Perfect, thank you so much.

If anyone can help me get my pop fixed i'd appreciate it

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/help-me-fix-my-space-shuttle-please-#post-5575223

Not as much progress as I had hoped for today. I used a can of Varathane brand (Rust-oleum) water-based poly but I hadn't really applied a urethane before. I think I just went way too light for many many "coats" and didn't really get a better sense of what I should be doing until I talked with mrm_4 and got a better sense of what to look for.

About 1.5 cans later, I'm still not where I want to be. I'm hoping I can hit it one more time with 400 grit sandpaper and try to lay a final smooth layer down.

The horror!
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In other news, I bought the 5lb Harbor Freight tumbler to shine up the metal. Anybody have any good recommendations for a tumbling thread. Please tell me there is a whole Vid's Guide for that...

I was ending up with similar results using rattle can clear on my high speed shooter lane. It was really, really pissing me off. I kept getting fisheyes and imperfections that were driving me insane.

What worked for me was wiping down with naptha BETWEEN coats of clear. Maybe that helps you, maybe it doesn't. But it saved my ass. Be careful with your coats, don't get too heavy or you'll have to sand it out--assuming you even can.

I hate clear. I sprayed one test coat on some inserts and said F THAT. Ended up high polishing and calling it a day. Clear sucks.

Hang in there, don't get discouraged!

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I really recommend applying a sanding sealer over any wood areas you’ve sanded before clearing. It really helps prevent fisheyes. I applied it on the shooter lane and the under apron area of my mostly sanded bare playfield. The lane and under apron area look great, all the other bare wood areas that will be covered by the hardtop had some fisheyes going on. I’ll see if I can grab some pics before I attach the hardtop.

Forgot to take my own close up, but here's what it is:

http://www.fascinations.com/metalearth/space/apollo-lunar-module

Got mine from the gift shop at the Kalamazoo Air & Space museum a few years ago. It's a great kit. But I had nowhere ideal to display it, until I realized "hey it might fit in my pinball machine that honors the space program..."

...

In other news I think it's happy with the new ramp. I completely blew it up tonight
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what’s the details on that nasa speaker grill

I designed and had them made a few years ago; sold about 20 or so in two batches. I had a really hard time getting the price down because stainless steel and machine time were not cheap... 3 shops in three states were all about the same price, and shipping alone was $25! So they were about $150 shipped (I might have managed a little less on the 2nd run).

I may have one or two left... PM for details.

EDIT: forgot to answer, yes that's my machine's specific SN on the plate For the first run, I gave buyers the option to include that, and even a choice of "speaker graphic" flanking the NASA logo. But that became a real bear to track and correct at the factory job level, so the second batch was all generic with no SN.

I have 1 data point to share, for my topside Cirqus Voltaire restoration. I was happy with the results: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cirqus-voltaire-cv-playfield-restoration

Harbor Freight 5 lb tumbler: https://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html

Walnut hull media: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063GTFXS

Flitz green tumbler media additive: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T7JWN4

Then, to sift out the tiny fasteners, I used one of my kids' sand toy sieves.

For large parts, Nevr Dull Magic Wadding: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000QGZXCS

Clean off polished parts with alcohol & rag.

Words of wisdom that I learned the hard way:
1. Large-ish items with sharp corners will chew holes through the wall of the plastic bowl.
2. Large-ish items that stay in contact with the bowl's central shaft will be marred or gouged.

Good luck!

Thanks,
-Jason
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That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Here's what things looked like today.
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Still not ideal. Plus, the inserts I was trying to fix still show the "stretch marks". I'm thinking I should just sand off all this poly on the inserts, do another wet sand pass and live with it. I'd rather have 1-2 uglyish inserts than all these inserts ghosting at some point.

I'll also try to do one more flat sand and spray on the shooter lane, so to give one more go. Then, I'm gonna just get this hard top going so I can do the funner stuff.

For those who cleared/poly'd, how long did you wait to lay down the hard top?

That looks about like mine did as I was building it up. It got progressively more shiny. *I* think you're going fine, but I'm definitely no expert (faaaaar from it)

As for curing, I've heard 1-2 weeks and I've heard it's fine when it stops giving off fumes. I'd err on the side of caution, personally. I didn't wait since so I did was the shooter lane.. Probably should have. *shrug*

It will turn out fine. Just let the clear cure for a couple of weeks before sanding and laying on the hardtop. Been there - done it.

Had some extra parts, and some extra time over the weekend,(apparently too much time.) So I installed a set of comet optimax Amber/ Orange LEDs in my dog. Maybe too bright, but the squirrels don't stand a chance at night now.

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Will there be a corresponding how-to guide?

LOL, didn't think to document the process as I was doing it. The trick is peanut butter as a distraction when you're doing the actual install and you definitely want to use wedge style instead of bayonets with as hyper as this dog is.

