Bravo, Sir! 
Your attention to every little detail is astounding!
(Topic ID: 217453)
Raleigh, NC
I am attacking the playfield. After removing all the parts underneath and looking carefully at the planking, there is no escape to Clear-coating! I know that the previous owner was keeping this playfield, attached to a metal wall, directly in contact with the outside. The variations of extreme temperatures in South Carolina probably caused the planking visible all along the middle section of the playfield (top to bottom). Interestingly, the other two playfields I have, although destroyed from an artwork perspective, are very smooth and totally flat. Anyway, since this is the best of the three playfields, it must be salvaged and preserved by a clear-coating.
I have been working on the touch-ups and removal of the mylar films: a total of seven of them. This is the result of many hours of delicate paintings and touch-ups. It is not perfect and I am hoping that once it is clear-coated, it will be more than acceptable. The Naptha test is already promising:
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I am going to try to repaint the back of the board, too.
The major problem is finding someone who is willing to clear-coat for me. My Car guy (who is a true artist on automobiles) is really not eager to touch wood....and playfield. I will try to convince him; otherwise I may have to do it myself using the rattle cans. I am really not looking forward to do that as I have no paint booth.
Yves
Quoted from Arcane:Just finished brushing the rear of the playfield:
A lot cleaner than what it used to be.
Yves
Looks great, so clean. Had I known that I would’ve become as obsessive compulsive as I ended up being about my project I would’ve done this too before I sent it off to be cleared.
I started working on the components of the playfield. The flipper mechanisms and their coils.
Wiring is entirely redone. I cannot stand the flimsy wires provided by Bally and butchered for the most part, by very poor maintenance.
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All 48 VDC wires are insulated with thermo-shrinking tubes. I do't know about you, but I hate while changing a bulb with Power on, being touched on the back of my hand or on the wrist by the 48 VDC. It always comes as an unpleasant surprise and I'd rather avoid it.
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Ready to be assembled back. Each Flipper coil/Switch is connectorized using these double connectors very popular in Europe. They pass 15 Amps on each pole and will provide a very easy and quick disconnect of the flipper mechanism without pulling out the soldering iron.
Yves
mrm_4 had some I had done up for him.
I can send you the card stock info if you like.
Quoted from Billc479:I thought someone in another MH rebuild thread found America Marigold Yellow
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Working on the flipper mechanisms. Always a delicate operation to make it as smooth as possible, especially on the old Bally mechanisms.
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The link arms and sleeves have been replaced. The plunger has been cleaned, tumbled and de-burred from the past impacts against the coil stop. A heat shrinking tube is used to insulate the contacts from the arm.
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And to finalize the assembly, new sleeves have been printed and glued around the coils. It is an old system, certainly not as good as the more linear mechanism used on Bally pinballs from the 80's on. The trick with the old system is to use washers of different thicknesses, until a perfect and smooth travelling of the plunger is obtained (in reverse position, of course).
Yves
First attempt at clear coating the playfield myself. Long story short, I could not find anybody willing to do the laborious job of clear-coating the Mata Hari playfield, in the Triangle area (NC).
My car guy was kind of reluctant, never having worked on a piece of horizontal wood with printed colors on it. He can do marvels on cars, blend metallic paints, feather clearcoat, adjust the color of old paint, but that specific work was apparently too difficult for him.
I have thus decided to go with the Spray Max 2K route after reading some success stories on the forum. I ordered four cans of that dangerous chemicals and purchased all the protections required to stay in good health, after spraying that toxic product based on Cyanide.
After reading and re-reading VID's guide to the perfect playfield, I decided to try my luck at it. The preparation is essential as we all know:
- Naphta wiping.
- Light 800 sanding insisting on the inserts.
- Again Naphta wiping.
- No more touching the playfield.
- Naphta again.... Did I mention this before?
- Cloth tack....
- Playfield horizontal, outside by 80 degrees. Can of 2K resting at the same temperature.
- Fully dressed.
- New respirator and new cartridge.
- Long breath.....
- Very light coat...feathered first.
- A few more lightcoats....still very light.
