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(Topic ID: 12403)

Powder Coating Pinball Legs and Rails

By jeffsgames

12 years ago

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53 posts
28 Pinsiders participating
Latest reply 10 years ago by PinballMikeD
Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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There are 53 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.

#1 12 years ago

JAW

I've seen a few examples of how people have had parts on their machines powder coated as a mod. I'm new to pinball collecting but collected arcade video games for over 16 years. What I was wondering is how generally accepted is this type of mod in the pinball community? I think when these are well done they look fantastic. I even like how Stern has started doing this on their new machines as LE's.

I have a WCS94 that has chrome legs and rails. The flyer shows gold legs to match the trophy. I thought a closely matched purple powder coating on the legs and other metal (except coin door) would look really cool and help it pop. Maybe even take a little attention from the teal which I don't care much for. I have a friend who powder coats and could do a great job for me. He did the legs of my Asteroids cocktail and they came out great!

Thoughts or Opinions? Anyone have any cool examples to show off?

#2 12 years ago

MAT

Anim8ormatt

Inactive member

Highlands Ranch, CO

12y 54,400 2,193 5 21

it's generally well accepted if it is well done. Standard chrome legs and rails are a relatively inexpensive replacement if you want to go back.

#3 12 years ago

RDH

rommy

Pinside member

Springdale, AR

12y 79,150 3,706 16 15

http://www.backalleycreations.com/bac%20main%20frame%20page.htm

#4 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

Quoted from rommy:
http://www.backalleycreations.com/bac%20main%20frame%20page.htm

Those look fantastic! The guy that I will have do this will be just as high quality as they are. He is a runs our paint shop at work. So I see the silver around the plunger is not coated on CV. Is that typical of other machines too? I was trying to decide on that part. Definitely not doing the coin door.

Also since we're talking about it. The gold wire ramp on the playfield has some wear. Should I powder coat it or have it plated?

Thanks!

#5 12 years ago

RDH

rommy

Pinside member

Springdale, AR

12y 79,150 3,706 16 15

I like the look of matching. So on MB, I like chrome everything, legs, rails, wireframes, coin door, hinges, anywhere chrome will go. On CV I like the purple, so each part you send off they will powder coat, and the wireframes would get it for sure if up to me.

#6 12 years ago

MAT

mummite

Pinside+ Frequent

Redwood City, CA

12y 91,650 2,244 20 28

Matt over @ Back alley creations rocks! I have him do all my powder coating for my games. Just had him do my RFM all in red ill post picts once I get it all together.

Check out what he did to my TRON machine. you can see the picts on my pin piX on here.

Makes the games look unique and IMHO much better

Mat

#7 12 years ago

DEY

absocountry2

Pinside member

Wasilla, AK

13y 82,050 7,424 29 72

It will look great, go for it.

#8 12 years ago

TDA

The_Dude_Abides

Pinside Moderator

Northern California, CA

14y 137K 9,468 151

Quoted from mummite:
Check out what he did to my TRON machine.

That tron looks great with the trim you got for it well played! Customizing the trim color does add a lot to a machine if done right.

#9 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

Those all look great! I really want to do this now for sure. I think I'll stick with purple for the exterior parts, and gold for the wire frame (to match original)

#10 12 years ago

???

docscott

Inactive member

Prescott, AZ

12y 28,150 1,479 2 30

love the powder coating on some models. brings a great machine to the next level.

#11 12 years ago

MAT

mummite

Pinside+ Frequent

Redwood City, CA

12y 91,650 2,244 20 28

If you want to match colors exact you can take a photo of the color to match. bring it into photoshop and get the exact color value to match the powder coating I am surprised more people don't powder coat pinball parts. Like docscott says "it takes the game to the next level"

3 weeks later

#12 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

I got some test pieces back from my buddy doing the powder coating. We ended up using a candy coat with clear, because we had to find the best purple match. That's a hard color to get to look good. Anyway, here is one of the hinge bolts. Color doesn't look near as good on here as it does "in person". Can't wait to get the rest of the parts!!!!

2012-03-27_15-52-42_546.jpg

#13 12 years ago

JIM

PNBLWZD

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 71,400 1,275

What's the best way to remove that wrinkle black finish (is it paint?) from newer Stern side rails etc prior to powdercoating? Acid/chemical strip, sand it down, or...?

