a full restoration. However, finding a decent backglass for a decent price was near impossible. Plus, i'm on a budget. So, Make one!

here's a shot of my old one...

20141008_090904.jpg

PLEASE NOTE!!!! this would not have been possible if not for the FREE image located by this generous soul...

http://tuukan.fliput.net/bglass_en.html

thanks guy!!!!

Unfortunately, his link for the silver layer was missing. So, here you go...

PARAGON_mask.png

First, Either buy you a new piece of glass for about $40, or you can do what i did. I took a razor and scraped what was left of my backglass off completely. Then, I used 0000 steel wool and windex to clean the glass better. My friend owns a vinyl printing shop so he took the images, layered them, printed them, and applied them to my glass (no charge for me yayyyy! Also this vinyl is for commercial signs and can stand the heat). Vinyl costs about $10 per sqft, so you'd be looking at about $50! Sorry i don't have a pic of the final product yet but when i do i'll post. I have the cabinet stripped for paint, but will post pics upon reconstruction. Hell, anything is better than what i had!!

Good luck!

I found a pic of the glass before i added the vinyl and took the cabinet apart. the pic is a little blurry, but the backglass looks great!! this was before i added the vinyl back as well.

without vinyl.jpg

here's a shot of the vinyl applied...my bud did a great job!!

vinyl.jpg

My friend at the vinyl shop did it. He told me that he actually split the first image up into three layers and applied them separately. I have no idea what that means lol. Then the fourth layer was the black mask.

Also, before i stripped my glass, i measured the distance from the top and side of the glass to the open spots where the score displays show. He used this as a guide to lining up the image.

Thanks Gov!

Good to know you have one, I may be needing some info on reassembly lol. this is my first rebuild. i took tons of pics but i know i missed something. currently i just touched up the playfield (very amateurly) and have the first few coats of auto clear on it. the inserts are really cupped so i'm attempting to level some of that out so the playfield will be perfectly smooth and bulletproof...

before clear...i had to touchup almost the whole lion leg feather part...not bad i think!
Picture2.jpg
after clear yah blurry but i think it looks even better! kinda smoooths out the divits...
Picture1-106.jpg

Yeah i can't wait to light mine up and see how it looks, but i've still got the cabinet apart for painting.

as far as removing the inserts, i used a small rubber hammer and a socket that fit just inside the hole from the underside then tapped them (the star rollovers) right out. they came out super easy, almost like they were just stuck in there. I read using a heat gun a little help too.

hi Timewarp,

thanks this is my first try!

I just used a tiny brush with acrylic paint (and i cheated in a place or two and used a sharpie which i heard you're not supposed to do but i figured since i'm clearing what the heck). I gotta say that it was a little noticeable before the clear (like yours the surface was rough), but the clear levels everything out and hides imperfections quite well! it also keeps the light from bouncing off all the rough angles. some of my colors didn't quite match either, but since they are "feathers" no one will notice unless you have the original right next to it.

hmmm, we used a 2 stage automotive clear and i haven't seen any running issues yet. i know where i used it (the black lines on the yellow underneath the lion's feather leg for one place) and i'll take a closer look later. Thanks for letting me know Aurich! I still have Playboy, Star Trek, Strikes n Spares, Mata Hari, Big Shot, and Cleopatra to go!

BTW Aurich, I'm insanely jealouse of your pinball collection.

UPDATE here's the glass lit up. Granted, it's on my strikes and spares but i think it looks great!p2.jpg

i would say the only thing i would have done differently would have been to use a semi-transparent silver layer instead of the solid black