Changing side art on Pinball 2000: Do I need to paint!??!

jasonbar

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Changing side art on Pinball 2000: Do I need to paint!??!

Howdy-

My Revenge From Mars side art is a bit sad, so I obtained a set of 5 Star Wars: Episode I side art stickers.

I started with the right side of the backbox. I picked away at the loose sticker & used a razor blade to peel off the remaining parts that were more tenuous.

I then removed the remaining adhesive that didn't come off with the sticker.

Underneath the sticker was wood painted solid white. I took a blade to a tiny corner & confirmed that there is bare wood under the white.


The problem is that the SWEPI sticker is a few inches undersize & doesn't reach the edges of the wood panel. It appears that the SWEPI art (as seen here: http://www.pinballzone.com/swe1/images/swe1-firstboxlayer2.jpg) is intended to be stuck over the RFM art. Alas, my RFM art has all kinds of flaws around the perimeter, so it would be silly to leave it on & just stick the new art over it.

It seems that I will need to paint all of the white wood black before laying down the sticker. I sure am not looking forward to doing this on the rest of the cabinet. I just confirmed that there is indeed white under the stickers on the main body too.

Ugh, did this already daunting task turn into a gargantuan one?


Thanks,
-Jason
 
I gave this some more thought & realized (duh) that the SWEPI artwork was intended to be simply & quickly stuck on top of the existing RFM artwork by an operator when converting the game. By design, the RFM border artwork was meant to stay there, so the operator didn't need to remove T-molding & legs & flipper buttons.

Sanding & painting isn't feasible for me. I plan on covering the panels with sheets of big black adhesive-backed vinyl (and then applying the SWEPI stickers), a la video game cabinet side art material. What's the best source for such stuff?


Thanks,
-Jason
 
Just wanted to say to at least prime the wood before installing any vinyl (or side art) - found out the hard way that it really doesn't work too well on bare wood.

Cheers,
 
I decided to go with adhesive vinyl instead of painting because: a) I had a very pregnant wife in the house, and b) I now have a very young son in the house. I don't like the idea of paint fumes, which are not recommended.

1 - I first tried some relatively thin black vinyl that a friend gave me. It was too thin to handle easilyly & creased too easily & I couldn't squeegee out the bubbles, even using a bit of adhesive-backed vinyl solution. I tried this about 3x, cursed, & gave up.

2 - I browsed the internet & eBay for porous vinyl to see if there was an option that would let an amateur like me get bubbles out more easily. I came across auto wraps that supposedly have air channels in them. I settled on this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/160866910681

I bought 1 sheet in & applied it to the right side of the cabinet head. I used *lots* of water with a little dish soap. I removed the entire backing paper, laid the vinyl adhesive side-up on the floor, put a thin film of soapy water on its entire surface, wetted the cabinet too (after cleaning the primered surface with ethyl alcohol & a clean rag, keeping the surface in question vertical--no room to lay the machine down), and placed it by hand relatively carefully.

This material is pretty durable & I was able to yank off & apply tension & squeegee back & forth (with a wetted baby burp cloth) a few times until it looked quite good.

To get the last few bubbles out, I wrapped the wet burp cloth twice around a CD jewel case & used the case's rounded edge to squeegee. Out spurted little sprays of soapy water here & there from underneath the vinyl. Not bad!

I then trimmed the excess vinyl around the panel, leaving a little extra. I folded the extra material over & slit it at corners. It didn't stay down very well.



I added the SWEPI decal & with the same process described above. It was a bit thinner & brittle & more fragile relative to the new vinyl auto wrap.



The next day, I added red T-molding, cutting "V"s out at the corners & bonking it in w/ a rubber mallet, & I made sure to capture the extra folded-over vinyl material under the T-molding.


I think it looks pretty good. Granted, it could better, but this sort of work isn't my forte (painting, sanding, molding, smoothing, etc. etc.). The vinyl is a very close match to the original sticker, in terms of shade of black & gloss level.

The stickers for the cabinet sides will be quite a challenge--tons more surface area to make smooth, need to remove the head (heavy w/ monitor!) & lots of hardware. Maybe I'll flip it on its side for this part...I've already bought 2 more auctions of that vinyl to which I linked above. 1 auction is enough to cover both sides of the head, & 2 more auctions will cover the 2 cabinet body sides.


I've got the left head decal removed & am in the tedious process of removing all of the adhesive left behind. I could really use some tips on adhesive removal. I've tried peanut butter, alcohol, Goo-Gone, rags, paper towels, razor blades, excessive rubbing with my thumb until I get blisters, etc. Nothing works quite well--it's such a pain. ANY TIPS!??!?


Thanks,
-Jason
 

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I decided to go with adhesive vinyl instead of painting because: a) I had a very pregnant wife in the house, and b) I now have a very young son in the house. I don't like the idea of paint fumes, which are not recommended.

