Input needed for the restoration of a DE Star Trek 25th anniversary pinball

PQTaggart

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Input needed for the restoration of a DE Star Trek 25th anniversary pinball

I started the restoration of my DataEast Star Trek pin. Removed all parts and now got the bare playfield laying in front of me. I've got some problems where I need some help or input from others who restored a playfield.

As you can see in VUK.jpg and Hole-middle.jpg the wear on the playfield is pretty bad in these areas. There are some broken screws (which I removed in the meantime), blank wood, and flaking paint.
In crystal5.jpg you see two things: flaking paint on the left side and the cracks in the sticker. I cut the flaking paint with a sharp knife in the meantime and below was a dirt with a lot of metallic residue.
The playfield itself is pretty dull compared to the sections where it wasn't exposed to moving balls.

Now I do have several problems / questions to you more experienced folks out there:

1) As the holes above the VUK got bigger because I drilled out the broken screws. What would be the best way to fill up the missing wood? Liquid wood, epoxy or something else? Wood sticks and white glue definitly won't be enough - this area needs to become resilient again and support 3 screws for the metal piece.

2) How could I fill up / restore the frayed edge of the center hole (moving target)?

3) Is cutting out the flaking paint/coat the best thing to do? Is it possible to fill-up the ditches later on with clearcoat?

4) How can the flaking happen near these crystal stickers? What should I do to repair the damage? Is it coming from an inlay that is either slightly lower of higher than the playfield?

5) If so, could I remove the sticker or is the number/digit only on the sticker? Should I cut everything away besides the digit? How could I re-align the inlay without damaging the sticker?

6) How can I get rid of these cracks in the sticker? Will clearcoating the field help there? Would sanding the sticker (during preparation for clearcoating) be a good or bad idea?

7) Should I just touch up the field locally or do the whole procedure (sanding, painting, clearcoating) ? Personally I don't mind too much about a possible drop of the collectors value when clearcoating.

Thanks a lot for any help !
 

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1) As the holes above the VUK got bigger because I drilled out the broken screws. What would be the best way to fill up the missing wood? Liquid wood, epoxy or something else? Wood sticks and white glue definitly won't be enough - this area needs to become resilient again and support 3 screws for the metal piece.
Many recommend replacing any screw holes which would receive abuse from a ball w/ t-nut and bolt.
If the bolt / nut won't receive direct abuse from a ball; then wood epoxy would likely do the job. For me; I mix the epoxy and fill the hole to the top; then after drying overnight; I re-drill to the minor thread of the screw going in.

2) How could I fill up / restore the frayed edge of the center hole (moving target)?
Cliffy doesn't seem to make one for center hole. Id likely sand it to remove the fraying... then maybe use some wood putty to build it back up. I'd only do this if I were going to touch up the PF and then clear with something reslient like automotive clear.

4&5; I'd try to keep the original if possible. maybe use a exacto knife to trim excess. The fill it with some clear adhesive to keep it tacked down. Maybe use a sheet of glass and something heavy to keep the insert flat while the adhesive dries.

I wouldn't sand the sticker as you risk damaging it. if it's really noticable; the only recorse would likely be a new insert w/ a decal overlay.


7) Should I just touch up the field locally or do the whole procedure (sanding, painting, clearcoating) ? Personally I don't mind too much about a possible drop of the collectors value when clearcoating.
I'm usually pretty anal about PFs. if you have to repair part of the PF because of ball wear with touchup paint; I'd personally go ahead and clear the whole PF with several layers of auto clear to protect the touchup and rest of original paint. Also it helps make the PF super flat and fast. Ofcourse; it's not for the timid or impatient; as it's a lot of work.
My bally star trek has some details on what it takes to do a PF:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=771169&postcount=4

Regarding the middle-lane: I do have a post standing there - just the plastic that probably sits on top of it is gone. Would you mind if I re-use your scans after touching them up in gimp/photoshop?
As I stated before; the middle lane diverter is not made out of plastic; it's made out of steel. I currently don't have my machine apart; but if/when I do- I'll try to scan the metal klingon diverter.

I don't own the scans... I'm sure there is a copyright holder somewhere who does. But as far as I'm concerned; the scans are public domain - you can do whatever you want as long as the copyright holder doesn't care. IE don't sell or give away. I'd personally like a cleaned up copy of the scans if/when you get them done.

Let me know when you get ready to repo you broken plastics. Maybe my laser cutter'll be fixed and I might be able to cut you some clear blanks to be ready for water slide decals.

When I experimented with water slide decals; I printed one copy of white decal paper (to get the white background) and another on clear decal using my color laser cutter. By doubling up on the decals; you get a richer set of vivid colors which stand up better to the GI lights. I learned this trick from this web site. After the decals are cured; I put 3-4 coats of tripple thick over the decals to keep them protected.
 
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Thanks a lot for your answer Zitt, after posting, I thought "darn, that's a long post for anyone to read".
Many recommend replacing any screw holes which would receive abuse from a ball w/ t-nut and bolt.
Oh yeah, that's probably the best thing to do as the small black bow that's held be the three screws receives a lot of stress from the VUK.
Cliffy doesn't seem to make one for center hole.
Yes, too bad - I was also looking for this one too. Maybe if we all ask kindly...
I wouldn't sand the sticker as you risk damaging it. if it's really noticable; the only recorse would likely be a new insert w/ a decal overlay.
Is it likely that the clear will fill up these cracks and leave a better impression? I'm a bit reluctant to freeze the look with clear and loosing a chance to improve it.
I'd personally go ahead and clear the whole PF with several layers of auto clear to protect the touchup and rest of original paint. Also it helps make the PF super flat and fast. Ofcourse; it's not for the timid or impatient; as it's a lot of work.
Ok, I think I'll go ahead then according to your and other guides. I dare to do the repairs and the touch-up but I'll get a pro to clearcoat it as I lack the experience there. I can imagine that it's tedious - but stripping the field of everything was already very time consuming - and since I'm already there...
As I stated before; the middle lane diverter is not made out of plastic; it's made out of steel. I currently don't have my machine apart; but if/when I do- I'll try to scan the metal klingon diverter.
Ah sorry, I missunderstood. Because of the look of my machine (see pic below) I thought there was a plastic attached to it once. That'd be very kind if you could put it on the scanner once you've got your pin open.
IE don't sell or give away. I'd personally like a cleaned up copy of the scans if/when you get them done.
Sure, I'll let you know (might take some days though).
Let me know when you get ready to repo you broken plastics. Maybe my laser cutter'll be fixed and I might be able to cut you some clear blanks to be ready for water slide decals.
Oh wow, that'd be great! I'll let you know when I get stuck with my investigations. Also lots of thanks for the hints regarding the water slide decals!
Now I'll have to get some acrylic color and practice to paint with an easy hand.. :)
 

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