(Topic ID: 69394)

Paragon Club... the Valley of Demons

By schwarz

10 years ago


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  • 261 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 days ago by Daditude
  • Topic is favorited by 112 Pinsiders

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There are 2,126 posts in this topic. You are on page 30 of 43.
#1451 2 years ago
Quoted from killerrobots:

Sorry but what the fix on the transformer and how would I know if it is done?

Bally's GI circuity, has a flaw of burning up the connectors from the
transformer/bridge rectifier board.
1) White & Green GI wires go to ground.
2) Check the 20 pin connector from the transformer assembly.
2a) White & Green wires are at the left end.
2b) Check the backside of the male connector pins from the bridge rectifier.
2ba) Cold solder joint tend to develop.
If all is good, then no need for the GI jumper hack.

#1452 2 years ago
Quoted from vec-tor:

Bally's GI circuity, has a flaw of burning up the connectors from the
transformer/bridge rectifier board.
1) White & Green GI wires go to ground.
2) Check the 20 pin connector from the transformer assembly.
2a) White & Green wires are at the left end.
2b) Check the backside of the male connector pins from the bridge rectifier.
2ba) Cold solder joint tend to develop.
If all is good, then no need for the GI jumper hack.

Thanks I will check it out.

#1453 2 years ago

Any tips on getting these tacks out without damaging the papers?

image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
#1454 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

Any tips on getting these tacks out without damaging the papers?
[quoted image]

There is a style of staple remover that is O.K., but damage does still happen to the card stock.

#1455 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

Any tips on getting these tacks out without damaging the papers?
[quoted image]

I had pretty good luck with a small screwdriver that I sharpened. If you take your time and pry by rotating the screwdriver (not like a lever). You can work up the center enough to grab with a set of needle-nose plyer and yank out.

#1456 2 years ago

What are the chances to find a Paragon apron out there? I have discovered the Ebay decal and do not like it at all. Posted in a few forums, didn't get much out of that. I am probably going to end up scanning, correcting and printing on vinyl but I wanted to hit the community and check. My apron is pretty scratched up...

1C787ED1-7E54-4612-8E8F-96900EF40D65_1_105_c (resized).jpeg1C787ED1-7E54-4612-8E8F-96900EF40D65_1_105_c (resized).jpeg
#1457 2 years ago

I created this forum to list all of the apron decal options.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/apron-decal-options

#1458 2 years ago

I have completed the stripping project and my cabinet is empty. We will glue some wood parts as we are also getting ready to sand everything.

How should I proceed for the paint? Is there some sort of a standard for the 3 colours?

I will have the help of a friend who has a paint gun for the yellow base. But I keep on wondering what is the colour reference?

I will most likely use spray cans for the blue and orange/red and again, I’m wondering what the reference is?

Thanks gang!

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#1459 2 years ago

Every time I paint a cabinet, I chose something a little different with more pop than the originals. Metallics, pearl, etc. With the typical 40 year cabinet fade, it may be hard to find the actual original match. I’d assume under the rails would be the best guess to match the yellow.

#1460 2 years ago
Quoted from jetmechinnc:

I’d assume under the rails would be the best guess to match the yellow.

It looks like you can get a good idea of the original red from under the rails as well. If you are going for the authentic look, this cabinet had spattering all over it, much like a lot of EMs.

#1461 2 years ago

If you are using the pinball pimp stencils, doesn't Jeff call out the suggested colors?

#1462 2 years ago
Quoted from Apex:

If you are using the pinball pimp stencils, doesn't Jeff call out the suggested colors?

I had the box and left it behind without opening it. I’ll ask Jeff on Facebook! Thanks for that!

#1463 2 years ago

Is there anyone who, from a restoration project, remembers ordering the teenuts and lamp sockets for a Paragon project?

I believe these are pretty much the basics of what I should replace on the playfield (or is it?)

If you have a list to share, I’d live to borrow it and place my order at Marco sooner rather than later so I’ll have everything ready when I’ll attack the playfield swap!

Thanks!

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#1464 2 years ago

Is there anyone who, from a restoration project, remembers ordering the teenuts and lamp sockets for a Paragon project?
I believe these are pretty much the basics of what I should replace on the playfield (or is it?)
If you have a list to share, I’d live to borrow it and place my order at Marco sooner rather than later so I’ll have everything ready when I’ll attack the playfield swap!
Thanks!

The only lamp sockets I won’t replace are the ones inside the head.