- Wait a few minutes for the heat to dissipate.
- Another slightly heavier coat.
- Another one.
- Can is finished.
Here is the result. Of course a lot remains to be done: filling the inserts by hand, sanding and preparing the second pass that will be a lot heavier. I also want to seal and bury in clearcoat the planking present in the middle of the playfield.
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The goal of this first pass is to seal all my touch-ups and the artwork. I am not interested by a lot of luster and shine. That will come later.
In the meantime, my Car Guy has contacted me and said he would help me.
What I will likely do, is finish the preparation myself and bring it to him after the second pass for the final build-up and glass finish. He has all the equipment to do the best possible job and all the buffers to turn this playfield into a piece of glass.
Yves
I just finished sanding the playfield and the inserts with 800 sand paper, in preparation for the second pass of clear coat:
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The planking is almost gone, at least to the touch and I am hoping that the second pass will level everything.
I have ordered a quart of clear coat (liquid form) and will use that to fill up the inserts. I hate to spray Spray Max 2K in a glass container and I needed some eyedroppers anyway. Hopefully, I can conserve the liquid clearcoat in a cool place for future restorations.
In the meantime, the removal of the harness and all mechanical parts is taking place on one of my donor playfields.
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Yves
Not much done today. I just took apart one of the target mechanism, cleaned it and re-assembled it with fresh targets, "tombstone" style since Mata Hari was designed before Paragon which was the first Bally machine to use the new target "Hooded" style:
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The tearing apart of the donor playfield continues, unabated:
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Yves
Some little progress. I just received some liquid clearcoat (as opposed to spray can) to fill up the inserts and work on the little defects of the playfield (there are always some).
I filed up each insert making sure to not create any bubbles:
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After 3 hours, I started sanding and realized that the clearcoat had shrunk as expected. When sanding flat, I am not touching the inserts and they remain glossy whereas all around, the clear is being sanded:
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Obviously, it will be another round of hand sanding the inserts to create some tooths and filling up with liquid clearcoat again. I can tell that the playfield is very flat already and I suspect that after the second pass of insert filling, it will be ready for the final coat and buffing. It is important to remember that the 2PAC always shrinks and that enough time must be given for it to settle elegantly, before the final coat.
On the electrical side, I finished removing the harness from the donor playfield and it is in the dish washer for a great shower.
Yves
Second pass of clearcoat on the inserts is complete. Overall, the surface is much better after sanding the excess of clearcoat above the inserts.
I think it is getting very close for an additional and thicker coat, over the whole playfield. There are parts of the playfield which are getting very thin and I am afraid to sand any further and damage the artwork. Sanding was carefully done with 400 and the inserts finished with 800.
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With your fingers, it is hard to perceive the junction between the inserts and the playfield.
Yves
I just sprayed the third coat all over the playfield. A rather thick coat.... The second can of Spray Max 2K went almost entirely into it.
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I am quite happy with the result so far. I will let it dry a day or two and assess from there. It may need some sanding and a final coat or it may simply need a light sanding and the final buffing.
Yves
Quoted from Arcane:A funny picture: the ideal outfit to spray clear coat on Bally playfields
[quoted image]
Yves
That's a familiar outfit. One thing I found was that the sleeves tend to push up (of course it may be because I have freakishly long arms) and that cutting the tops off an old pair of socks make good sleeve extensions. Sometimes I forgot to push my hair into the hood, that was always an interesting discovery before bed. 
Another tweak I would make for next time is a full-face mask. I kept having to clean clear coat triangles off my face under my eyes.
Finally, I highly recommend the P100 filters:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BT2SWTE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I found that I could still faintly smell the clear through the ones you're wearing so I switched up.
The clear has dried and can be touched with the fingers. There are still some small defects that I believe I can fix with the eye dropper and some block sanding.
First, the traditional light test picture:
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It looks very nice and the clear dried with a nice and smooth tension on the surface. Block sanding will take care of some small protuberances that are still visible.
Take a look at these two pictures:
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This one show a slight protuberance above the insert, due to insufficient sanding from me, as I was afraid of hitting the art work.
