With Centaur out of the way it’s time to start another restoration project (well, actually 4 or 5 projects). I’m going to be working with my buddy Mike W. on several machines simultaneously, so this should be an interested thread. We’ll be bouncing around all over the place, working on the following titles: MM, TOM, RS, and MB. Plus, I might find a way to squeeze my SM in along the way

I love reading restoration threads, especially when details are provided, so I’ll do my best to document our process along the way. First, let me say that anybody can restore a pinball machine; it’s just a matter of time and money (of course the real secret is the money – “over the top restorations” are expensive regardless of who’s doing the work). Remember, at some point in time every guy restoring pinball machines had zero experience (so, don't be dissuaded from starting your own project).

For me this is a hobby and it’s supposed to be fun. I wouldn’t know half the things I do if it wasn’t for the willingness of other pinball enthusiasts to share their restoration experiences. So, much of what will be posted has already been posted, but it never hurts to say it again. I’d like to pay it forward, so I hope you guys enjoy. Oh, and feel free to share your own tips/tricks along the way. I love to learn new things; life would get pretty boring otherwise.

Alright, first up - guide rails (might as well get this stuff out of the way, Ugh). I think this is one of everybody's favorite chores

This box is full of various parts from several machines. Let's take a look and see what fun awaits.

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Might as well start with the MB ramps. These guys always take a beating, the right ramp in particular, especially when the game was RUO (route use only). The mounting tabs used to secure the blue rubber bumper pads often break, hence the massive dents in both the left and right sides at the entrance. Well, this stuff is never easy right

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Here's a closer look

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Time to break out the welding machine.

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Ok, just kidding. Lets use the small guy, after all we're only welding metal that's a 1/16" thick

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There are a bevy of issues to address, so lets start with the dents. First, we're going to TIG weld some 316L stainless filling rod onto the dented ramp areas. This is done to fill in the voids, which allows the ramp to be manipulated back to it's original factory shape.

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Ok, now it's time to use a grinding wheel and remove the excess metal.

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God bless the guy who invented the die grinder. This is one of my favorite tools.

The only issue with a die grinder is that you need some serious air flow to drive it. This particular grinder requires 10-15 cfm at roughly 80-100 psi for continuous operation. That means a pancake compressor isn't going to cut the mustard, so pony up and get a nice compressor - you'll be happy you did

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Ok, time to clean up and deburr the areas we welded and grinded

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Alright, now it's time to address the broken mounts. Originally, the ramp used hex rivet nuts (pressed into the sides of the ramp) to attach the exterior metal brackets used to hold the blue rubber bumpers in place. As you can see those are long gone.

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So, we've tack welded 4-40 nuts on to the outer sides of the ramps over the original holes. Then we back filled the original holes with filler rod and used a die grinder to remove any excess metal. Now the ramp is ready for chrome plating. Well, more prep work is required, but that's Mr. Chestnut's responsibility

Once the bumpers are re-installed you'd never know all the work that was needed to address this one ramp. Crazy right?

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Ha. That one took me a minute

Alright, lets re-grain a guide rail. I cover this in one of my MB videos (can't remember which one), so I won't get to detailed.

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Basically, when a pinball rubs up against a guide rail it's actually polishing the metal. Over time this metal-on-metal contact creates a "trail", which is actually a polished area on the guide rail. Heavily used games will actually have "tracks" worn into the guide rails.

So, in the MB video I demonstrate how to use a dremel to re-grain rails, but since I have a die grinder available I'll use it instead (more power = less work). Here's the same rail shown above after 10 seconds of grinding.

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The area in the right side of the picture (this is the section that I used the die grinder on) is pretty clean after just a few seconds. As a side note, make sure you grind in the direction of the metal grain. Now, here's the same rail after 2 minutes of grinding. Much improved.

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You can still see the "track" in the middle of the rail, so this will require a little more work using a more aggressive grinding wheel. Anyway, you get the idea.