#1465 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

I had the box and left it behind without opening it. I’ll ask Jeff on Facebook! Thanks for that!

It does make sense!

E59646C8-777C-46E6-B1EF-D8318846326C (resized).jpegE59646C8-777C-46E6-B1EF-D8318846326C (resized).jpeg
#1466 2 years ago

@runpatboyrun, I plan on starting repainting my cabinet this week. We can probably compare notes along the way as most likely we will be redoing our cabinets at the same time. Tomorrow I'm going to play my last game for a while and then start tearing down the cabinet.

This will be my first pinball cabinet restore. I'm an avid woodworker/furniture restorer and I've painted/refinished a lot of cabinets/dressers so I feel fairly comfortable doing this, but I've never done stencils or multiple colors overlayed before. I decided to practice on a spare piece of mdf to get a hang of how the process will go. I started with my yellow base coat and taped off random designs and overlayed the other two colors. I sampled about three different shades of each color (yellow, blue,and red). This is a section of my practice piece with the colors I liked best.
IMG_2022-09-03-21-23-27-552 (resized).jpgIMG_2022-09-03-21-23-27-552 (resized).jpg

And here are the colors used on that section.
16622596893266655334985291074263 (resized).jpg16622596893266655334985291074263 (resized).jpg

#1467 2 years ago
Quoted from Foxxstone_80:

runpatboyrun, I plan on starting repainting my cabinet this week. We can probably compare notes along the way as most likely we will be redoing our cabinets at the same time. Tomorrow I'm going to play my last game for a while and then start tearing down the cabinet.
This will be my first pinball cabinet restore. I'm an avid woodworker/furniture restorer and I've painted/refinished a lot of cabinets/dressers so I feel fairly comfortable doing this, but I've never done stencils or multiple colors overlayed before. I decided to practice on a spare piece of mdf to get a hang of how the process will go. I started with my yellow base coat and taped off random designs and overlayed the other two colors. I sampled about three different shades of each color (yellow, blue,and red). This is a section of my practice piece with the colors I liked best.
[quoted image]
And here are the colors used on that section.
[quoted image]

How much Can will you use for each color ?

#1468 2 years ago
Quoted from Jjlp:

How much Can will you use for each color ?

I have no idea. I bought 4 yellow, and 2 each of red and blue to start. If I need more I'm pretty close to a few different hardware stores.

#1469 2 years ago

I have the chance to work with someone who has done many repairs on older EM machine. He has a lot of great tools and, one of these is a paint gun machine.

I’m going to buy 4L of the yellow and we’ll pretty much swing the blue and the red with 2 cans each of what will he available!

P.S.: The guy is a real wizard! He assembled his own virtual pinball!

Can’t wait to share the results!
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#1470 2 years ago
Quoted from Foxxstone_80:

runpatboyrun, I plan on starting repainting my cabinet this week. We can probably compare notes along the way as most likely we will be redoing our cabinets at the same time. Tomorrow I'm going to play my last game for a while and then start tearing down the cabinet.
This will be my first pinball cabinet restore. I'm an avid woodworker/furniture restorer and I've painted/refinished a lot of cabinets/dressers so I feel fairly comfortable doing this, but I've never done stencils or multiple colors overlayed before. I decided to practice on a spare piece of mdf to get a hang of how the process will go. I started with my yellow base coat and taped off random designs and overlayed the other two colors. I sampled about three different shades of each color (yellow, blue,and red). This is a section of my practice piece with the colors I liked best.
[quoted image]
And here are the colors used on that section.
[quoted image]

I thought the 2X brand dried to quick to get the stencil up.

#1471 2 years ago
Quoted from killerrobots:

I thought the 2X brand dried to quick to get the stencil up.

Good to know, maybe I'll look for a different blue then since the yellow basecoat shouldn't matter. Did you end up using something different then or did the 2x work well enough to do the job?

#1472 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

Is there anyone who, from a restoration project, remembers ordering the teenuts and lamp sockets for a Paragon project?

You should not really have to replace T-nuts. Just reuse the old ones where possible. They are available at most hardware stores or Marco but they come in 2 sizes #8 and #6.

Lamp sockets are another issue as they almost always need replacing. Some are trying out Yoppsicles. You may want to order a sheet of those from Marco too.

#1473 2 years ago
Quoted from Foxxstone_80:

Good to know, maybe I'll look for a different blue then since the yellow basecoat shouldn't matter. Did you end up using something different then or did the 2x work well enough to do the job?