The next one shows a sudden sinkhole, where the clear decided to just flow in:
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I will try to fix that with my eye dropper and some block sanding.
Overall, I believe that at this stage this playfield can be block sanded, buffed with an orbital machine and left to dry for a few weeks before re-assembly.
Yves
Looks great. I second the suggestion to upgrade to a full face respirator. No sense taking chances with your eyes (2pac bonds to anything moist). Also might consider wearing long gloves just in case. I wear gloves like yours under a pair of dishwashing style nitrile gloves that I can tuck my tyvek sleeves into.
Well, for a full face respirator, I would need an air supply. I do not have that equipment.
Besides, I do all my spraying outside. With 80 degrees F, the clear dries very quickly.
Honestly, with fresh 3M cartridges, I do not smell the fruity and pungent odor of the vaporized clear.
Yes, goggles are a must as this stuff will be attracted to all moist parts of your body.
Thank you for your concerns and recommendations.
Yves
I meant something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Facepiece-Reusable-Respirator-6900/dp/B007JZ1M10/ref=asc_df_B007JZ1M10/
It uses the same cartridges as the half face model like you have.
To fill up the low spots and inserts, I just purchased a quart of 2 parts automotive clear coat. I hate to waste 2K spray for that purpose.
The clear coat quart can be bought for less than $40 and a quart will last you at least 50 or more playfields.
You also need to get the eye droppers and these are $14 for 100 pieces.
Yves
Not much done on Mata Hari today, as I am busy working on Playboy in parallel ( see https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ycv-bally-playboy-au-naturel).
I sanded the entire playfield with 800 grit. It lost its apparent luster but the smoothness is incredible.
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In my opinion, you cannot keep a playfield freshly covered with Clear Coat and call it a day. It is full of glitter and shine, but it is not smooth. This is something I learnt when I had my car repainted (BMW E30 M3) a few years ago. After paint and clearcoat, the car was wet sanded by hand with 2400 grit and buffed. After this treatment, the water could not even stay on the vehicle, forming enormous puddles, trying desperately to find a way out of the body.
I want to achieve the same (or similar....) with this playfield. After 800, I will wet sand with 1200 and then 1500. After that, it will be orbital buffer and Meguiars 105 and 205 cutting compounds. For the time being, I am letting the clear cure, as I know it will settle sometimes in the most unpredictable ways.
Yves
Quoted from Arcane:To fill up the low spots and inserts, I just purchased a quart of 2 parts automotive clear coat. I hate to waste 2K spray for that purpose.
The clear coat quart can be bought for less than $40 and a quart will last you at least 50 or more playfields.
You also need to get the eye droppers and these are $14 for 100 pieces.
Yves
Are you just measuring like in drops--4 drops clear and one drop activator (or whatever the ratios specified)...then putting that in your eye dropper?
No, it is simpler than that:
- Suck 4 times the contents of an eye dropper with clear, and pour it in a little container.
- Suck one time the content of ANOTHER eye dropper with hardener and pour it into the previous container.
- Mix.
- Make sure your playfield is perfectly level/horizontal.
- Use a third eye dropper (or one of the previous ones) and pour delicately the mixture on the inserts, making sure that you leave no bubbles behind you.
- Wait a day for the clear to cure.
- WET Sand with 400 grit, using a block.
- Do it again as the clear will most likely shrink. Sand the inserts before applying another coat of clear, to give it some teeth.
Yves
Okay, decision...decision! When should I stop spraying clear coat?
Even though the overall clear layer is relatively thin, I feel comfortable with it and it makes the surface perfectly flat and smooth. I do not want to play on a piece of glass and wish to retain the look of the Classic Bally machines from the late 70's.
So, after two passes of Meguiars 105 (Orange pad) followed by three passes of 205 (White pad), with my orbital sander (I also use it for the cars), I have reached a decent result:
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I know that for some clear coat enthusiasts, the layer is really too thin, especially outside of the playing area. But that does not bother me, as long as the playing surface is perfectly flat and smooth.