Now it's time to use the Scotch-Brite pads. I use a coarse pad and then step down to a medium grit pad. Again, go with the metal grain. Also, don't use a contaminated pad. Believe it or not 304 stainless steel can rust if you imbed other metals into it (like carbon steel for example). So, always use the same SB pads for re-graining; when they wear out get new ones. In other words, don't use your re-graining pads for anything other than re-graining (one pad per type of metal). Ok, so how long should you do this, scrubbing guide rails with SB pads? Do it until you're happy with the results. Typically this only takes a few minutes because the die grinder did all the real work.

Later I'll buff all the rails to a mirrored chrome like finish. I do this because it greatly minimizes future ball "trails" as the entire guide rail is now polished, not just the section where the ball makes contact during game play. Also, if you don't buff your rails then you'll see "trails" after about 100 games, sometimes even less. Once the buffing is done, I'll remove, clean, and re-rivet the mounting posts. I do this because the re-graining process removes the zinc plating off the face of the rivets, exposing the brass underneath. Personally, I don't want to see a brass rivet on a nice shiny chrome like rail. Anyway, more on buffing later.

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No problem.

OK, lets change directions for a moment and take a look at MM.

FYI - This is a new Doug Huse cabinet I just received from a customer.

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Nice....

Lets take a look inside. Hummm, that leg bracket looks a little dull to me.

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Oh screw it, lets go ahead and buff all the leg plates. It will only take a few minutes and it's the extra details that make the difference right? Plus, I made Mike W. do all the buffing work

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The leg plates were buffed with blue craftsman jewelers rouge (you can pick some up at Sears). As a side note, the piece of PVC shown in the picture above is a great tool for holding pinballs when buffing.
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To remove the rouge I used some Westley's Bleche-Wite (the good stuff - nice to have a stash) and a soft bristle tooth brush. A few squirts of BW, a little elbow grease, rinse with water, then dry the plate off with a clean micro fiber cloth.

I like to use Mothers Mag for the finishing touch. Rub some on the leg plate with a clean rag; a little will go a long way. Then use a clean shop paper towel to remove the Mothers Mag.

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The picture above shows what was removed after using the Mothers Mag. The picture below should give you an idea of how nicely a crappy piece of metal can be made to look when you're willing to spend a little time.

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Bling Bling.....

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For the sake of comparison, here are the before and after pics:

Before

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After

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This process can be used on all sorts of metal parts inside a pinball machine. However, you don't want to buff too hard or you'll cut through the zinc plating. As an alternative, if you end up buffing off the zinc coating, you can clear coat the metal parts after degreasing them. Clear coating is more work, but more durable in the long haul. There are a ton of different ways to do this stuff, so take this for what it's worth

OK, time to attach the legs.

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Alright, at this point in time I'm sure everybody has discovered the new "Stern Style" leg protectors. If you haven't, they look like this:

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These are great, especially for cabinets that have been redecalled, because they prevent the legs from actually touching the cabinet once they're installed (in theory this should minimize future peeling around the legs).

The install is pretty easy. Just hold the protector against the cabinet, aligning the holes in the protector with the ones in the cabinet. Then install two screws (provided with the leg protectors) to hold the protector in place. Once the leg protector is installed I like to score the decals around the edges of the plate using an Exacto knife. Why? Well, once a leg is installed pressure is continuously applied to the area underneath the leg protector. That force pushes away from the corner across the face and side of the cabinet. By scoring the decals you create a relief point/boundary. So, when the pinball machine is tilted during game play and the legs flex, that force shouldn't pass the relief line. Anyway, this is a variation on an HEP tip I picked up a few years ago (thanks Chris).

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Another thing to look for is gauld threads in the leg plates. It's always prudent to run a tap through each bolt hole before installing the leg bolts. At $20 for a set of chromed leg bolts this is a no-brainer

What to do with all these transformers?

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Here's a good before and after comparison picture:

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The transformer on the left needs to be cleaned up. The transformer on the right has been cleaned and repainted.