-4

#14 12 years ago

KEV

Kevgascan

Inactive member

Shelburn, IN

12y 37,400 659 22

Just need to get the topper put on and get Bumbles done.

WhiteWater_Teardown_072.jpg

#15 12 years ago

???

BVM

Blocked

12y 892

Quoted from rommy:
http://www.backalleycreations.com/bac%20main%20frame%20page.htm

Great link.

-2

#16 12 years ago

JWJ

johnwartjr

That Pinball Place

Columbus, IN

12y 77,400 6,479 14

I personally don't like it, I think it looks tacky - but if it helps someone enjoy a pin, it's easily reversible.

#17 12 years ago

JDW

JDub1006

Inactive member

Elkhorn, NE

12y 35,400 1,026 3 35

$125 for powder coating?? There is a local dealer in Omaha NE that does your legs for $50.00....over 350 colors. Think i'll stick with him.

#18 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

Well I took my purple part home to check against the machine. The color is perfect for the sideart except for one HUGE problem. The type of powder used looks raspberry under the incandescent lighting of my basement. I'm really bummed. I am going to switch powders and go with a more traditional purple to better match the playfield. I did some digging and found the right powder. It sucks that the first color didn't work out because it was SO cool! It looks amazing in the office. I just won't be happy with it and it would bug me forever! It won't cost me much to change now while I have everything off of the cabinet. Oh well. More updates in another week.

#19 12 years ago

DEY

absocountry2

Pinside member

Wasilla, AK

13y 82,050 7,424 29 72

Quoted from JDub1006:
$125 for powder coating?? There is a local dealer in Omaha NE that does your legs for $50.00

Is that just legs or some that include lockdown bar, side rails, hinges and hardware? He is talking about everything.

#20 12 years ago

DEL

SealClubber

Pinside Moderator

14y 127K 11,060 246

When you guys powdercoat Sterns, do you have them do a smooth finish or keep the wrinkled? Can powdercoat even be done with a wrinkled finish?

#21 12 years ago

JDW

JDub1006

Inactive member

Elkhorn, NE

12y 35,400 1,026 3 35

Quoted from absocountry2:
Is that just legs or some that include lockdown bar, side rails, hinges and hardware? He is talking about everything

Legs, lock down bar and bolts. I never asked about side rails.....not my style.

TILTed post. Sign in to be able to view TILTed posts.

#23 12 years ago

???

BVM

Blocked

12y 892

As & when I sell a table. I sell them with silver powder coated legs & 4 new leg levellers.

#24 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

Got my parts back. The color is MUCH better and should match perfectly. I'll reassemble this tonight.

2012-04-03_10-04-50_611.jpg

#25 12 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

It's finally done! The color looks amazing. It matches the playfield perfectly. Just a little off from the sideart but looks great! Looks so much better than the old tarnished and rusty chrome legs. It's hard to photograph purple with my crap camera but you can get the overall look of it. The camera makes the sideart look blue but to the naked eye the colors look almost exactly the same.

100_3684.JPG 100_3689.JPG 100_3707.JPG

#26 12 years ago

DJG

nasco62

Pinside member

Sydney

12y 67,800 801 14 54

That looks great, maybee should get mine done.

#27 12 years ago

OOF

Erik

Pinside member

Franklin, TN

12y 117K 7,713

Very nice!

#28 12 years ago

CAL

mojozone

Pinside member

Fort Dodge, IA

12y 51,400 2,557 4 32

That did turn out nice, I like the color too. Its nice to see some original colors instead of just chrome all the time.

#29 12 years ago

???

Shoot_Again

Pinside member

Vancouver, WA

12y 83,400 8,453 2

I usually like small color trim. IMO WH20 is a little over the top but WCP looks awsome.

#30 12 years ago

JDW

JDub1006

Inactive member

Elkhorn, NE

12y 35,400 1,026 3 35

Looks Great!! Darn it....now I want to do the rails and lock down bars on mine.

#31 12 years ago

NimblePin

Pinside member

13y 121K 5,415

Looks great Jeff!
Well played!

