I didn't know you could powder coat shooter rod springs. Does it last?

I haven't had powdercoated barrel springs for very long.

Orange on Avengers and dark green on turtles (still have to do the backbox trim). Mando on the way, either going to move orange from avengers over to Mando or find a great powder from prismatic for Mando.

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I finally decided to coat my GotG premium. It's difficult to get a good pic of the color (Disco Purple), but it looks awesome in person. Jeremy @ Flawless Creations did a great job.

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Nice! At first glance, that purple is DARK in your pics, but when you zoom in, it comes alive more and looks alluring with the metallic flaking adding a shimmering effect.

I bet it looks spectacular in normal light!

Blacked out restored cyclone.

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One nice looking Cyclone!

VERY nice!

Very nice, any special black?

I want black on my hurricane as well.

Standard gloss black. Quicker turnaround from my powdercoater on black. But I love doing the small details like wireforms in black as well.

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Medieval madness in a darker blue with metallic flake. Attack from Mars in a more subtle green than the LE green. More like granny apple green with flake. Metallica pro in purple with metal flake.

About to do my Twilight zone in rainbows end black with rainbow flake effect.

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That'll be interesting to see photos of!

AIQ Premium in Violet Sparkle from Prismatic:

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Star Wars Premium in Ink Black with Rockstar Sparkle. I love how the stars in the decal flow into the Sparkle of the side armor.

I also designed vinyl for the mirror blades that mimics the Imperial lighting.

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Started reassembling my Halloween a few weeks ago with gunmetal gray and illusion cherry.

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Both done by Robert Stone here on pinside. Great work !

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Hey! You can’t switch your haunted house avatar!

I love MET in purple. Welcome to the club!

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Wish I could of found some metallica side armor. Those look great!!!

Any ideas for No Good Gophers? Was thinking just black or blue rails and bar with green legs to match the cab? Its a different color scheme, so a bit of a challenge.

That is tough. Light blue armor to match the sky and then green legs to match the green on the cab probably would look good.

You might be able to get away with doing all dark green, like the green on the bottom most part of the cab?

Thats what I was thinking. Match the sky and grass, or just black. I think the color match might be a unique look that works.

completed restore 5 years ago

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Looks much better than factory.

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Here is what I did a few years back. (done by Cold Stone Coatings)

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Reverse idea for contrast, but seeing it, it looks good in the two colors. Thx!

Just saw this one on facebook...

But in my opinion gloss black looks good on everything.

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Whats the best choice for a glossy metallic black from prismatic powders? I am thinking ford tuxedo black. going to do my Black Knight legs.

Ink black with Rockstar Sparkle is hard to beat. I suggest ordering samples from them. You just pay for shipping. It is hard to see how cool some colors are on a screen.

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Restored my Meteor in black with blue and red specks in it. Im happy with the way it looks. Ill post a picture later. I dont normally powder coat things. However, the metal on this was pretty bad. It looks amazing now.

The used MMR I picked up a few weeks ago had some scratches in the armor, and the factory black finish was different between the lock bar and the side rails. After seeing some done in blue, I ordered some samples from Prismatic. I settled upon, "Illusion Smurf Blue." It really makes the graphics pop.

Here is a video to see the sparkle:

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For those using lollipop rails, are you just grabbing ones from Pinball Life that don't require adding extra screws to the cabinet?

Yes

For those replacing the metal plates on the Stern lockdown bars, I see a few pictures where people have used screws instead of the original rivets. Any reason why? I was planning on doing my AC/DC Pro but wasn't sure how the FIRE metal plate would look when replaced on the lockdown bar. Thanks for the help.
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Pinball Life sells these rivets, which I think will give it the same original look

https://www.pinballlife.com/semi-tubular-rivet.html

I would think screws are used by those who don't have rivets or the tools to install them.

How are you going to drive the rivets? Most people don't have a bucking bar and rivet gun laying around. I opened the link, hoping that they were essentially blind fasteners, but it looks like they still have to be driven. At least since they are hollow, they would drive much easier than a standard rivet, and could be done in a press with a long throat. That is probably how they do them in the factory. Unlike an airplane, there isn't too much of a shear load on a pinball lockdown bar emblem, so solid rivets aren't needed.

