(Topic ID: 108539)

New decals on top of the old?

By webdiddy

9 years ago


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  • 24 posts
  • 11 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by webdiddy
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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    #1 9 years ago

    I just want to start out by saying, I know that this is not the right way to do it but I'll ask anyway.

    Have anybody ever replaced old cabinet decals with new ones without removing the old decals first?
    Lets say the old decals only got fade on them ond no scratches, would you be able to place new decals on top of them with good results?

    #2 9 years ago

    I've seen games with this done, not good, not good at all. Todd

    #3 9 years ago

    My AFM was done like that. Looked aweful. I ended up replacing the cabinet and putting new decals on. It was peeling at the edges and you could see the outlines of the print underneath the new decals where they didn't line up. Please, for the love of pinball, do a little research and do it the right way- it is time consuming but so worth it when you are done 2011-11-17_18-48-27_454.jpg2011-11-17_18-48-27_454.jpg

    #4 9 years ago

    I have seen it done and it does not look good. The seams near the legs makes it very obvious this was done.

    #5 9 years ago

    You need to remove the side rails in the first place anyways. At that point why not take a heat gun or a hairdryer and finish the job right? Oh yeah and sand....

    #6 9 years ago

    Any imperfections in the original decals, including the slightly raised print areas that have more screened inks than other areas (as yzfguy said), will telegraph through the new decal and make for a bad looking application. You can't beat stripping the old decals, fixing surface imperfections, sanding everything flat, and sealing the wood with paint or Varathane. It's extra work, but once done, the new decal installation will look great. Follow that up with metal or plastic leg protectors from Pinball Life like Stern uses, NOT Pin Cab protectors, as Pin Cab protectors will wrinkle your new decals around the legs, making everything you did for naught.

    #7 9 years ago

    Yeah. I did mine before all the cool leg protectors came out and do have some slight wrinkling around the pincab protectors Still looks pretty darn good but a shame to see wrinkles after all that work.

    #8 9 years ago
    Quoted from yzfguy:

    Yeah. I did mine before all the cool leg protectors came out and do have some slight wrinkling around the pincab protectors Still looks pretty darn good but a shame to see wrinkles after all that work.

    Me too, on my Monster Bash. I didn't know at the time that Pin Cabs would do that. The decals are glassy smooth except around the legs. Now I want to redo it again. Some day. Bummer! You're not alone.

    #9 9 years ago

    Thanks for all the replies!

    It was just as I suspected then.
    It's good to know absolutely what not to do sometimes.

    2 years later
    #10 7 years ago

    Resurrecting my own old thread.

    Let's say that the decals that's on the machine right now is perfect and smooth, not a ding on them but really faded.
    Would you be able to just blast them with some black primer, covering them and putting new decals over the black primer?

    #11 7 years ago
    Quoted from webdiddy:

    Resurrecting my own old thread.
    Let's say that the decals that's on the machine right now is perfect and smooth, not a ding on them but really faded.
    Would you be able to just blast them with some black primer, covering them and putting new decals over the black primer?

    Sure, why not? Not sure how beautiful the end results would be but I'm sure it would end up better than what you have now. And if you're not concerned with perfection and don't want to waste all the time doing it right go for it! I would guess the results would be pretty decent overall... maybe even better than expected.

    #12 7 years ago
    Quoted from webdiddy:

    Resurrecting my own old thread.
    Let's say that the decals that's on the machine right now is perfect and smooth, not a ding on them but really faded.
    Would you be able to just blast them with some black primer, covering them and putting new decals over the black primer?

    1. Who cares about faded decals? Decals are garbage. A crappy band-aid slapped on that quickly fades, tears, and wrinkles.

    2. Leave the game as is. When you sell it, slap the decals on fresh for the next sucker.

    #13 7 years ago
    Quoted from teekee:

    Sure, why not? Not sure how beautiful the end results would be but I'm sure it would end up better than what you have now. And if you're not concerned with perfection and don't want to waste all the time doing it right go for it! I would guess the results would be pretty decent overall... maybe even better than expected.

    I actually might give it a shot. I have not been able to find anyone else going this route but I think I would actually be able to replace the decals without making a mess, with the pin still in the living room.

    Quoted from vid1900:

    1. Who cares about faded decals? Decals are garbage. A crappy band-aid slapped on that quickly fades, tears, and wrinkles.
    2. Leave the game as is. When you sell it, slap the decals on fresh for the next sucker.

    The pin in question is a really Faded IJ and I'm getting the decals included for free from the previous owner, the new decals are just so damn more vibrant the the faded originals.

