Radical!
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I'm going to be restoring 2 Radicals (one for me, one for a friend). These are going to be my winter projects so they are going to take many months to complete and I am just getting started on them. One game has a good playfield but rough cabinet, the other has a rough playfield but decent cabinet. I'm going to try and make two really nice games out of these. Follow along if you'd like.
Cheers
Doug
WIN_20201023_21_49_14_Pro (resized).jpgQuoted from cavalier88z24:Subscribed!!! Quick question you said you were going to replace flipper bats with the correct ones??? Are those lightning flippers???
They all should be the carrot flipper bats. This game did have the correct ones on the upper flippers but the two main flippers were not correct. I will be replacing them all with new bats.
Quoted from bangerjay:I’m not doing anymore crazy projects-Doug(2014, 15’, 16’,17’,18’,19’ and 2020)
.
CF737F58-5415-46CD-A54E-40530373585B (resized).jpegMylar is removed from this playfield. I had my friend Justin remove this Mylar because he has more experience with Mylar removal than I do. Any damage caused by Mylar removal means more touch up work for me. Justin did a great job, he uses dry ice to remove the Mylar.
90249D06-691D-4FDB-8A7D-116612E4E858 (resized).jpegQuoted from yellowghost:How much art-work was removed?
Just some lettering from the center insert and part of the”2” near “go for the snake” . Only artwork from the inserts came off, nothing from the playfield that was printed on the wood. I still have some glue residue to remove but Justin did an awesome job removing the Mylar.
C56C4A35-0188-4E49-B15B-B8A75DAE9D82 (resized).jpegD11EA453-1021-4A3E-A2C2-3E83C56F9639 (resized).jpeg
Quoted from yellowghost:While it is dissasembled , could you measure the ball-gate for me?
Yes, I will have some time this weekend to work on these. I will take measurements
Quoted from yellowghost:While it is dissasembled , could you measure the ball-gate for me?
Which ball gate did you need me to measure? I can do that tonight, but the game has several and I want to make sure I measure the correct one for you.
Quoted from yellowghost:Would like to.know more about the "dry ice" please.
My friend gets the dry ice from an ice cream shop near his house( I think he pays about $2 a pound ) . I have never used it but he told me that you rub the dry ice on the mylar and it will separate from the glue. Do a small section at a time and never pull hard on the mylar (it should pull off very easy ). Of course you must use caution when handling the dry ice. The glue residue will remain on the playfield and need to be removed. I use 3m general purpose adhesive cleaner to remove the glue.
WIN_20201110_17_01_35_Pro (resized).jpgAlways test an area to make sure it won't damage the playfield. Once I am sure I am not going to damage the playfield I saturate the glue with that cleaner and let it sit a little while and then scrape glue with a filler spreader. The cleaner will need to be re applied several times and the final removal of the residue that is left is done with a rag.
WIN_20201110_17_09_03_Pro (resized).jpgAnd this is how I do it. Propane torch and a gasket scraper. Keep the flame moving and bubble up a section of the decal then scrape it off. This leaves just a little glue residue to deal with later. Maybe not a "how to" because I'm sure others have better methods but this is what works for me.
WIN_20201117_19_20_40_Pro (resized).jpgWIN_20201117_19_27_06_Pro (resized).jpgWIN_20201117_19_28_56_Pro (resized).jpg
Quoted from pinballinreno:Jeesus! Lol
Yeah, kind of crazy I know, but it gets the job done.
WIN_20201117_21_02_59_Pro (resized).jpgCabinet decals showed up from Russia today. I knew that orange was going to be more red on these so I am fine with the color being off. The overall quality of the decals seams pretty good so I am happy with these. The cabinet these are going on had holes drilled all over it and other damage so it will be nice to get it all repaired and a fresh set of decals put on.
162E8056-6997-493B-8C4F-5BC3997092DB (resized).jpegQuoted from kevtronix:What did you do to prep the playfield and inserts before the initial clearcoat? On mine it looks like the decals didn't stick to the inserts and allowed the clear and decals to chip off easily.
