Lindsey
Well-known member
You really did a great job. I will eat my words on saying you should just sell it but not everyone can do a good job of touch-up. Obviously I should have given you more credit
What do you think of this playfield?
- Thread starter vipe155
- Start date
You really did a great job. I will eat my words on saying you should just sell it but not everyone can do a good job of touch-up. Obviously I should have given you more credit
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vipe155
Active member
I'm not saying I won't do it, but I don't know yet. I'm afraid I won't be able to get it to look right, but then again I didn't think anything else would look very good either.
I don't think it looks terrible not having that detail, but maybe I can work it up.
Congrats! Great job! You want to do my cyclone next?
splattergatz
Well-known member
you're gonna have to wait, he's doing my SHARPSHOOTER first !!!
J/K
black sharpie pens work great around the inserts
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vipe155
Active member
Ok, this may be about as good as it gets. I put black around the the 20 insert and cleaned up the other number inserts. I then added a couple more asteroids, a white trail behind a few of them, and then tried to add the "missing" sun ray that extends down the middle towards the flippers.
Steelhorse
New member
What did you use to build the area up to make it level from bare wood? Looks great by the way. What kind of paint pens and did you mask off anything off before you painted or you were just careful? That is professional looking! What are you gonna do to protect it? The paint will come off quick as mentioned before. I touched up and area and within 2 weeks the ball wore it off, and when that happens the paint chips now are loose on the playfield and that is not good. Also when cleaning if unprotected the paint will come off to.
R3LL1K
Well-known member
That looks really good man, you really outdid yourself. I agree with the whole protecting the paint and making sure it's level stuff.
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vipe155
Active member
To start with, I took some glaze compound and put a light coat of it in the worst worn areas. I sanded that smooth, and painted all the worn areas with a few coats of black paint. After that, when looking at it and running my hand over the middle it seemed pretty level to me.
Then, of course I painted everything. The yellow is hand painted, mixed from 3 shades of gold/yellow Folkart paints. The other colors are basically just Elmers brand paint pens. I was very surprised how close the red paint matched, and I didn't worry about the orange since there wasn't any existing orange left in that area to "connect" to.
The asteroids were painted by putting a couple of dots/lines of white and blue paint next to each other, then connecting them and drawing the rest of an asteroid shape around them with black. The white trails were made by mixing light yellow and off white, then dipping an old non-working ballpoint pen into the paint and drawing the trails.
I was considering covering all of this with Acrylic Lacquer. That is what was originally there right? I would clearcoat, but it's not appropriate for this era of machine, and the process scares me anyway.
I actually can't imagine playing on this artwork after all this work I've done
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Steelhorse
New member
To start with, I took some glaze compound and put a light coat of it in the worst worn areas. I sanded that smooth, and painted all the worn areas with a few coats of black paint. After that, when looking at it and running my hand over the middle it seemed pretty level to me.
Then, of course I painted everything. The yellow is hand painted, mixed from 3 shades of gold/yellow Folkart paints. The other colors are basically just Elmers brand paint pens. I was very surprised how close the red paint matched, and I didn't worry about the orange since there wasn't any existing orange left in that area to "connect" to.
The asteroids were painted by putting a couple of dots/lines of white and blue paint next to each other, then connecting them and drawing the rest of an asteroid shape around them with black. The white trails were made by mixing light yellow and off white, then dipping an old non-working ballpoint pen into the paint and drawing the trails.
I was considering covering all of this with Acrylic Lacquer. That is what was originally there right? I would clearcoat, but it's not appropriate for this era of machine, and the process scares me anyway.
I actually can't imagine playing on this artwork after all this work I've done
The glaze compund, What the brand name and can it be picked up at home depot or lowes? What grit sand paper?
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vipe155
Active member
The repair article I saw recommends "Dolphin Glaze," or something like that, but I just used simple Bondo Glazing Putty I found at a local Wal-Mart. Not the best, but I only used a small amount of it. It's grainy, and you'll probably want to sand it with a medium then fine sandpaper to give it a good finish.
craigmack
Member
Vipe what's your email? I will send you a clearcoating guide. You can do this man! Look at how far you've come. You don't have to go crazy with the clearcoating and make it all super glossy.
The lacquer and the acrylic paints will not get along so you'd have to use an acrylic glaze of some sort.
The lacquer and the acrylic paints will not get along so you'd have to use an acrylic glaze of some sort.
Lindsey
Well-known member
Why not just share it with all of us?