I used the 2X but I got a lot of tearing on the edges and I touched up with a small brush.

#1474 2 years ago

2x paint works great but you have to remove the stencil masks quickly to avoid tearing.

#1475 2 years ago

I know you guys are most likely way more advanced than me and this is why I am reaching out to this community.

As I am repairing the cabinet, I was wondering what would be the best next step.

My impression is that the next is step is to document the top of the playfield and to start to take out the plastics and parts of that playfield. ç

Would that be the proper next steps while I'm completing the cabinet during the week end?
B505E34D-7218-4626-91FA-517A56FE8ECF (resized).jpegB505E34D-7218-4626-91FA-517A56FE8ECF (resized).jpeg

#1476 2 years ago

The factory did the top of the playfield first then flipped it over and did the bottom.

2 weeks later
10
#1477 2 years ago

99% complete with my Paragon restoration! Waiting on custom coin door inserts from Upkick pinball and I think I will change out a few light sockets for intermitting, oh well, but not bad for a 40 plus year old machine!. Very happy with the rest of it. I LOVE the metallic blue paint I had Oriley's automotive mix up for me. In my dimly lit spare bedroom/work room, you can't really see the pearl in the "yellow gold" but it looks nice in daylight, same as the metallic blue. The colors I used were GM's Arrival Blue, Isuzu golden yellow with added pearl, and GM's Torch red.

It's amazing how fast this game plays when a new playfield and all mechs are rebuilt! Before I disassembled it, I played a few games on it. It was OK, slow, sluggish, etc, etc. Now WOW. Plus the Lair Pop bumper reacts so nicely now, my wife escaped it every time as it sailed the ball out of there.

I think my friend will be very happy adding this back into his collection from being in storage for over a decade.

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#1478 2 years ago
Quoted from jetmechinnc:

99% complete with my Paragon restoration! Waiting on custom coin door inserts from Upkick pinball and I think I will change out a few light sockets for intermitting, oh well, but not bad for a 40 plus year old machine!. Very happy with the rest of it. I LOVE the metallic blue paint I had Oriley's automotive mix up for me. In my dimly lit spare bedroom/work room, you can't really see the pearl in the "yellow gold" but it looks nice in daylight, same as the metallic blue. The colors I used were GM's Arrival Blue, Isuzu golden yellow with added pearl, and GM's Torch red.
It's amazing how fast this game plays when a new playfield and all mechs are rebuilt! Before I disassembled it, I played a few games on it. It was OK, slow, sluggish, etc, etc. Now WOW. Plus the Lair Pop bumper reacts so nicely now, my wife escaped it every time as it sailed the ball out of there.
I think my friend will be very happy adding this back into his collection from being in storage for over a decade.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Looks ridiculously spectacular!!!!!
Consider LED strips up top?

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#1479 2 years ago
Quoted from MyParagon1979:

Consider LED strips up top?

Thank you, I will mess around with some in the backbox and see how I like it.

#1480 2 years ago
Quoted from jetmechinnc:

99% complete with my Paragon restoration! [quoted image][quoted image]

Beautiful! Well done. How did you proceed for the restoration of the apron?

#1481 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

How did you proceed for the restoration of the apron?

The apron was actually in great shape and didn't need anything. Can't say the same about my high speed I'm restoring now for myself. Will sand that down, repaint, and see if doing stencils or decals would be better.

#1482 2 years ago

I’m looking for a metal trim for a new backglass from CPR.

Marco only seems to have black plastic ones for this dimensions and specs: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8229-1

Any advices where to find a metal one?

I checked Pinball Life to no avail.

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#1483 2 years ago

Check with Mayfair. That's where I've bought them before. You'll probably have to call or email him, but I know he has them.

http://www.mayfairamusement.com/

SmartSelect_20220929_050657_Chrome (resized).jpgSmartSelect_20220929_050657_Chrome (resized).jpg
#1484 2 years ago

This is what I used for the CPR backglass from Marco. Put a little electrical tape along the bottom edge.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=%09P-6242-107

#1485 2 years ago
Quoted from jetmechinnc:

This is what I used for the CPR backglass from Marco. Put a little electrical tape along the bottom edge.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=%09P-6242-107

Thanks jetmechinnc , and you used this trim specifically on a Paragon?

