I've been having too much fun restoring a 1962 Friendship 7 for a friend. It had typical playfield wear around the inserts, around the pops and under the yellow center target. So I've been playing around with using laser-printed decals and clearing with Minwax Polycrylic - (which is hard to beat for ease of use - seems to not have terrible averse chemical reactions to whatever else has been on there, sands easily, dries quickly and I don't have to dress like an astronaut to use it). The cabinet will be re-stenciled eventually, though probably not with the original art (which to me just doesn't seem to fit anything) - so I'll probably do some original artwork on the cabinet. Anyway, it's coming along just fine - fixed all the electrical issues and it plays great!

But at the moment, I'm at a loss regarding what to do about these chromed end caps on the lockdown bar (see last 2 photos). It looks like someone dragged the thing down a paved road for half a mile and they're a little rough on your hands while you're playing. I'm not a metal-worker - does anyone out there have any good ideas about what to do with something like this? I haven't called Steve at PBR yet, but I know lockdown bar parts are scarce, so I'm not hopeful I can just buy replacements. I'd love to hear any thoughts about what to do with them. Thanks!

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Wow, Doc - yours were a mess! Do you mind describing what you did to them - they look great by the end, as does that whole machine. Nice job!

Thanks Doc - I'll email them a photo and see what they think.