(Topic ID: 58688)

Pin*Bot: My attempt at restoring a machine and a community

By NJGecko

10 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 519 posts
  • 71 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 10 years ago by skywalker
  • Topic is favorited by 36 Pinsiders

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There are 519 posts in this topic. You are on page 3 of 11.
#101 10 years ago

Laid the stencils out. They are sitting under some playfield glass for a few days to flatten them out...
Now I'm getting excited!

#102 10 years ago

Picture helps! 2013-08-18_12.30.55.jpg2013-08-18_12.30.55.jpg

#103 10 years ago

Whee...fun stuff tonight!

And yes, the cat is helping me open the box.

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#104 10 years ago

Few more

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#105 10 years ago

And side by side!

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#106 10 years ago

Amazing how much fade at the kickout holes for pinbot`s eyes. It is going to look great.

#107 10 years ago

Looking good. Cannot wait to see the finished results.

#108 10 years ago
Quoted from slimmer:

Amazing how much fade at the kickout holes for pinbot`s eyes. It is going to look great.

I know. Unreal!

When I pulled the playfield out I realized just how much work I need to do to get it stripped still!
Today going to order GI wire and some sockets and get ready for the fun!

#109 10 years ago

Oh, and the playfield ate the cat at one point.

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#110 10 years ago

Did you see the path to the eyes and space between the color bars is green on the new playfield and natural wood on the old. I believe mine is also natural wood color. I wonder why that was changed?

#111 10 years ago

Found this picture on IPDB. Looks like it was originally gray. Wonder if it was just a different color based on two runs of the playfield or if the gray just washed out quickly?

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#112 10 years ago

Actually your old playfield is not that bad. I am sure someone can repair it. I have done 2 Pinbots that were way worse than yours. The first one I repainted the matrix by hand and the other one I bought the matrix decal. Before and After pictures for both machines. They did take FOREVER to hand paint but I did save the $700. Looking back, I think you made the right choice.

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#113 10 years ago

This is looking really nice, Gecko! Great job, that cab looks especially clean. I can't wait to see how that looks when completed. Those new playfields are sooo sweet. I'd love to get one for my pinbot, but the $600+ really pains me.

#114 10 years ago

BadBrad I really was on the fence about it. But for me this is more about the experience and making a nice game in the end. And the playfield really is better than most so I know it can be repaired pretty easily.
Deacon, yea, the money hurt on it, but I figured if I'm going to spend the time and effort into it I may as well do it the right way. I was going to just give it a nice shop job and leave it at that, but it got out of control pretty quickly

#115 10 years ago

Little nerve wracking...

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#116 10 years ago

More! More!

#117 10 years ago

Thanks Ted...you're my bigges (or only!) fan!

#118 10 years ago

Yay pinballresource stuff!

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#120 10 years ago
Quoted from NJGecko:

Thanks Ted...you're my biggest (or only!) fan!

Oh, I think there are a number of people following this Thread!

#121 10 years ago

And the reveal...(yep, wife was doing this part...safer for all!)

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#122 10 years ago

Moved inside once we lost the light

Following in Monday's "the playfield ate my cat" we now have the sequel of "the backbox ate the cat"

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#123 10 years ago

Finished product. Red laid down.
Now it's going to sit for a week before yellow.

And hopefully Sunday we may try to lay the red down on the cabinet.

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#124 10 years ago

Wow. Looking really nice.

#125 10 years ago

Great paint job - poor kitty gave one or two of his lives for Pin Bot!

I went back and looked at my plafield, and it does indeed have the gray lanes into the eyes like your new playfield.

#126 10 years ago

Lots of stuff showed up in the mail that I need to root through, but we made it back from a weekend away and are making the most out of the weather...

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#127 10 years ago

Some more stencil goodness....
Head done...just going to clear it when it's good and cured.

Pain in the butt, but the wife did a fantastic job on the stencils!

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#128 10 years ago

And the cabinet...front and one side...and that's it for tonight!

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#129 10 years ago

And revealed!

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#130 10 years ago

Final product for now...

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#131 10 years ago

Also got these from pinsider chipleader...awesome!

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#132 10 years ago

Oh, the helpful cat has made yet another set of appearances...

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#133 10 years ago

Looking good!

#134 10 years ago

Cabinent looks as good as new. I think the cat wants to play!

#135 10 years ago

That's looking great! Nice work!

#136 10 years ago

Spent some "inside" time tonight. Too late to do outside work, so started back on playfield teardown.
Is it me, or does taking the flippers out really feel like now it's not a pinball machine anymore?

