I think it would depend on their interest in the hobby. If they sold it simply because they didn't have the time/skill to put the work in then I think they would certainly appreciate the resurrection but if they weren't that into pinball....probably could give a rats ass. IMO

I picked up a F14 in the usual condition and the owner asked i send him pics once I get done with the full CC on the playfield and all that jazz.

The owner was genuinely shocked that people took that much time and care w/ these machines. But generally ya... f_f76 got it right.

I have done it once but only because the original owner asked me to. I would be worried at pissing them off other wise...like "hey you with the face, this is what a Pin is suppose to look like!"

i wouldn't.

I did it with two of mine. In both cases the machine was pretty rough and they knew it so not really an issue. One was a pinsider and thought it came out really well and now another Pinsider has it. The other, the guy never responded. I think it depends on the person you got it from, how you mention it, and the understood state of the machine when you purchased.

But I agree it could be a "rub it in your face" kinda thing in some circumstances....

No but I had a buyer of a machine send me a picture with his 2 young children playing it in his game room.

Great feeling really seeing them having so much fun and I was very glad he took the time to send the picture to me.

I think it really depends on your relationship with the person. If it was a quick and dirty deal, maybe not. If I ever had a decent conversation with someone I sold a pin to, it wouldn't offend me in the least. On the opposite side of the coin, I've never got the vibe from someone that they would be upset if I did the same thing.

I've had a few positive experiences where a family that had great sentimental attachment to the pin (played as kids, was in family room for years, etc...) sold it to me in rough shape, knowing that it was not in the shape they cared to remember it.

I've restored the playfields, cc, cleaned/tumbled all the parts, and touched up the cabinets and then sent pictures back of the finished product. Both families expressed great thanks that I was able to "save" their family heirloom and give it a new home where it will be appreciated by my family and build new memories.

I thought that was pretty cool.

cheers,

rody

I bought a TZ from an op, tore it down, restored, and clearcoated the playfield. I went back to pick up another game from him a few months later and I brought the playfield along to show him. I did it because I thought he'd be interested to see what us crazy pinheads do to our games. He seemed to really appreciate being shown what it looked like and he thought it was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure he still thinks we are crazy.

My $300 pinbot turned out great. I drove 4 hours each way to get it, just to have the woman seller tell me she's changed her mind about selling. She was a real ass about it too. I basically gave her my sob story about driving 4 hours etc. and she caved. But she was a real ass, believe me.

After I shopped it, spent about $400 bucks on it, it looks incredible. I still have her number and am still debating a photo and middle finger text back to her. This would be unclassy though.

Two of the people I have bought machines from were genuinely interested in seeing the outcome.

The EM i have, Yukon Special, had been with a family for 25 years, and they just didn't know how to repair it. It had stopped working a decade ago, and they tried to fix it, failed, and that's where it sat. They were very interested to hear about it when it was done.

The Secret Service i bought was kinda the same way. A guy in the military had shipped it back here when he was on tour, then when his tour ended, he decided mission work was what he wanted to do with his life. He never had the time getting the machine working after it had been shipped back to the states, so it sat in his parents house for years. They used to turn it on because they liked the music attract mode played, but it never worked. He was also interested in seeing pics of it cleaned up and working.

I have shared before and after pictures with past owners, and I have never had a negative response. Admittedly, when I am trying to negotiate a better price, I try to point out that a lot of time and work goes into making a pin nice. If they give me a better price, I generally send a link to some pictures so they know I was not blowing smoke. It has always been well received.

Tom