Black Rose
Bally, 1992So this morning was color match day. It's a sunny day in Oakland, NJ. I set up shop just inside my sliders with the morning sun to guide my color-matching unprofessional eyes.
I used myPantone app on my iPhone to get color readings. Far from scientific, but it allowed me to get a gauge how much R,G, and B are in the target colors, and my attempts at a match.
So it appears myPantone saw a close match to the original cream white as this:
(sorry for all the individual posts. I can't figure out how to comment on individual photos with the revisions to Pinside, so one at a time here...)
So I added a piece of vinyl right to the playfield so my test area can be removed when I'm good and ready. I blow-dried the sample and got this. Too yellow I think. The myPantone app reads my attempt with a close match noted below. So it looks like I have too much Green and Blue. I must use my rudimentary color wheel logic (red and orange counteract blues and greens).
So here's where I stop. In the pics below I show my first attempt on the left of the vinyl patch (mostly white, a few drops of yellow, a whisper fart or three of red). To the right on the vinyl patch (right next to the target color) is my Pyrole Orange whisper-farted color match. Darn that looks so close.
I almost think I need to add more white back in. Not sure if I should just stop there and roll with it ... as the whole SINK SHIP and Compass are getting airbrushed the same color anyway.
Any color-matching wizards want to chime in with whisper-fart advice on this one I'm all ears!
Until then I'm getting back to fixing my Bondo mess...
You can also just take the playfield in to the local paint store and as long as you have a ~dime size area of color, they can match it.
Buy the highest quality paint they have, because you will have to thin it to spray it.
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I do that all the time with cabs. Roll them in on a dolly, match the unfaded paint under the legs, rails or coindoor.
The store keeps the color matches under your name, so a year latter you can ask for "Vid's - SBM Blue" and they mix it right up.
Quoted from vid1900:I do that all the time with cabs. Roll them in on a dolly, match the unfaded paint under the legs, rails or coindoor.
They must've thought you we're crazy the first time you did that, Vid! It's a great idea though. I might steal that idea to get the perfect "Whirlwind Blue" paint color pretty soon.
Every time I'm looking for something specific in a store and the worker says, "What do you need *insert item here* for?" I say, "It's for a pinball machine." Worker always goes, "Oh, well, uh... I don't know if it'll work, uh, for that application, but you can try."
Quoted from pinster68:I used myPantone app on my iPhone to get color readings. Far from scientific
I bet it's closer than most people think. I used to work with a bunch of artists and graphic designers who valued Apple displays for their accurate color reproduction, especially newer products with retina displays. The gamut and tuning is nearly perfect on the newest displays--far better than the oversaturated colors on Samsung's OLED displays.
Quoted from vid1900:You can also just take the playfield in to the local paint store and as long as you have a ~dime size area of color, they can match it.
Noted, thanks Vid. My local Benjamin Moore minimum is a quart, though I know Lowes and/or Home Cheapo will do smaller quantities. I'll call to make sure they can sample the paint off the pf.
Brian
NG on Lowes - they won't color analyze paint. Will check with Home Cheapo later today. In the interim I switched to printing out my waterslide decals for my missing POT. I had already worked this out a while back using "What the Font" from a playfield scan to get a dead match on the font. Very cool...
A BOLD POT it is!
I've used the color matching at Home Despot and had awful results matching my house paint twice. Any this is for a grey color.
First time I painted my house I brought in a shingle. They scanned and mixed. When painting sections you could see the difference. So I pretty much repainted the house.
Then, a few years later I had kept one of the 5 gallon containers back go get more for some touch up and replaced shingles. I figured they could just use the color mixing numbers off the container. Nope, new system does not go by those colors. So they just scanned the color swatch they put on the top of the can from the last time they mixed it. Did not match when dried.
I hope you have better luck.
I'd go to a real paint store, the drones on a work-release program at Homedepot can't spell their own names, let alone care if they match your paint or not.
After the computer analyzes your sample, it gives a score on how closely it matched the color. No one at HD will ever share that score with you, they just go ahead and mix your paint.
A paint store will show you that the color poorly matched (like Bally "hot" orange), rather than just mix it and send you on your way.