#1486 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

I’m looking for a metal trim for a new backglass from CPR.
Marco only seems to have black plastic ones for this dimensions and specs: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8229-1
Any advices where to find a metal one?
I checked Pinball Life to no avail.
[quoted image]

Pinsider Gatecrasher makes metal lift channels for Bally and classic Sterns.

#1487 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

Thanks jetmechinnc , and you used this trim specifically on a Paragon?

Yes,

#1488 2 years ago

Starting my Paragon today. I could use these plastics in good used and not broken condition. Also could use some better used pop caps. If anyone has done a full restore and had these used parts on hand, please shoot a pm. Thanks much in advance.

-RC

20221001_130837 (resized).jpg20221001_130837 (resized).jpg
#1489 2 years ago
Quoted from RC_like_the_cola:

Starting my Paragon today. I could use these plastics in good used and not broken condition. Also could use some better used pop caps. If anyone has done a full restore and had these used parts on hand, please shoot a pm. Thanks much in advance.
-RC
[quoted image]

Both top arches and the left sling plastic were broken on mine, and I didn't want to buy a whole replacement set. I was able to replace all three plastics with originals in decent shape from eBay.

I did buy repro pop bumpers caps though because original ones are all scorched from the bulbs and don't look that great.

#1490 2 years ago
Quoted from Foxxstone_80:

Both top arches and the left sling plastic were broken on mine, and I didn't want to buy a whole replacement set. I was able to replace all three plastics with originals in decent shape from eBay.
I did buy repro pop bumpers caps though because original ones are all scorched from the bulbs and don't look that great.

Thanks. I saw the 2 smaller ones I need on eBay after I posted this. The arch plastic is intact but had 2 cracks.
Since it shouldn't come into contact with the ball, I should be able to just keep this one. Not too keen on paying 50 for 2 plastics though. Hopefully I can find cheaper ones but if not I may bite the bullet.

#1491 2 years ago

I'm pretty sure the chances of purchasing this decal set for a Paragon from Marco are nil to none.

I was wondering if anyone would have either:
a decal kit like this that they might never used?
an idea where I could possibly get a fresh kit. (Do not point to the Ebay one has it isn't a great kit)

Thanks!

Screen Shot 2022-10-05 at 10.05.08 (resized).pngScreen Shot 2022-10-05 at 10.05.08 (resized).png
#1492 2 years ago

That's the classic arcades one. You can tell by the I touching the P.

1 week later
#1494 2 years ago

Weird thing today, my coin door lights quit working. Every other light works fine and game plays normally otherwise. I tried switching out the LEDs, and no luck. Anyone have any ideas where to start?

2022-10-1820.41.426538274023549586023.jpg2022-10-1820.41.426538274023549586023.jpgIMG_2022-10-18-20-38-35-564.jpgIMG_2022-10-18-20-38-35-564.jpg
#1495 2 years ago
Quoted from Foxxstone_80:

Weird thing today, my coin door lights quit working. Every other light works fine and game plays normally otherwise. I tried switching out the LEDs, and no luck. Anyone have any ideas where to start?
[quoted image][quoted image]

Have you checked the voltages at the socket? Checked continuity to ground? Perhaps a clipped wire.

Also, Bally sockets just stink. It could be coincidence that they’re acting up on the coin door.

#1496 2 years ago

I second checking continuity to ground and voltage at the socket.

Also, check your harness where it bends around the coin door. On my Paragon the credit button wire broke right where the bend is. Took me a while to figure it out because the wire actually broke inside of the insulation!

I eventually found it by holding the button down and moving the harness and I heard the credit chime sound. Makes sense that it would break there considering the flexing of the wires at the bend, it just wasn't an obvious break.

#1497 2 years ago

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I decided to reseat the connectors on the boards before I did anything else and that actually worked. I got lights now on the coin door.

#1498 2 years ago

Can someone share a photo of that section of the playfield, under the apron? What kind of ball guide goes there?

F614C193-C620-4046-AEAE-14B05DD67506 (resized).jpegF614C193-C620-4046-AEAE-14B05DD67506 (resized).jpeg
#1499 2 years ago
Quoted from runpatboyrun:

Can someone share a photo of that section of the playfield, under the apron? What kind of ball guide goes there?[quoted image]

Here, from the photo morgue.
pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png

#1500 2 years ago
Quoted from vec-tor:

Here, from the photo morgue.
[quoted image]

Must be a common pain point. My game had a home made guide in that spot. I reshaped it a little more squarely and trimmed it. The excess was really sticking out under the playfield.

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