    #14 7 years ago
    Quoted from webdiddy:

    The pin in question is a really Faded IJ and I'm getting the decals included for free from the previous owner, the new decals are just so damn more vibrant the the faded originals.

    That's what I'm saying.

    Save the new decals when you sell it for the next owner.

    That's what people do.

    "Sure it's faded, but I'm including some BRAND NEW decals with the game!!!!!!!".......

    #15 7 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    That's what I'm saying.
    Save the new decals when you sell it for the next owner.
    That's what people do.
    "Sure it's faded, but I'm including some BRAND NEW decals with the game!!!!!!!".......

    Haha. That's really funny if you think about it. Decals just following along with the pin owner to owner never being applied.

    #16 7 years ago

    Just so you know, the smallest imperfections telegraph through the new decals and can look pretty bad. The original screen printing has different thicknesses to the ink when it's applied, and even that can show up like a sore thumb though those new decals. It's best to strip the cabinet and sand it down, fill imperfections, prime it, then block sand it nice and flat, then put the new decals on. Putting decals on is a pain, but if you're gonna do it, might as well do it right. If you don't want to do all that, you might want to just pass the decals ahead with the machine like Vid said.

    On a different note, you could airbrush the faded colors back into the art, like I did to the VFW pinball museum's IJ as shown on the video Clay has on the Pinball Ninja website. That's not incredibly difficult, and can actually be kinda fun, if you're into enjoying things that normal people don't find fun, and since you're asking about cabinet decals, you just might be that kind of person, LOL.

    #17 7 years ago
    Quoted from webdiddy:

    Haha. That's really funny if you think about it. Decals just following along with the pin owner to owner never being applied.

    That's how they do.

    I know of a MB and a MM that both are on their 3rd owner, supplied decals still uninstalled.

    #18 7 years ago

    I bought a set of cabinet decals for my AFM because the right side is a bit faded compared to the left. But I never installed them because you don't see both sides of the cab at the same time and it would be a lot of work just for me to know it was fixed. I'd say that I would pass them along when I sell the game, but my AFM is never being sold until after I'm gone. (Then my wife will be selling all my stuff.)

    #19 7 years ago

    Easier, but messy, way to remove old decals is with aerosol paint stripper. Spray it on, wait a few, scrape, repeat.

    #20 7 years ago
    Quoted from Rum-Z:

    Just so you know, the smallest imperfections telegraph through the new decals and can look pretty bad. The original screen printing has different thicknesses to the ink when it's applied, and even that can show up like a sore thumb though those new decals. It's best to strip the cabinet and sand it down, fill imperfections, prime it, then block sand it nice and flat, then put the new decals on. Putting decals on is a pain, but if you're gonna do it, might as well do it right. If you don't want to do all that, you might want to just pass the decals ahead with the machine like Vid said.
    On a different note, you could airbrush the faded colors back into the art, like I did to the VFW pinball museum's IJ as shown on the video Clay has on the Pinball Ninja website. That's not incredibly difficult, and can actually be kinda fun, if you're into enjoying things that normal people don't find fun, and since you're asking about cabinet decals, you just might be that kind of person, LOL.

    Airbushing has crossed my mind. I did it once before on a NF.
    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cabinet-airbrushing-tutorial
    It turned out pretty good, might do it to IJ as well.
    no-fear.jpgno-fear.jpg
    The sanding part is to much work for me because I don't really have a good work area.

    Quoted from vid1900:

    That's how they do.
    I know of a MB and a MM that both are on their 3rd owner, supplied decals still uninstalled.

    That's pretty hilarious and sad at the same time.

    Quoted from littlecammi:

    I bought a set of cabinet decals for my AFM because the right side is a bit faded compared to the left. But I never installed them because you don't see both sides of the cab at the same time and it would be a lot of work just for me to know it was fixed. I'd say that I would pass them along when I sell the game, but my AFM is never being sold until after I'm gone. (Then my wife will be selling all my stuff.)

    If the right side of the cab was unfaded on my IJ I think I wouldn't bother because the left side faces a wall, unfortunately both sides are really faded.

    Quoted from Jjsmooth:

    Easier, but messy, way to remove old decals is with aerosol paint stripper. Spray it on, wait a few, scrape, repeat.

    That sounds easy enough but really no job for my living room

    #21 7 years ago
    Quoted from webdiddy:

    Airbushing has crossed my mind. I did it once before on a NF.

    That NF looks nice. Great work!

    #22 7 years ago
    Quoted from Rum-Z:

    That NF looks nice. Great work!

    Thank you!

    #23 7 years ago

    then just paintbrush!

    #24 7 years ago
    Quoted from jorro:

    then just paintbrush!

    Airbrush?

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