Cleaned playfield, used magic eraser on parts of it . Other prep was scuffing with a red scotchbrite pad. Final cleaning before clear I use Sikkens m600 surface prep/degreaser.
Quoted from Whysnow:How do you strip out just the small portion of wire in the middle where you are going to solder? Special tool for that?
Looks great!
Yep, this tool.
72C98179-4445-4C8E-8EB1-5444134A9785 (resized).jpegQuoted from kevtronix:Do you use any sort of adhesion promoter on the bare plastic on the inserts? That is what scares me the most.
The scuffing is the adhesion promoter, the tiny scratches give the clear something to bite into. Everything should be dull (no shiny surfaces) for the clear to properly adhere.
Quoted from yellowghost:What brand of paint is that? Or matched?
I used this, deep blue. It’s a pretty good match to the original color.
D5B8811C-2B33-412E-8A00-246CA2B6CDA0 (resized).jpegQuoted from yellowghost:I was referring to the yellow. It looks real close.
Yeah the yellow is a custom color I made with automotive paint. The match is pretty good and blended out nicely.
The playfield did have some colors that I just couldn’t match though, the neons. I had some success matching the neon green when it was screened over the yellow but when it was screened over the blue I couldn’t match it. The blue and pink were issues as well. So I took the playfield to Neo, he has done some Radical playfields and can match the neon colors. So I am having him touch up the neon colors for me.
Got the playfield back from Neo, he also shot some clear on it to protect the work he did as I move forward the restoration. I still have a lot left to do but it was really great to get some help with colors I was struggling with. Neo did some nice work, I will be sanding the clear before I resume touching up but I thought I’d take a few pictures before I do.
0CE938E8-F14C-496B-B959-9AB8C27EF9DC (resized).jpeg3F58E0D4-646D-47C3-9E94-FE8FB08F8A2A (resized).jpeg9DBA5EBA-61E0-4B7C-920F-CA297A4A655F (resized).jpegB87CD597-BA3F-4D04-9A72-D595AD9664D0 (resized).jpegQuoted from Bryan_Kelly:Third line down. You need a - after "for."
Thank you! It came out pretty decent. If I missed anything else it’s too late now. 
B05B2DE0-277D-41CE-AA81-AE324E7ECF3C (resized).jpegF537EC65-45CD-46CF-8DA8-275595D86F08 (resized).jpegFBAC35D5-E173-431F-8C91-23AC6E583F51 (resized).jpegQuoted from bangerjay:The only pic I could find of this project
[quoted image]
Looks like fun!
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:I can send you a new FBI sticker, if you need it.
Yeah, that would be awesome! I did clean that panel up and a new sticker would make it look even better, the old one is peeling around the corners.
Quoted from ruralcollector:So you DO work for the Bureau! Now it all makes sense...
Thanks trilogybeer for posting all your hard work! I’ve got a Radical! coming to me this Thursday! You’ve given me lots of inspiration!
Nice! It’s a fun game.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:I've heard he's kind of a dick, but he does have his moments.
To be awesome you must be be a perfect mix of good and bad.
After stenciling it looked a little odd because of the small area the pattern covered but I needed to leave enough area to blend the pattern into. And after blending the pattern into it came out pretty decent. A decent amount of hand painting was done to blend out the pattern. The difference in color won’t be so much when cleared. The under layer is sanded and dull versus what I just put down. It should look pretty good when this playfield is finished.
76353FE4-424C-408F-A92B-FCA2BAFF56F0 (resized).jpegNice! Your playfield is looking great. I do use paint pens occasionally, but most of the time I am making stencils and airbrushing ( which is the reason why these projects take me forever 
)
Quoted from yellowghost:Thanks, also do you have any advice on dealing with the jetbumper screws? My last coats, I hammered them back in almost fully seated and hammered them back out when I was finished spraying, but I dont think I want to do that again. I got a few more coats to apply. Maybe cut little circles from masking tape ?
I always take the bumper screws out and leave them out. I do all my clear layers and when I am ready to put the screws back in I drill out the holes to remove the excess clear that will be there. I use a Dremel tool with a small sander bit to remove excess clear from the center hole ( where the plastic pop bumper base is mounted). Also you can spin a drill backwards first to remove a little clear before going forwards. This will prevent the drill bit from biting to hard and pulling in when drilling out hoes that have been cleared over.