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#137 10 years ago

Very interetest to see how you organize the playfield teardown and rebuild to insure you get everything back to where it was. Looks like you are starting from the bottom and working your way back up? Are you keeping the parts organized on a table to put on new PF all at once or are you installing the parts on the new PF as you remove the from the old PF?

Your project got me motivated enough to buy a new PF for my Pinbot and I've never done a complete PF teardown and rebuild before.

#138 10 years ago
Quoted from alb0711:

Very interetest to see how you organize the playfield teardown and rebuild to insure you get everything back to where it was. Looks like you are starting from the bottom and working your way back up? Are you keeping the parts organized on a table to put on new PF all at once or are you installing the parts on the new PF as you remove the from the old PF?
Your project got me motivated enough to buy a new PF for my Pinbot and I've never done a complete PF teardown and rebuild before.

I've done a handful of playfield swaps/teardowns and I've kind of worked out my own method for doing it. I will describe it as best as I can.
First, I learned that I don't need to keep track of all of the fasteners underneath. I keep a TON of pictures which is my best friend. Like probably several hundred from every angle possible.
I label every switch and solenoid with the corresponding number from the manual. Usually just a piece of masking tape. If I disconnect a coil I label the coil, bracket, and wiring with the same number.
I remove the harness logically which for me, is bottom up. The wiring ends on the top of the playfield, so I just look at it like peeling it up.
And I just take it slowly. I rushed one a while back and it was the worst nightmare I have ever had.
Once I get it torn down so that only the GI is left, that's when I will first start to work on the new playfield. I can put them side by side.
My downside is that I have a playful cat at home so I need to totally cover everything between my work sessions which adds to the time and also limits how I organize.
The biggest thing I will say is take your time. It's not a race. I'd estimate it will take me probably 10-20 hours to get the wiring off safely to where I'm comfortable.

#139 10 years ago
Quoted from NJGecko:

I'd estimate it will take me probably 10-20 hours to get the wiring off safely to where I'm comfortable.

You're a wizard! My confort level is replacing an LED....and your daughter does THAT better than me!

#140 10 years ago

Ted you do just fine! Wanna come help me solder?

#141 10 years ago
Quoted from NJGecko:

Ted you do just fine! Wanna come help me solder?

...Don't ya have anything for me to do that doesn't require skill??
...but, I'll try anything...

#142 10 years ago

Thanks for documenting this. Your helping me build confidence to do my own restoration.

#143 10 years ago

Great thread!

Have any pics of applying the stencils? I didn't realize they had adhesive backing so was wondering what it was like applying them to the cabinet.

#144 10 years ago

Great work! I love seeing threads like this!

Chris

#145 10 years ago

Great thread!
Have any pics of applying the stencils? I didn't realize they had adhesive backing so was wondering what it was like applying them to the cabinet.

I wasn't expecting them to be adhesive either. I think some may just be like cardboard or oaktag since I've heard of people reusing them. I guess the sticky makes sense though since it doesn't let ANY paint through and you get the really crisp edges.
That said, it was a real pain since it's pretty much a one shot deal. The first stencils went on OK, but I think they may have been a hair crooked. The second layer was really challenging since it needs to align to the first ones. The only way we could figure it out (mostly my wife honestly!) is by cutting it into smaller sections and aligning them one at a time with the first completed one.

The main cabinet went on fairly well for the first layer, but I think when we do the second layer it's going to be the same process.

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#146 10 years ago
Quoted from spfxted:

...Don't ya have anything for me to do that doesn't require skill??
...but, I'll try anything...

On second thought maybe it's best to not give you the 700 degree iron....!

#147 10 years ago
Quoted from NJGecko:

On second thought maybe it's best to not give you the 700 degree iron....!

Hey!

#148 10 years ago

Yeah, does make complete sense for the stencils to be adhesive when you think about it because of possible running paint. I'd def be anxious applying an adhesive stencil that large....I'm as far from arts and craftsy as a person can be. Just lining up that? I'd blow it.

#149 10 years ago
Quoted from PoMC:

Yeah, does make complete sense for the stencils to be adhesive when you think about it because of possible running paint. I'd def be anxious applying an adhesive stencil that large....I'm as far from arts and craftsy as a person can be. Just lining up that? I'd blow it.

Yep. Decals in my opinion are a TON easier to do since you can do them wet and have a little wiggle room. But as my wife put it, the imperfections here are what make it authentic, and I can't argue with that!

#150 10 years ago

Thanks for the great tips, when I zoomed in on the photos I could see the numbering system. Sounds like patience is key, and will be my biggest challenge.

If you do something wrong, then at least you can blame it on the cat!

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