Pop rivets are often sharp, and often end up with an uneven appearance because the alloys are different between the body and the pin. I don't mind them on projects that are painted after installation and filing, but I personally find their appearance unsightly otherwise. If people don't already have a pop rivet set for other projects, that is another one-use tool laying around that is kind of pricey for a 5 minute job. I used stainless screws on my Munsters when I put it back together. It looked nice, and there weren't any noticeable sharp edges. If there were, a little gentle filing would take care of that. Since they are unfinished SS, there is no real issue with removing material. I sold that machine a while back, and only found one photo that you can really see them. I have a lot of aircraft mechanic friends, thus access to all the rivets and rivet-guns I could ever want, but it just didn't seem worth it to me.

There are some really cool blind rivet options out there, but they are prohibitively expensive. Of course, these are designed for shear load on an airplane. Way beyond overkill for what you need.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/56588015

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As someone currently awaiting some powder coated armor from Robert Stone that intends to use ss screws - it's exactly what Bryan and Gorditas have said. I can obviously buy rivets but would also need to buy the tools to do them and the expense involved isn't worth it when screws looks fine to me and I'd just be left with tools that I may not use again for years if ever. On top of that, my armor is for a Deadpool and the part being attached is plastic - not metal. I really don't need my first time riveting something to be a piece of plastic that would cost whatever it would cost to replace when I invariably mess it up.

Not to say that rivets wouldn't look better. I definitely think they do, but it's just not that practical for me.

On the other hand, thinking about this a little makes me wonder something. Anyone know if there exists really small sized carriage bolts? Would love the smooth head, but don't remember ever seeing any small enough to attach a lockbar trim piece. Would probably also need to NOT have the square section under the head of the bolt.

Edit:
Wondering if a small enough screw post exists that might do the trick?
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(I am 99% sure I'll just use screws, this is a bit absurd.)

Thanks for the reply, this might be a better option than screws as would be more flush. I was hesitant to do my AC/DC as I didn't want to ruin the look of the lockdown bar once the metal plate was reinstalled. Just checking what others have done when replacing these metal/plastic parts on the lockdown bar. Thanks for the replies.

Prismatic Powders Illusion Tangerine Twist

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Nice looking gameroom lineup!

I sent my lockdown bar to my powder coater who removed the plate and re-riveted it for me.

Where did you get the multicolor trim for the side on the head? Great collection and color matching. Thanks.

I'm sure he got it where everyone else does: https://www.t-molding.com/

Thanks, didn't know this place existed.

I thought I’d detailed my rivet process in this thread, but it appears I haven’t. Maybe it was somewhere else.

I carefully drill the end off the rivet, removing as little as possible. Just the mushroomed part. I use a larger drill bit to do this, maybe twice the size of the rivet. Keep the factory rivet and the washer.

Get the plate off, get the powder done, then reinstall the plate, rivet and washer. Should all still be pretty tight.

Then I use some JB Weld, mix it up and spread it liberally on the rivet and washer.

If you do it well, it looks totally factory.

You can see it on my GOT and ST that are pictured earlier in this thread.

rd

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As someone else mentioned I got it from t-molding.com.

You'll want to get 3/4". Pay attention to how the Stern ones are notched at the corners. You'll need to notch the new ones so that you can make the turn. I got the t-molding for all of my games from them except for Stranger Things. The purple I got was more violet and didn't match so I left the original black on there.

Yeah... T-Molding.

They will send you free samples of the colors you are looking for. Same with Prismatic Powder Coating (approx 4" x 1/2" metal strips in the colors you're interested in).

I'm powder coating my EHOH LE in Prismatic's Illusion Cherry.

The original red t-molding on the game will clash with it. So, I'm either going with black or a "Bright" green T-Molding. After I requested the (2) green colors they offered... I chose a 20' roll of The Bright Green, I already have black. It's being shipped as we speak. Decision soon!

Very interesting. Thanks for the write up. Sounds easy enough and looks great.

Thanks for the explanation. I guess getting the mushroomed part off is the key without damaging the original rivet. Thanks for the post.

I plan to do my Elvis in this color, likely do the legs in gloss black. If it turns out ok, likely do my AC/DC Pro as well.

I did my MMR in blue. Its prismatic "TRANSPARENT BLUE" Item: PPS-5140.
Its a really strange paint - it makes the blue look different when one looks at it from different angles.

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