Quoted from vid1900:I'd go to a real paint store, the drones on a work-release program at Homedepot can't spell their own names, let alone care if they match your paint or not.
After the computer analyzes your sample, it gives a score on how closely it matched the color. No one at HD will ever share that score with you, they just go ahead and mix your paint.
A paint store will show you that the color poorly matched (like Bally "hot" orange), rather than just mix it and send you on your way.
+1 Take it to an actual paint store. I once took the front of my Zookeeper arcade game to a Sherwin Williams store and told them what I wanted. They kept it and called me when they found a match. They applied a sample directly on it so I could see it dried in context with the original paint to prove it was an exact match.
Quoted from FrostyMug:As a point of reference for the rest of us, exactly how much did it cost?
Thanks
About $25. I think that's just the Benjamin Moore premium. And by the way he didn't use a fancy paint analyzer, just his fan set of color samples.
That said if anyone needs paint to touch up their BR I'm going to have a lot left over.
I might try thinning it down and tweaking it for wood tones. Looks like a good base for that.
Put some in small jars and sell it. you could easily get your money back. Heck i would buy some. Go to Micheals and buy whatever cheap acrylic they have on sale for like 60 cents in plastic bottles. dump out the color, wash the bottle, and fill with your paint. then sell it to us suckers for $5 a bottle!
Quoted from cfh:Put some in small jars and sell it. you could easily get your money back. Heck i would buy some. Go to Micheals and buy whatever cheap acrylic they have on sale for like 60 cents in plastic bottles. dump out the color, wash the bottle, and fill with your paint. then sell it to us suckers for $5 a bottle!
Yeah, I guess so. I paid the price for "perfect match" paint for WW, TZ, and FH when I was starting out.
I'd keep it cheap for pinheads. Thanks as always for the guidance Clay.
Quoted from CraigC:are you going to airbrush the whole area?
-c
Since the color match is so good I'm going to start with just hitting the repair areas. If it doesn't blend well I'll go in tighter with the frisket around the letters. I think getting the compass marks crisp could be a challenge, so I'm weighing my options, and taking it slow.
Looks like you are doing a good job on your BR. I also had a hard time matching the cream color on mine. I also did the bondo above the cannon and it has held up pretty good so far.
100_6327_(resized).JPG
I also scanned in the compass and cleaned up the artwork, then printed it on a clear water-slide decal before doing my clear coat.
100_6396_(resized).JPG
For my clear I used a product called Spray Max 2K (it is a 2 part auto clear in a rattle can). You still need to use a respirator with this though.
100_6407_(resized).JPG
100_6409_(resized).JPG
Quoted from CraigC:....must not make comment about flipper alignment....must not do it.....arrggghhh....drat.
looks amazing, now align that left flipper!
-c
haha, good catch.....Fixed it long ago.....
This is my wife's machine, can't sell it now.
Corey
Quoted from MarchAFB:haha, good catch.....Fixed it long ago.....
This is my wife's machine, can't sell it now.
Corey
Nice work Corey. I didn't think to use the waterslide decal ... that's a good possibility. On any wild chance you still have the scan and can forward it to me please IM. Otherwise I need to go buy a hand scanner ... probably could use one anyone - one tool I don't have yet.
Edit: Thank you Corey, received!
Quoted from cfh:Put some in small jars and sell it. you could easily get your money back. Heck i would buy some. Go to Micheals and buy whatever cheap acrylic they have on sale for like 60 cents in plastic bottles. dump out the color, wash the bottle, and fill with your paint. then sell it to us suckers for $5 a bottle!
that's all well and good except one major problem. Every playfield is different. 1 out of 10 black roses will match this color. Every game I restore, it seems the colors never match again for the next one. I've restored probably 25 different TAF fields. Out of those 25. 3 of them matched in the green. the rest all had to be custom mixed. I have so many versions of TAF green, I could start my own color pallet. Same with whitewater blue, and funhouse blue. Someone else tried selling premade color kits before, with paint by number like setup for playfields. Found out pretty fast, just because it matches the one you did, doesn't mean it's going to match anyone else. it's a shame, because I could sell premixed sets for nearly 100 playfields if that was the case. :/
Brief update.