I am going to let it sit for a little while before doing anything else (such as waxing). I want to see how the inserts and some other spots are evolving. After all, I may have to sand it a little bit to give it some teeth and clear coat it with one final coat.
Please chime in and let me know what you think. I am a rookie when it comes to clear-coating playfields as this is my first one and will welcome advice and suggestions.
Yves
I have taken the decision that this is enough for now. No more clearcoat....
The playfield has been waxed with Blitz wax:
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I am going to flip it upside down and re-assemble the GI wiring and the controlled lamps ground line, before putting the rails back.
This gives me a chance to apply another coat of wax for good measure.
Yves
Very nice work! I'll bet that will play like a wet dream when completed. I like the black around the saucer. I did the same on my Power Play. Cudos!!!!!!
Im so glad you painted the saucer black too, maybe we are starting a revolution with all future restos of this game! haha
Looks great, cant wait to see it repopulated.
-Matt
Working on the back of the playfield.
First cleaning all the inserts from below. This is done with Q-Tips and alcohol. Nothing revolutionary here:
Then, the tedious task of re-wiring the GI sockets.....
Yves
Installation of the electrical harness. Tedious and delicate work for sure. All the future reliability of the machine is at stake, with this phase.
My approach could be different from what other people do: I re-assemble everything that goes underneath, leaving the top of the playfield, completely bare.
The rails will be installed last, right before moving the playfield in the machine. Then, electrical verification is done and finally population of the top will take place. I do not have a rotisserie and that is a convenient way for me to do it.
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As I mentioned before, I am not a fan of 48 VDC on my hands. All coil connections are insulated.
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The Bally books can come handy from time to time:
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Finally, that will be all for today.
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Yves
Just an FYI, Bally (and Williams for that matter) had a bad habit of putting some of their leaf switches together with the blades flipped over backwards. In other words, sometimes the little round contacts are not facing each other like they should be. I have no idea why they did this and someone please correct me if there's an actual reason why they did it this way other than they screwed up. They will work backwards, but I either fixed or replaced mine that were backwards. I noticed the blades on your saucer hole are backwards. My saucer hole switch was like that too that's why I happen to notice it. My pop bumpers and sling shots were also backwards. Like I said they will work backwards, but they will probably work more reliably if the contacts are correctly facing each other. It's a little tedious to take the switches apart and flip the blades but it can be done.
Phillyfan64,
thank you for the heads-up. Yes, I realized that and told myself that there must have been a reason why they did it like that.
But I like your approach and since I have been toiling on this machine to make it as perfect as I can, I probably will re-arrange the blades on every switch.
It should not take too long, hopefully.
Thanks
YVes
Quoted from phillyfan64:Just an FYI, Bally (and Williams for that matter) had a bad habit of putting some of their leaf switches together with the blades flipped over backwards. In other words, sometimes the little round contacts are not facing each other like they should be. I have no idea why they did this and someone please correct me if there's an actual reason why they did it this way other than they screwed up. They will work backwards, but I either fixed or replaced mine that were backwards. I noticed the blades on your saucer hole are backwards. My saucer hole switch was like that too that's why I happen to notice it. My pop bumpers and sling shots were also backwards. Like I said they will work backwards, but they will probably work more reliably if the contacts are correctly facing each other. It's a little tedious to take the switches apart and flip the blades but it can be done.
Yeah, remember that was back in the 70's pot was all the rage, before employee drug testing, and when assemblers could get high and ignore little details like which way the little contact pointed. Groovy man -- it works either way you put it together.
Fortunately, only the sub-assemblies contacts for the saucer and pop-bumpers are upside down. They probably had a new delivery of fresh pot on that day....
It should not be too bad to fix: un-solder the diode, flip the blade, re-assemble, re-solder the diode.
Yves
Almost done with the underneath of the playfield. I still have two pop-bumpers to assemble, the slingshots and put in place the two banks of targets and it will be ready for the upper side.
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Flippers have been connectorized for ease of maintenance and a new fuse holder has been installed. The old piece of Bakelite junk was sent directly to the trash can. I also spent a great deal of time verifying each lamp socket with its corresponding connector. Hopefully, that will pay off later.
Yves
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