Okoboji, IA
Quoted from alb0711:I'm going to try my hand at re-plating the magic line knobs using one of the commercial kits. I've seen some success stories over on the pinball forums. But, I'm unsure about the type of plating currently on the machine. I thought everything was chrome but they could be nickel or zinc. Has anybody tried this on their bingo machines or had it commercially done? How did you keep the engraved arrows on the knobs intact? What did you use for highlighting them? I know there are easier ways to do this, but what the heck!
Thanks
Allen
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Allen,
I'm guessing that the original finish on these knobs was chrome. Nickel would have been too expensive, if modern economics hasn't changed from the 1950s. Zinc, I just don't know, all I can think of is screws from Home Depot, so I'll stick with chrome. Before you go to the expense of plating those knobs, have you tried some of the big bingo parts sellers? There is Joe Shope, who once told me he bought out the inventory of four different operators. I've bought a few bits from him over the years. You can find Joe with a google search. There also are a few sellers on eBay who appear to be operators clearing out their old stock. One guy from Seward, PA seems to have a lot of game parts. I can dig around and come up with his eBay name if you want to try him. As far as refreshing the red arrows, I'd get a bottle of hooker-red nail polish and fill in the engraved designs. You can remove the excess with alcohol after the polish has dried and it will look great. I think I did this once on one of my games.
