According to Mr. Kamoroff, one of the first things you should do when you start a pinball restoration project is to check the machine's fuses. Fuses are safety equipment. Using the wrong fuse can allow the machine to burn out or your house to burn down.
Since four of the seven fuses in my machine were wrong, I didn't dare leave it powered up for very long. While I waited for the postman to bring the right fuses, I got busy with a few cosmetic issues.
Here's the plunger and the trim plate before I put them in the brass shell tumbler.
That tumbler was such a great investment:
The apron was rusted in two areas, so I sanded the rusty spots and used some Testors enamel paint to cover the mess.
Since the whites don't match and a large chunk of the Gottlieb logo is missing, I'm using a cheap sticker to mask it.
Under glass and tucked beneath the edge of the lockdown bar, the sticker doesn't look too bad. I could apply a reproduction decal after sanding and repainting the entire apron, but it's too cold in the garage to use spray paint. For now, this cheap fix will work.
The same goes for the touch-up around the ball gate. You don't really notice it; the gate is so far from where you stand.
Here's the right sling-shot. The rubber is old and cracked, and the decorative plastic is warped from the heat of the light bulbs.
I replaced the rubber ring, the broken field post, and the two acorn nuts with new items. I also used a trick I learned from watching This Old Pinball: Volume 1. I placed the warped plastic on a piece of glass and aimed my heat gun (set on low) at it for 15 seconds. The plastic will curl up and look ruined, but then it will drop and lay flat. I tossed a phone book on it for 20 seconds, and it cooled flat. This looks much better.
I did the same on the other side. Before:
After:
It's a work in progress.
For sure.
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