Pinball Update: Full House Edition

I bought a pinball machine that didn't work last June. It was cheap, but you get what you pay for. 

I couldn't plug in the machine to test it. Someone had cut off the power cord - not a good sign. So, I tried a different route of repair. I used the "shotgun" approach. I cleaned every switch and adjusted the switches that weren't making contact. I took apart the stepper units in the backbox, cleaned them with 400 grit sandpaper, and then applied a thin layer of Super Lube synthetic grease. I tested the solder joints looking for breaks and loose wires. I also tested the continuity of all of the coils, and I ordered replacements for those that were dead shorts.

I finally installed a power cord and tried to start a game after three weeks.

Not too bad!

Next was the machine's appearance. Even Char could tell this one had an ugly paint job.

I used some chemicals to strip off offensive colors. I was hoping to find at least part of the original paint underneath, but that wasn't the case. Whoever painted this cabinet sanded off the original paint scheme. As it stands, the machine doesn't look terrible, but I'm going to try to replicate the original design. Hopefully I can make stencils before it gets too cold to paint.

The artwork on the back of the backglass was flaking off. You can see all the cracks that surround the Full House logo. I can have a replacement made, but that costs over $300 and takes a couple of months. I thought I could try to save the glass and save myself some time and money. 

I sprayed on a few coats of Triple Thick to seal the flaky paint back onto the glass. Even though I held the can about 20 inches away from the glass, some large flakes flew off the glass and disintegrated when they hit the garage floor.

Daphne helped me cover the wet, clear paint with saran wrap. The idea is you can can press the curved flakes flat against the glass once the wrap is in place. You let it sit overnight, and in the morning the saran wrap can be easily removed. I was skeptical about the ease of removal, but the wrap came right off. I masked off the score reel windows with heavy paper cut to size and weighed them down with quarters.

When the paint chips blew off, they left holes around the letters. Looks like we have some touching up to do.

Daphne helped me pick out the paint. We used this old VW vent window to see what each paint sample would look like when it dried on the glass.

Once Daphne approved the colors, she started the touch up. I tried helping her paint a straight line by using some painters tape, but that was a mistake. A huge section of the artwork peeled off when I tried to remove the tape. I had to carefully line up the artwork, and then I triple thicked the tape in place. Lesson learned.

After Daphne did the touch up, I did my best to fill all those cracks that look like rivers on a topographical map with white paint. I then covered everything that wasn't supposed to be translucent with silver paint.

The backglass looks okay. But the artwork certainly looks better than it was, and spending a few dollars on paint is better than paying for a replacement glass. The best part was working on it with Daphne. Usually, pinball repair is a solo affair.

The glass looks better the further you stand back. I'll call it a six-footer.

The playfield plastics were dirty, cracked, and warped from years of lightbulb heat.

I used Novus 2 to clean the plastic, and a heat gun helped me straighten the bends in the plastic.

After fixing the plastic, I cleaned the playfield with a magic eraser pad and rubbing alcohol. This leaves a residue that can be cleaned up with Novus 2. The last step is to polish the surface with a non-abrasive carnauba car wax. I installed new rubber rings before reinstalling the playfield plastic.

I rebuilt the three pop bumpers last week, and my next steps are to rebuild the flippers, get the free game awards figured out, and put in a power switch. 

This game gets more fun to play with each improvement, and that bothers me. I don't have room for it in the house. It's a garage-only machine, but it's getting too nice to stay out there...