Quoted from ralphwiggum:Is the parts bin from Pinballlife or from somewhere else? I didn't see it on any of the normal parts suppliers websites.
[quoted image]
As always, your work looks spectacular..... Well done Doug!
Thank you! Yeah I wish I could remember where I got that parts bin, it is pretty “cool”.
Quoted from Chosen_S:On the pop bumper nail heads...
If you mask them off, clear over them, then cut around the nail head, then cut away the masking, then you don’t have to remove the screw
Just my experience... and vid1900 posted on this I believe
Removing the screws is so easy I don’t know why anyone would go through that whole process to avoid removing them. You’d also have a weak spot in the clear because the area around the heads would be tough to prep properly with them in. To me leaving them in is more work for a worse end result. I also like to either tumble or replace all my hardware so they have to come out anyways. Just the way I personally do things, others may do it different.
Quoted from yellowghost:I take it you are not buying a reproduction if they become available.
I will buy a reproduction if available, I still have another radical ( mine) with a bad playfield that I will not be restoring like this one. I would much rather buy a new playfield than restore one that is too far gone.
It’s not very good I am going to clean it up and put some stickers on the inserts. I’ll have my game to play and if playfields ever get made I’ll get one and swap out my bad playfield.
Quoted from yellowghost:I aready sent mine to CPR. They thought it was good enough to be used. They are never going to find a NOS . They are going to need scan it and recreate missing artwork that I touched up. Mostly the orange leopard skin . So who knows how long it will take, but it will be available someday.
Awesome!
After doing a decent amount of touch up I thought it would be a good time to clear coat to protect the work I’ve done to this point. One step closer to completion.
10E611DD-E42B-4DB3-9DF2-B21353B06FD1 (resized).jpeg2827F297-8D57-4A74-BE76-E7A99AE56FF7 (resized).jpegEF7E9211-CF43-42BB-A531-79388AB4F64F (resized).jpegQuoted from yellowghost:Did you use the decals from the guy in the soviet union?
I scanned them to create stencils, and painted everything. This playfield I am currently working on will not have any decals on it. The other Radical (that has a playfield in worse condition) I will use the decals for the inserts.
Quoted from Boosterfive:Is the reason you are not doing decals on the better condition playfield because you are worried about the effect of raised areas from the decals?
I would think that if you are going to clearcoat the field, then painting the decals on would be better in every way?
I really enjoy your restoration threads! Thank you for the time you put into posting about them!
Mostly adhesion concerns. Painting is just kind of the way I’ve always done it . I know that if I paint my paint will adhere properly and I know that my clear coat will adhere properly to the paint. If I use decals it’s basically putting a sticker on and I am, a) concerned about the sticker adhering properly to the surface and b) concerned about the clear coat adhering properly to the decal. I fear that putting decals on could potentially have issues later , I know I won’t have issues with paint. Would the decals look better than some of the stuff I have painted? For sure, it’s difficult to match what a nicely printed decal can look like when painting by hand and using stencils. There is pluses and minuses for either approach but I typically go with what I know and understand the best.
Thank you following my restoration threads!
Cheers
Doug
Finished the touch ups and shot my last coat of clear earlier this week. Sanded and buffed the playfield today. I start with 1,000 grit sandpaper, then 2,000 then a 3,000 Trizact disc. 3M rubbing compound and wool pad on the buffer then 3M machine polish and a wool polishing pad.
F0DA55D5-7B67-4446-B79A-A160786DBEA1 (resized).jpegQuoted from yellowghost:What are you going to do with it?
For the second Radical I will do a thorough shop job. Playfield will be disassembled, cleaned, buffed, waxed and I will put decals on the missing insert artwork. Mechs will get cleaned, worn out parts replaced, flippers rebuilt. Not as in depth as the first Radical but I will document it here and everyone following this thread can see what can become of a rough radical without getting too crazy. And lastly I will play it a bunch.
Quoted from yellowghost:Would you be willing to part with the extra radical?