So I filed out the Bondo from the compass and replaced with epoxy lumber. Very strong and still feathered nicely.
I masked everything out, and very tight to the letters and key lines ... then gave it a go with the airbrush. Upper area was repaired and given a the same color. It's behind the backboard and barely visible. And it gave me an opportunity to test the paint application. It'll tie together just fine.
Anyhow, first attempt at airbrushing wasn't going well ... little airbrush compressor wasn't up to the job and the Benjamin Moore paint needed serious thinning. Switched to my bigger compressor, 45psi and thinned the paint down - much much better.
A couple observations and lessons learned:
-Definitely need a respirator (I was wearing one). There was quite a haze in the shop when I was done blowing all that out.
-Not covering the upper pf with paper left me with the lightest of overspray ... naptha to the rescue, but won't do that again.
-Watch the airbrush tip for build-up. I had a clump that blew off, fortunately not while I was in the working area. You can see the splatter to the right of the SINK SHIP section.
-Don't put your wife's plant watering can that you're using to clean your airbrush near your feet. Knocked it over, cursed a bit, cleaned it up, then moved on.
Such a rookie. Moving on...
So an airbrush question. I laid a few layers of paint by the inserts to fix the wear and make sure the inserts light evenly through the touch-ups. This contrasts with the lighter coat I did elsewhere in regard to sheen (it's glossy in some spots, matte in others). Before I pull the frisket should I lay an even coat so it's glossy, or is it a moot point once I lightly sand and lay the next layer of clear?
Quoted from pinster68:And here I thought paint booths weren't needed for airbrushing.
Get a roll of Painter's Plastic (the .31mill thin stuff house painters use over windows, not the thick plastic you walk on).
Staple it up, throw it away.
I don't think the sheen will matter. However, I believe the sheen resulted from varying thicknesses of your layers which may affect how brightly the inserts light up. You might want to rig up some lights to make sure they light evenly before clearing.
Also, I have a booth in my basement I built specifically FOR airbrushing... Okay small models, not playfields. "We're gonna need a bigger booth"
Quoted from polyacanthus:I don't think the sheen will matter. However, I believe the sheen resulted from varying thicknesses of your layers which may affect how brightly the inserts light up."
That's exactly what I did; shop light under the inserts to even out the cast. Ok, will see what it all looks like when the friskette comes off. It's likely getting the lightest of sanding before the next clear.
Quoted from nitrojcrawf:We make mistakes, that's how we learn. Good recovery
very true.
thanks
blake
Progress...
Here's the before with wood repair and prep for airbrush
1_(2)_(resized).jpg
Post airbrushing, friskette removed from the letters.
1_(1)_(resized).jpg
And the after with all friskette now removed. Awaiting the lightest of sanding to knock the edges down, key lining, and thin wood border fix.
1_(resized).jpg
Was the mask just cut freehand with an xacto knife?
Wondered how the 'just paint it.." Crew handled cutting precisely and without nicking the surface
Quoted from pinster68:Yes, freehand... as opposed to?
stencils.. guides.. and the type of blade used and how to avoid scraping paint, etc
Quoted from flynnibus:stencils.. guides.. and the type of blade used and how to avoid scraping paint, etc
I don't know of any guide that's getting around those letters. Otherwise I have some guides for straights and arcs naturally, and/or I've gone with waterslides. Regardless, it was my mistake to leave so much of a buffer around the letters. That buffer was deliberate knowing I had such a good paint match. But ... now it now shows when the inserts are lit. Not what I wanted, but not terrible.
Thanks for the enthusiasm gents. I got up early this AM and went to town on touch-ups. Despite saying I was 99% complete it's staggering (although not surprising) all the little things that I found and fixed. Many will never be seen, but it made me feel better. 3 hours in all.
I normally wouldn't try hand drawing a mod on the playfield, but I decided to play with the the top center scoop, painted it to match the backboard art. It's amateur, but I went with it.
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Asbury Park, NJ
Sana'a
North Bay, ON