1 - I first tried some relatively thin black vinyl that a friend gave me. It was too thin to handle easilyly & creased too easily & I couldn't squeegee out the bubbles, even using a bit of adhesive-backed vinyl solution. I tried this about 3x, cursed, & gave up.

2 - I browsed the internet & eBay for porous vinyl to see if there was an option that would let an amateur like me get bubbles out more easily. I came across auto wraps that supposedly have air channels in them. I settled on this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/160866910681

I bought 1 sheet in & applied it to the right side of the cabinet head. I used *lots* of water with a little dish soap. I removed the entire backing paper, laid the vinyl adhesive side-up on the floor, put a thin film of soapy water on its entire surface, wetted the cabinet too (after cleaning the primered surface with ethyl alcohol & a clean rag, keeping the surface in question vertical--no room to lay the machine down), and placed it by hand relatively carefully.

This material is pretty durable & I was able to yank off & apply tension & squeegee back & forth (with a wetted baby burp cloth) a few times until it looked quite good.

To get the last few bubbles out, I wrapped the wet burp cloth twice around a CD jewel case & used the case's rounded edge to squeegee. Out spurted little sprays of soapy water here & there from underneath the vinyl. Not bad!

I then trimmed the excess vinyl around the panel, leaving a little extra. I folded the extra material over & slit it at corners. It didn't stay down very well.



I added the SWEPI decal & with the same process described above. It was a bit thinner & brittle & more fragile relative to the new vinyl auto wrap.



The next day, I added red T-molding, cutting "V"s out at the corners & bonking it in w/ a rubber mallet, & I made sure to capture the extra folded-over vinyl material under the T-molding.


I think it looks pretty good. Granted, it could better, but this sort of work isn't my forte (painting, sanding, molding, smoothing, etc. etc.). The vinyl is a very close match to the original sticker, in terms of shade of black & gloss level.

The stickers for the cabinet sides will be quite a challenge--tons more surface area to make smooth, need to remove the head (heavy w/ monitor!) & lots of hardware. Maybe I'll flip it on its side for this part...I've already bought 2 more auctions of that vinyl to which I linked above. 1 auction is enough to cover both sides of the head, & 2 more auctions will cover the 2 cabinet body sides.


I've got the left head decal removed & am in the tedious process of removing all of the adhesive left behind. I could really use some tips on adhesive removal. I've tried peanut butter, alcohol, Goo-Gone, rags, paper towels, razor blades, excessive rubbing with my thumb until I get blisters, etc. Nothing works quite well--it's such a pain. ANY TIPS!??!?


Thanks,
-Jason

Try rubbing alcohol and flour. Works on Mylar adhesive...
 
Thanks, Gamey, but please elaborate.

Mix rubbing alcohol first in a bowl? What ratio? Use what to apply & what to rub off?

Thanks,
-Jason

I use it when pulling Mylar. I pull Mylar then pour a bit of high percentage rubbing alcohol onto section of the playfield and then sprinkle flour onto it let it sit for a few second then start working it with my fingers.

Not sure the best way to apply it to a vertical surface...maybe a sponge and then roll the flour on with your fingers?
 
I fiiiiinally found time to attack side 2 of the head. I'd stripped off the old art months ago, but then I moved & didn't find time to apply the art. I kept the machine disassembled after the move so that I could apply the art horizontally instead of vertically (soooo much easier!).

I cleaned & sanded the primered wood & laid down the black auto vinyl wrap on the left side of the head. Looks swell. I've found that a baby burpy cloth wrapped over a DVD case makes a fine squeegee, & that the advertised air channels in the auto vinyl wrap do seem to help purge air bubbles rather well.

-Jason
 

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Attacked the lower body. Flipped onto side, scraped off 1 side of art quickly & easily. See pic. Corners are painted touch-ups from a previous owner.

Performed a small test of seeing if the black auto wrap vinyl would float on water & soap, even though the exposed cabinet is super tacky primer with decal adhesive still all over it.

Floats great!

But the ridges & "dunes" of the adhesive show far too clearly through the thin auto wrap after squeegeeing the vinyl nice & snug to the cabinet.

Dang. Gotta remove a looooot of adhesive remnants before laying down the black. I'll try out Gamey's alcohol & flour trick.

-Jason
 

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I found the following in my garage: Aqua Mix Sealer & Coating Stripper. It's for removing sealant on tile grout. It also turns out to work great on removing adhesive. I poured a bit on the cabinet, rubbed with an old towel, & the adhesive moved away just great. It also removed the painted touch-ups. I removed about 80% of the factory vinyl adhesive on one cabinet side in just 15-20 minutes. It smelled pretty strong, so I kept the garage doors open for good ventilation & went outside for fresh air every now & then.

After I stopped for the night, I gave the exposed primed cabinet wood a once-over with another rag & some isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue that might continue to eat into the primer overnight.

This morning, about 11 hours later, the primered paint looked great, the smell was gone, & the area with removed adhesive was nice & smooth. It shouldn't take long to finish off this side of the cabinet.

-Jason
 

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