No, sorry for the confusion there isn’t an extra Radical. I am working on two but only one is mine and the other one belongs to a friend.
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:I watched the whole thread and cant figure out what methods you use for making the stencils.
Are these handmade or do you use a circut?
You’d mentioned that you scan the pf before making the stencils, can you share your methods?
I am very curious because I will be tackling a resto project in the near future and want to be ready for it.
I have got a MH series (US Cutter) 28 inch vinyl cutter that I use for cutting stencils. I scan images with just my standard scanner printer combo. If I need to alter or clean up any scans I do that work in gimp. From gimp I Export as a .jpg. To get the image ready for my cutting program I use Inkscape. I import the image into Inkscape and embed the image. Then I choose “trace bitmap” in the path options. Trace the bitmap and save the “path” as an .eps. These files can be imported directly into many cutting programs, I am currently using Sure Cuts A lot 4 as my cutting program (it will work with many different cutters). Import my .eps file and the cutting program can cut it, sizing adjustments can be made in the cutting program. Also the cutting program works well for basic tasks like making circles or text. Below are some pictures of my cutter and an insert stencil in Inkscape and in sure cuts a lot 4. There certainly is much better programs for all this but all the programs I use are either free or very cheap. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.
8588FDA3-AF42-43A3-82F2-380623043B6A (resized).jpeg89CC8E43-92C5-46EE-9CE2-8CE975331F06 (resized).jpeg949E1767-018B-44EC-A664-459CC6EA9174 (resized).jpegMy friend was considering going with powder coated trim on the game but decided to go with traditional after seeing the game in person this past weekend.
01E0FFCE-C290-4D6E-9793-7AD87419A4AB (resized).jpeg7EF542ED-A261-4822-8DB4-90EB553AE458 (resized).jpegDE139398-927F-4947-9091-B3B2735EBE00 (resized).jpegQuoted from Bryan_Kelly:Couldn't have made a wiser choice.
If you want to powder the newer games that were powdered anyway, that's fine, but leave the classics like this alone!
Yeah it looks good with the traditional trim on it.
Ha! Yeah, darn. I just looked at the flyer for the game and it did have gray ribbed legs. I just assumed it came with system 11 style legs. Oh well, I like the way the legs look on the game I will put these on my Radical! And ask my friend what style legs he wants on his game.
As for the tumbler I use walnut shells and Flitz tumbler additive.
So while I was assembling the finished Playfield I noticed something odd. The flipper base plate for the upper left flipper was sitting on top of a nut for a metal post. I looked at all my tear down pictures and the nut was definitely there when I took the game apart. Here is a picture of the problem nut.
A43AFD90-A815-424C-83F0-BBF26BC39751 (resized).jpegI figured someone had previously worked on this game and put it back together incorrectly. But I examined the other Playfield that is still assembled on the bottom side and sure enough the other game was the exact same way. This seems to be an error from the factory. I will correct this.
804B241D-2E9F-4BAC-9182-F7C9CF67CC08 (resized).jpegCB0A9196-7A32-47F3-AC6A-2A19BB7E86AB (resized).jpegI’m going to use a T-nut, but I will need to modify the T-nut and shorten the thread base on the post as well.
Since the post has a collar and the threads only go halfway up the mounting post I had to also shave down the depth of which the T-nut goes into the wood . If I did not do this the post wouldn’t be able to tighten all the way down onto the play field. If you can find the same style post that has threads the whole length of the mount this step is not necessary. I found posts with threads all the way on the mounts but the posts themselves were slightly different, so I decided to make modifications to use the original post.
7E97DEFC-817E-40F7-9243-7E82941DE588 (resized).jpegI also had to grind about an eighth of an inch off the threads of the original post otherwise the base plate would still be sitting on the post. I put the T-nut in place and threaded the post partially in and hammered the T-nut in using a punch. Then I tightened the post the rest of the way in.
B2F8285C-72DC-4373-B5AE-8A65E0BF2E64 (resized).jpegQuoted from iluvak9:Can you send me your source for the cabinet/back box decals? I found a source in “Europe”, but the decals are missing the Bally Logos in their pics. Wondering if it is the same place or different from your source. I was also wondering if your source included a decal for the front/coin door part of the cabinet. Thanks, in advance, for the info.