So, here's what I do: (1) Remove the L-brackets, which is the bulk of the work, (2) carefully clean the wires using Purple Power and a tooth brush, (3) use a clean rag to dry all the wires off and remove any residual Purple Power, (4) use blue 3M painters tape to wrap all the wires leaving only the metal sections of the transformer exposed, (5) use a coarse Scotch-Brite pad to scuff up the metal portion of the transformer, (6) blow off any dirt/dust with compressed air, (7) use a tack rag to remove any remaining dirt/dust, (8) use Rust-Oleum 2X Gloss Black Painters Touch rattle cans to paint the transformer. I do several light coats; waiting 24 hours in between coats.

I know, you don't even see the transformer once the game is assembled, but it looks so much better this way

OFF TOPIC POST

I love getting new toys

Today I started renovating my garage, converting it into a climate controlled work space for future pinball restoration work. Down here in FL it gets hot, really hot. Plus, the humidity is just brutal - but we never have to shovel snow

Anyway, I had some electrical upgrades made and installed a mini-split AC system today. Here are some before photos:

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Homes are built so cheaply these days. Everything is bare bones, like your electrical power panel for example. If you have any extra breakers in your panel you're lucky. So, I added a 100Amp subpanel to handle my future toys

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Here's a tip (whether you are building a workshop or just collecting pinball machines for your house), purchase a surge protector breaker for your main electrical panel. See the picture below:

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Here's another tip (if you are building a new house or do some electrical upgrades), make sure to use 20Amp breakers for your 120VAC circuits instead of 15Amp breakers. This allows you to step up from 14 gauge wire to 12 gauge wire, which can handle a much greater load.

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These are all spare breakers, for the moment anyway

Here's the new AC

Inside:
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Outside:
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Too cool, even has a remote control.
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2 Ton 18 Seer Train Unit. Man, it's crazy how quiet this thing runs. No more sweating to death in the garage

Just put it in today. Give me a few days and I'll share my thoughts.

Here's another thing you should consider, new T5 power compact light fixtures for the garage. These babies are sweet.

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Let there be light.... Seriously, I can work at two in the morning with these things. Good lighting is paramount for soldering etc. Oh, and if your wife is like mine the motion sensors will come in handy I swear, she likes to turn on every freaking light in the house....

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That's cool, nothing like a little style

I had over 450 of these fixtures installed where I work last year. We demoed out hundreds of 400 watt metal halide fixtures; cut our utility bill by roughly $8k a month. Anyway, I knew I'd have to get some after seeing them in action. They aren't cheap ($300 per fixture), but man they are bright. The picture doesn't do them justice.

I'm a regular guy, just happen to have a small pinball addiction. OK, small is relative

Glad to hear you are enjoying the MOD.

Back on Topic:

Lets wrap up re-graining. Just like a Dremel, die grinders are made to handle all sorts of attachments.

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Obviously some of these attachments are more aggressive than others. Typically I use the buffing wheel (the guy on the right), but for grinding out "tracks" the other attachments are pretty handy.

As a side note, you really should wear a good quality respirator whenever you are doing any grinding and buffing work. Crap goes everywhere, especially up your nose. I wear a full face shield style respirator, these work much better IMO and they also provide eye protection.

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It's time to remove the ramp flaps. If you haven't purchased a good set of drill bits you probably should.

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Use a 1/8" drill bit on the rivets, always drilling from the rear (keep your naste comments to yourselves please).

FYI - For plastic ramps I actually use a Dremel instead of a drill (more on that later). Nothing like spinning a rivet right through the plastic with a smoking hot drill bit.

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Ok, so how do I clean the ramp flaps?

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I don't I suppose you could re-grain or tumble them if you really wanted to, but new ones are pretty cheap and will certainly look better. Personally I don't care for the blue spring steel ramp flaps, so I purchase the stainless steel repros from PinBits.

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Alright enough on re-graining guide rails. Here's a look at the finished product (this is probably 3 to 4 hours of work - keep in mind this is three machines worth of parts):

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Again, I'll buff all of these parts later in the process. Well, that's all for now.

More playfields have arrived.

Just got these babies back, all touched up and cleared.

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Even my dog is excited to see them

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I know, too many projects right? Well, I never said I was going to do this stuff in any logical order

Thanks guys.

As long as somebody is reading this stuff I’ll keep posting more info