Playfield Restoration Companies Recommendations?

billund

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Greetings All,

Can anyone provide me with some playfield restoration shops I can send mine away to?

Mine is in rough shape and beyond my painting skill set.

Thank you all.
 
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Hi Al,

Do you have an email for Phoebe Smith (pinballpainting.com)? I did not see one (or missed it) on her site.

Thank you
 
HEP does amazing work and is very highly recommended!

I've heard some bad stuff about Captain Neo so not sure on that one.

Remember: Usually if it's cheap it's not worth it! For HEP's work you're going to pay, but the man does wonders.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I am just waiting to hear back from the ones I listed above.

I will post pictures of my playfield in a few moments.
 
Here is my lovely Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man playfield that needs some TLC:

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Hi Al,

Do you have an email for Phoebe Smith (pinballpainting.com)? I did not see one (or missed it) on her site.

Thank you

I hit up Phoebe a while back for junglelord backglass.. she isnt doing any more restorations. Great lady.

I ended up using hsapinball for my blackhole. Understand you are going to
have to strip the top and bottom of the playfield for most of them. Thats a
BIG project to take on for a 1st pin.
 
It's actually not that bad.

Here's the issue with what you want to do.... it will in all likelihood cost you a lot more than the game is worth, to restore it if you let other people do the work. Unless you have a personal attachment to that specific game/title, why not tackle the job yourself? Most of the areas on that game that need touch up are pretty easy to do -- they're mostly in black. You could even take a marks-a-lot to it and it wouldn't look too bad. In all likelihood, if you want a really nice-looking game, it would be cheaper to put feelers out for a better quality version of that game, which isn't impossible to find. (a lot of pinball purists don't like those hybrid pin/video games and as a result they're not expensive).

The costs on that game are going to start to add up... the pac lite matrix lights are not cheap either, and there's 50 of them in the game. It's definitely an involved project getting that game working, but will be very rewarding if you do it yourself. Personally, I love the game. It's a lot of fun.
 
Greetings all,

Thanks for the posts.

I am not too worried about taking the playfield apart but recreating artwork scares me a bit.

I am planning on this being something in the house for a while to come so my hope is to restore it to the best of my ability. - financially speaking as well :)

Pinball machines don't seem to come up too often here in ND so I count myself lucky to find one with subject matter I like.

I am just waiting to hear back from the companies I emailed. Hopefully I will hear something soon.

Thank you again.
 
It's actually not that bad.

Here's the issue with what you want to do.... it will in all likelihood cost you a lot more than the game is worth, to restore it if you let other people do the work. Unless you have a personal attachment to that specific game/title, why not tackle the job yourself? Most of the areas on that game that need touch up are pretty easy to do -- they're mostly in black. You could even take a marks-a-lot to it and it wouldn't look too bad. In all likelihood, if you want a really nice-looking game, it would be cheaper to put feelers out for a better quality version of that game, which isn't impossible to find. (a lot of pinball purists don't like those hybrid pin/video games and as a result they're not expensive).

The costs on that game are going to start to add up... the pac lite matrix lights are not cheap either, and there's 50 of them in the game. It's definitely an involved project getting that game working, but will be very rewarding if you do it yourself. Personally, I love the game. It's a lot of fun.

+1

That's really not bad to be honest. No letters (which are the worst,) and lots of black. Some good acrylic paint and a fine brush and you will be amazed (and proud) of what you can do!
 
I'm guessing Bill Davis isn't doing this kind of work anymore? He did my Williams Joust playfield, came out looking like new! Of course that was about 10 years ago now.
 
http://www.pinballpainting.com/

Phoebe is the bomb! Look no further, the only problem is her backlog. She is fantastic but you are looking at 6 months out if you want her service. Stand in line, it's worth the wait. They will do a clearcoat as well. Larry and Phoebe are awesome to deal with.

Check out her work..
http://www.pinballpainting.com/Gallery.html

Her restorations (the ones I have seen) were all done in varathane coating. While there is nothing wrong with using varathane it is quite different than the polyurethane automotive clear coat that some of us use (HSA, Bill Davis, PFR).

Polyurethane automotive clear coat is thicker, levels inserts easier, offers more protection against future wear, and is clear (non-yellow) compared to varathane. However, polyurethane clear is harder to work with, is a multi-part product that has a few hour working window, and if not careful it can be very bad for your health.
 
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Phoebe told me that for personal reasons that she wasn't doing anymore right now. I have seen HSA's work at Expo and it's top notch as well!

That reminds me that I have to give her a call.
 
Thank you all very much for the posts. I am pleased to announce that my playfield is shipping out today to HSA !!!

Based on all the recommendations, I believe that HSA will be great.

I will post pictures as soon as I receive it back. It will be a few months but I am excited to have them bring it back to life.

Thank you again.
 
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