It was pinsider vbobrusev in Russia that I got the cabinet decals from.
Quoted from iluvak9:Thanks. Turns out the company I was looking at with the no-logo version is in Germany.
Also, I saw vbobrusev on eBay when I searched on pinball cabinet decals, but no Radical cab decals listed for sale currently.
Send him a message.
Quoted from Chosen_S:The original art on the cab is fluorescent reactive, the current reproduction decals are not, just fyi, plus the colors are just a little off from the original, but when the cab is shot, it’s better to have something close
I agree, the cabinet decals should only be replaced if really bad. The cabinet I replaced the decals on had a bunch of holes drilled in it scratches and some chips ( large ones ). The decal was also wrinkled and pealing around the legs. So it was a good candidate to get repaired and new decals. The second cabinet I have will keep the original decals, which are not great but also not too horrible. I can do a few minor things to make the other cabinet look decent.
The bottom side is very close to completion as well. I still have to solder in the EOS and capacitor on the 2 upper flippers. I also need to replace the coil wraps on the coils for the upper flippers. I need to tumble and rebuild the drop target mechs.
49007617-9BFD-45CE-BCFE-0BB0E6D2B698 (resized).jpeg66A6B1D1-B1F2-4DC9-BD47-CBC66945F7EF (resized).jpegBF9DFE62-19A1-43A2-87FA-ECAF2A9D8E49 (resized).jpegDE627318-66A5-462D-A6EE-1325732ADF50 (resized).jpegThis playfield has gotten a cleaning, magic eraser, buffing and waxing to make it presentable. It came out decent considering it’s condition, it will still get decals over the inserts. It looks way better now than it did before I started. It will be fine for a player’s condition game and the play field is too far gone to even consider a full restoration. I will enjoy the game as is and consider replacing the playfield if a reproduction becomes available.
2E4403CB-36EB-4148-8995-4A9B3097796B (resized).jpegC823DC27-45DE-4898-B66C-964179806D4C (resized).jpegE76F88D7-53B8-4CF8-B941-52886FB7FE83 (resized).jpegI found this on the second playfield. A wire had been pinched under a screw holding the flipper base plate, smashing the wire and removing it’s casing. I will put heat shrink tubing over the bare wire and make sure I don’t pinch it with a screw when I reinstall the flipper mechs. 
B75FAAED-4C42-4E17-843C-2242D0EF5430 (resized).jpegCleaned up the outside. Plastic cabinet protectors to cover up the wrinkled decals. New side rails and legs. I will do a little touch up also but this cabinet is coming out fairly decent with a smaller amount of work.
4AA10442-5BD9-41C6-842F-193D760C266F (resized).jpeg5EDE8C8A-88A2-4713-A6F9-6A54F7A5A25E (resized).jpegQuoted from Clytor:Where did you get that color of cabinet protectors?
Pinball Life, dark blue.
https://www.pinballlife.com/pinguard-cabinet-protectors-set-of-4.html
Quoted from Clytor:I looked at that and didn't read the colors. The dark blue looks kind of purple in the picture. Thanks.
Yeah it’s actually a pretty good match and they hide the damage nicely. I should say that these types of cabinet protectors are not recommended for use on a cabinet with decals though as they can wrinkle the decal further out. I will keep an eye on it and see if they start to move the damage further. If they do I will either put the felt leg protectors under these or maybe a sheet of Mylar cut slightly larger than these.
For the flipper mech sitting on the nut on this game I did a fix slightly different than the first game. I used a Forstner bit to counterbore the hole for the post so the T-nut could be sunk down into the playfield.
69CE2286-58DE-48CC-8CBE-885029CEDF9F (resized).jpegCD7F3D9B-0C0A-4580-913E-BB941FF15856 (resized).jpegNo modifications needed to be done to the T-nut this way. I did find a post with threads all the way up on the mount. I did need to modify this post by cutting a quarter inch off the threads so it wouldn’t make contact with the flipper base.