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vipe155
Active member
You don't think this will work?
http://www.krylon.com/products/acrylic_crystal_clear/
I've heard of others using it, and that it's close to the original finish Williams would have applied. It's supposed to be an Acrylic lacquer type product. I was going to put several coats of it on, then wait a couple of weeks before waxing it with a good paste wax.
As I said, I don't want a clearcoat on this, because it's not the correct finish.
http://www.krylon.com/products/acrylic_crystal_clear/
I've heard of others using it, and that it's close to the original finish Williams would have applied. It's supposed to be an Acrylic lacquer type product. I was going to put several coats of it on, then wait a couple of weeks before waxing it with a good paste wax.
As I said, I don't want a clearcoat on this, because it's not the correct finish.
craigmack
Member
Crystal clear will work, but if you are going to spray from a can you might as well do varathane. Varathane is much more forgiving. If you lay down the crystal clear and it doesn't dry completely clear like some people have been reporting lately then you are screwed. There's no way to get it back up unless you use chemicals that will take off all of your touchups and more. Also Crystal clear will need multiple coats/sandings just like varathane to get a smooth even surface.
Clearcoat is clearcoat, and while originally they used a lacquer based clear the end result will look the same if you did the water based varathane coat or crystal clear. They will both be glossy compared to the way it looks now, and the new gloss might look out of place if you're not doing the whole playfield.
Again this is your game, I'm just throwing suggestions out there on what will give you the best results.
In any case make sure you prep the playfield before you spray to get rid of all the wax and oils, or else you'll end up with fisheye all over the place.
Lindsey:
I'd post the entire guide but its a word doc, and I need to check with the original author to see if there would be an issue on his end with me doing so...
Clearcoat is clearcoat, and while originally they used a lacquer based clear the end result will look the same if you did the water based varathane coat or crystal clear. They will both be glossy compared to the way it looks now, and the new gloss might look out of place if you're not doing the whole playfield.
Again this is your game, I'm just throwing suggestions out there on what will give you the best results.
In any case make sure you prep the playfield before you spray to get rid of all the wax and oils, or else you'll end up with fisheye all over the place.
Lindsey:
I'd post the entire guide but its a word doc, and I need to check with the original author to see if there would be an issue on his end with me doing so...
splattergatz
Well-known member
i've sprayed almost 20 playfields with a clearcoat product from DUPONT with very happy results. i would not use verathane. i'd use that clearcoat from a can before the verathane
craigmack
Member
Why wouldn't you use Varathane, a product that is recommended by Clay, Cliffy etc, as the product to use if you aren't going the automotive clearcoat route?
splattergatz
Well-known member
i get such good results from the clearcoat and i know its qualities and idiosyncracies
clearcoat is so easy and the results are better than amazing
then again, i used to paint cars with color and clearcoat them. never ran into a car with verathane on it but i suppose its possible. if verathane is better why dont they paint cars with it ?
clearcoat is so easy and the results are better than amazing
then again, i used to paint cars with color and clearcoat them. never ran into a car with verathane on it but i suppose its possible. if verathane is better why dont they paint cars with it ?
craigmack
Member
Because one product (the one you use) is made for metal/cars, and varathane is specifically made for wood...
Lindsey
Well-known member
But it's wood with a shitload of paint on it. A car is metal with a shitload of paint on it. In either case the clear is going over paint. Granted they are different paints but that's not going to cause much if any adhesion problems. The material under it is only somewhat relevant. If the varathane were more resistant to cracking under stress I could see it being a better fit for wood but I'm not so sure that's the case.
Automotive clear is a superior product for pinball playfields. Not Clay or anyone else who is serious about pinball repair will disagree. The reason to use rattle can varathane is because it's a hell of a lot easier, cheaper, safer and ultimately does a pretty damn good job.
On this playfield I would definitely use varathane. It's nice and easy and will probably come out closer to the original finish. Automotive clear is nice but it's not for everyone or every playfield. Now if it were an NOS playfield in a Funhouse or something I would go with automotive clear hands down.
I've used Varathane with good success. My only suggestion would be to not put it on too thick. You want thick coats but not crazy thick. I tried crazy thick once and it yellowed while curing and had to be sanded off. That sucked.
craigmack
Member
Varathane is specifically designed for wood. It does breathe, expand and contract with the wood that it is applied to. A 2 part automotive clearcoat does give excellent results but it is not designed for wood. I guarantee you a car guy would not apply varathane to a car in any case.
This has been discussed to death on RGP, the epic battle of Arizona Bruce vs. Cliffy and to some part Clay. I think it is personal preference and what equipment you have available to you.
This has been discussed to death on RGP, the epic battle of Arizona Bruce vs. Cliffy and to some part Clay. I think it is personal preference and what equipment you have available to you.
