Laid the stencils out. They are sitting under some playfield glass for a few days to flatten them out...
Now I'm getting excited!
Laid the stencils out. They are sitting under some playfield glass for a few days to flatten them out...
Now I'm getting excited!
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!
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?
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.
Pinbot_before_1.jpg Pinbot_after_1.jpg Pinbot_before.jpg Pinbot_after_2.jpg
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.
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
Quoted from NJGecko:Thanks Ted...you're my biggest (or only!) fan!
Oh, I think there are a number of people following this Thread!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
2013-08-21_18.17.08.jpg 2013-08-25_14.59.02.jpg 2013-08-25_15.49.52.jpg
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....!
Quoted from NJGecko:On second thought maybe it's best to not give you the 700 degree iron....!
Hey!
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.
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!
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