1 year later

#32 10 years ago

FLX

tabrakadanak

Inactive member

Montréal, QC

12y 23,500 30 4 6

Kevgascan man I just want to do the same paint job on my new WH20. Great job you did by the way!

4 months later

#33 10 years ago

904

HighProtein

904 Pinball Zine

13y 167K 6,347

OP
Quoted from jeffsgames:
It's finally done! The color looks amazing. It matches the playfield perfectly. Just a little off from the sideart but looks great! Looks so much better than the old tarnished and rusty chrome legs. It's hard to photograph purple with my crap camera but you can get the overall look of it. The camera makes the sideart look blue but to the naked eye the colors look almost exactly the same.

I'm going dark purple if I do purple on my legs.

#34 10 years ago

904

HighProtein

904 Pinball Zine

13y 167K 6,347

My creature legs when I had it...

// Error: Image 137679 not found //

#35 10 years ago

904

HighProtein

904 Pinball Zine

13y 167K 6,347

My doctor who pinball legs.

// Error: Image 137680 not found //

#36 10 years ago

ADL

Pinchroma

Pinside member

12y 62,050 8,035 1

Quoted from HighProtein:
My creature legs when I had it...

I have a sparkle version of that color. It's amazing. 2 stage vs single. I've been putting it on creature and wcs. And bop come to think of it.

#37 10 years ago

JAW

jeffsgames

Pinside member

12y 39,300 339

Those both look amazing HighProtein! Excellent color choices that aren't distracting.

I originally tried the two color sparkle version. It was awesome but it looked pink under incandescent lighting. YIKES!

#38 10 years ago

BSK

Bryan_Kelly

Pinside+ Frequent

Lakeville, MN

12y 135K 8,484 8 1

Quoted from johnwartjr:
I personally don't like it, I think it looks tacky - but if it helps someone enjoy a pin, it's easily reversible.

I agree, John. Most of what I've seen makes a game look "pretty." I don't want my games to look "pretty."

BUT, as I've always said, it's your game, do with it what you want.

#39 10 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,066 19 30 1

Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:
I agree, John. Most of what I've seen makes a game look "pretty." I don't want my games to look "pretty."

I agree but sometimes I think the black can look decent. Aboot to let my friend try blacking out my NF...we'll see how it goes. If it's ugly it's just my NF so not the end of the world I mean obviously the sides are faded anyway.

#40 10 years ago

BSK

Bryan_Kelly

Pinside+ Frequent

Lakeville, MN

12y 135K 8,484 8 1

Quoted from TheLaw:
I agree but sometimes I think the black can look decent. Aboot to let my friend try blacking out my NF...we'll see how it goes. If it's ugly it's just my NF so not the end of the world I mean obviously the sides are faded anyway.

I've done a couple of AFM's in black and it doesn't look bad. I kind of liked it.

It's when people find a "pretty" color in a game and think all the trim should be the same. One thing my wife taught me was, sometimes less is more. Just because a color is "pretty", doesn't mean you need your whole game to look like that.

#41 10 years ago

ABB

Aurich

Mods and Opinions

Torrance, CA

11y 144K 23,395 3

Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:
I've done a couple of AFM's in black and it doesn't look bad. I kind of liked it.
It's when people find a "pretty" color in a game and think all the trim should be the same. One thing my wife taught me was, sometimes less is more. Just because a color is "pretty", doesn't mean you need your whole game to look like that.

It's super rare that I see a coindoor in matching colors that looks good. Definitely a victim of ignoring less is more in my book, 90% of the time it would have looked better if you just left it black. As someone said though, easy to reverse, so do what feels right to you.

#42 10 years ago

ELF

sillyoldelf

Sillyoldelf Mods

10y 53,400 845 12

Done my tspp lock bar and side rails in Simpsons yellow. Also barts bracket.
Left rest black. Looks pretty good.

Was going to do my monster bash but decided chrome is better.
Love the examples others have done. So powder coating is great if done in moderation. It should only cost $50 - $60 dollars or you are paying too much.

#43 10 years ago

ADL

Pinchroma

Pinside member

12y 62,050 8,035 1

Quoted from Aurich:
It's super rare that I see a coindoor in matching colors that looks good. Definitely a victim of ignoring less is more in my book, 90% of the time it would have looked better if you just left it black. As someone said though, easy to reverse, so do what feels right to you.