405BC0B9-55F2-4DD0-A05B-439A7DB7034E (resized).jpegDA92E2BD-2465-4675-AAED-37DB5CD88812 (resized).jpegF31A0B91-DAFD-4A7F-B574-6A096359C538 (resized).jpegFinally getting some time to get back to these projects. I am waiting for new ramps for the left side and center crossover ramp, but I have started moving components to the new ramps that I do have. I riveted the lamp sockets onto this ramp. Removing the decals and prepping them to reuse is not something I am looking forward to. I was hoping to find new replacement decals but was unsuccessful.
7035E6E6-D078-4043-A277-A8791D9CE2C2 (resized).jpegCDADD7FD-8F18-4455-A11C-904E6821D497 (resized).jpegThis drop target bracket has a broken stud for the coil stop. The full bracket seems to be out of stock at the places that carried it. Those studs are pressed in, it could be repaired but I was curious if the newer style Williams bracket would would work. So I thought I’d experiment with one.
0D0E7545-7D51-45C6-A2BC-26BD8DE51DB5 (resized).jpegDBBFBD8B-0B28-4728-9B51-FC7B7159A528 (resized).jpegI intend to raise the whole ramp up slightly in the funnel area. I can’t go too high though because the diverter is right next to the funnel.
Quoted from SkaterVet:Looking good! Where did you get the new ramps?
New ramps came from Freeplay40. They look very nice. It took some tweaking to get the crossover ramp to fit correctly so the ball has clearance under the funnel, but I think the necessary adjustments could be made to the funnel moving forward. I think I got some of the first samples of these ramps.
Quoted from SkaterVet:I’m on the list with Free Play, but have not heard from him yet. I wonder if the funnel issue has been resolved in later runs? If not, it looks like your solution isn’t terribly difficult. Thanks.
I think I got a crossover ramp from the first batch ever ( I know he just completed these very recently). My friend had been in contact with Freeplay40 for a while and he did also send him a link to this thread and let him know that the funnel depth is a bit too much. I would think he could make the adjustments needed for the ramps going forward from here. Depth needs to be about a half centimeter less and the holes in the funnel need to be up higher. I assume the holes are drilled after the ramp is molded, if so the adjustments needed should be fairly easy. If not then yeah you can do the minor adjustments I did and the ramp will fit and clearance can be made under the funnel. I would not let minor adjustments hold me back from getting new ramps if my game needed them. Freeplay40’s ramps look very nice and I am glad he took the time to make them.
I did also turn on game number 2 for the first time. As always there will be plenty of adjustments to be made to get everything working correctly. But turning a game on for the first time after having it completely tore apart and seeing it come to life is always fun.
63D696BF-D802-424F-933B-DAA71CE13D64 (resized).jpeg94B7A7B1-97D8-4C47-818C-16BE1B055C8D (resized).jpegCCDE8B8E-30E7-44AF-9B01-0A3AB269B70F (resized).jpegIf you look at the pictures in post number 369 you’ll notice the GI on the left side of the playfield is out. After doing some tests I narrowed the problem down to this relay board on the bottom side of the playfield.
105AE68F-1CB4-45D9-ABB4-0D994CA0642B (resized).jpegE6333D25-51CC-439A-87B3-577643D73CC2 (resized).jpegThought for sure it was going to just need a new connector. So I replaced the connector. And that did not fix it. Ok let’s reflow the pins, nope the GI on the left is still out.
A0D79637-88F3-4D5D-91E7-1C829D20185A (resized).jpegHmm? I thought for a minute, then I reflowed the relay itself and the did it! I now have all the GI (well all but that one damn pop bumper) 
03E8F817-237F-4350-978D-F2FE7A5B5D9C (resized).jpeg67B50B55-BCCF-4270-8BD6-69C37AD3E7B3 (resized).jpeg
Tracked down a number of minor issues and the second game is getting very close to completion. But this was something I knew I’d have to take care of at some point. One of the games had a shitty “homemade” wire form gate at the entrance of the “vertical” ramp. After being unable to find one I knew I’d have to make one.
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Elkhorn, WI