What if you have to flip the bulb though.......

You really didn't think this through!

I'm still kind of a noob... Learning as I go.

Couple weeks!

I'm getting super impatient. All the other parts came in!!! Oh well, I guess I can work on getting other things cleaned/ready. Gotta solder diodes onto the new pop bumper sockets, etc.

What does everyone think about abandoning clear on the middle inserts and sanding it off? I don't think I have enough in my rattle can to do inserts and shooter lane and I really don't want to buy a third can. That's $33 I can't get back. Stupid.

That's why I opted for polish, lol

MurphyPeoples do you think I should sand off the clear on the inserts and just focus on the shooter lane? The poly I have really doesn't apply very well.

Imo sand them down--carefully--and start high polishing, so long as the inserts are in good shape. But I'm just one vote!

OR finish clearing just that center area and polish the rest

I'm with KSU on this one, sand them and move on. I chose to Simply sand and polish mine because I knew the waiting game between coats especially working in Minnesota in February in an unheated Studio would be too much for me to handle. It also sounds like you may not be getting the desired effect when it's all over anyway and like you said in an earlier post,"you got it to play it". Good luck,whichever way you go with it.

I'm sure there's some technical reason why my space shuttle hard top (cleared inserts) "IS" better than my high speed hard top (polished inserts) but I can't tell the difference. Go with whatever makes you happy. Clear sucks unless you have proper equipment and a booth and know what you're doing.. Imo

So for me during the hardtop build I wasn't waiting for paint to dry, I was waiting on parts. One of the things I did while waiting ,that I wasn't going to do ,was touch up the spinner Target. I used testors enamels, as I had those on hand, and figured they would hold up over the Long Haul pretty good. Unfortunately now that the machine is back together, I noticed wear on the spinner after less than 50 plays. :(Fail.Curious if anyone has any tips, tricks or suggestions as to what might be a good paint or process to use on The Spinner.

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Maybe it needed cleared? Tbh that thing is going to be rocking so much if you're going for big points, no one will notice!

I tried testors clear coat applied after the paint had set for 2 days and it ate right through what I had already laid down, cleaned it up and repainted without the clear coat and now this. I can sure live with it, I just don't really want to.

Damn! That sucks. I hate to even suggest it, but it's there a vinyl sticker that exists? Not sure if it would hold up better or not, just a thought

I give it a shot if I could find any of those out there

Quick update to those who PM'd: I finally found time to dig in my storage bunker and found the 2 speaker panels left from the last run. But they're packed and sealed, I'll have to open and confirm condition / variant, but have more pressing matters. I'll respond to PMs in order I received them once I know for sure what I have. There's a handful more PMs than the two panels I have, but I'm afraid not enough to commission another run.

For spinners I touch up, like you did, or print my own decals for I “laminate” them with adhesive Mylar (or even “heavy duty” clear packing tape.) I do the same with drop target decals. They’ve survived thousands of plays this way.

Thanks Art, great tip. I think I'll give the mylar a shot.

I will probably sand the inserts down tomorrow and then I'm only 5-7 days from hard top!

Thanks, everyone.

maybe try a piece of mylar over it.

Fuck it. Let's do this today!

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Oh hell yeah. Get you some!

There's stickers out there for the spinner. I picked some up at one of the vendors at the last show in Allentown I was to. Haven't installed them yet though. Cost like $5 or so & look great on paper.

Good to know, I figured someone must be making these. Do you have contact information for that vendor?

I got this set from action pinball
http://www.actionpinball.com/parts.php?item=PDG397

They also have everything separate, since you don't need targets.

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Thanks, that helps a bunch. How goes the fight?

Me versus 40 years of grime. I'll win the day, just need more time!

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Anybody have a shot of this loose yellow wire near the drop target bank? I'm pretty sure it's daisy-chained to the next light bulb but I'm not sure if it goes on the terminal with a diode or not a diode.

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I got your back, looks like the non diode lug

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Thanks, man! That does make sense since there is nothing going to that terminal otherwise but I appreciate you taking that time.

Progress, part by part.

Apinjunkie I see you installed two-sided lane guides up top for the USA lanes. It's that what was standard? I have all one-sided but that may be a result of the machines long history on route.

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I believe only the centers were double-sided originally. when I decided to go with blue all that was available was double sided, they still work, but a pain in the ass to get the rubbers under them on the right and left side.

Those purple LEDs are going to look awesome under that shuttle ramp. It's looking pretty nice, especially like the clear star posts down by the Flipz. Nice work.

Just copying you all! I'm pumped to get it'll lit up (after all the thought put into it).

Thanks on the guides info. It looks like Marcos has single sided. I'll see how it plays. The guides I have are BEAT! They may break and make the decision for me.