Take a look at the AFM I did for Mike Dallas. That game's coin door looks flawless in charcoal sparkle.

#44 10 years ago

ABB

Aurich

Mods and Opinions

Torrance, CA

11y 144K 23,395 3

Quoted from Pinchroma:
Take a look at the AFM I did for Mike Dallas. That game's coin door looks flawless in charcoal sparkle.

That sounds fine, but chrome or orange or green ... no thanks. And I love me some candy colors and unique machines, plenty of great powdercoat jobs out there, just rarely a fan of color matching the coin door.

#45 10 years ago

ADL

Pinchroma

Pinside member

12y 62,050 8,035 1

Has to be done right... Sometimes matching it directly isn't the answer..

http://www.youtube.com/embed/HCjaZhI52Gg?autoplay=1&rel=0

Check out Chrome rails with custom coin door powder about 23 seconds in.

#46 10 years ago

MIK

Miguel351

Pinside member

11y 81,400 4,571 3

What has been people's experience with surface scratches on powdercoated lockdown bars?

I'm curious to know proper care for a PC'd lockdown bar since I know PC doesn't really shine up like paint does. Plus, with the wrong kind of polish, they tend to get cloudy real fast. Especially with black. I plan to do my TZ's hardware in black.

#47 10 years ago

ADL

Pinchroma

Pinside member

12y 62,050 8,035 1

Quoted from Miguel351:
What has been people's experience with surface scratches on powdercoated lockdown bars?
I'm curious to know proper care for a PC'd lockdown bar since I know PC doesn't really shine up like paint does. Plus, with the wrong kind of polish, they tend to get cloudy real fast. Especially with black. I plan to do my TZ's hardware in black.

Depends on the color. Black especially mirror ink black will show the most amount of scratches. Other colors and matte finishes won't show any.

I'm finishing up an insane 5 stage color. First time it's being done. A sparkle MATTE finish so it won't show any scratches but will give a sparkle appearance.

#48 10 years ago

ABB

Aurich

Mods and Opinions

Torrance, CA

11y 144K 23,395 3

Quoted from Pinchroma:
Has to be done right... Sometimes matching it directly isn't the answer..
http://www.youtube.com/embed/HCjaZhI52Gg?autoplay=1&rel=0
Check out Chrome rails with custom coin door powder about 23 seconds in.

Alex I'm sure it looks really nice in person, I trust your skills and taste. But at first glance it's just a black coin door. Which is my point really I guess, it doesn't look out of place.

I like the matching Scared Stiff doors where the artwork is painted over the grey. It's maybe a bit much, but it works. But the whole EVERYTHING MUST BE CHROME deal doesn't do it for me.

It's like Sacha Baron Cohen's character says "too matchy matchy". A little contrast is a good thing. That applies to picking the colors for your rails and lockdown too, just keying off the dominant playfield color isn't always the right move.

#49 10 years ago

PMD

PinballMikeD

Pinside member

Jacksonville, FL

12y 78,800 3,205 2

Quoted from Aurich:
Alex I'm sure it looks really nice in person, I trust your skills and taste. But at first glance it's just a black coin door. Which is my point really I guess, it doesn't look out of place.
I like the matching Scared Stiff doors where the artwork is painted over the grey. It's maybe a bit much, but it works. But the whole EVERYTHING MUST BE CHROME deal doesn't do it for me.
It's like Sacha Baron Cohen's character says "too matchy matchy". A little contrast is a good thing. That applies to picking the colors for your rails and lockdown too, just keying off the dominant playfield color isn't always the right move.

The coin door is subtle, that's what makes it nice IMO. It looks like a regular coin door until you really look at it. It's a metallic smoke black, so the metal flakes catch the light in the right lighting. It's all a mater of preference though.

#50 10 years ago

ADL

Pinchroma

Pinside member

12y 62,050 8,035 1

Quoted from PinballMikeD:
The coin door is subtle, that's what makes it nice IMO. It looks like a regular coin door until you really look at it. It's a metallic smoke black, so the metal flakes catch the light in the right lighting. It's all a mater of preference though.

Mike,

I'll give you a ring tomorrow.. got some good stuff for you.

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