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Few Q's about PF resto

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Menace

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Dec 9, 2002, 11:59:03 PM12/9/02
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I've got two quick questions I need some help with....

1. After reading through PinballHQ's playfeild resto pages and searching
google I'm confused as to what type of paint to use to touch up a playfeild?
PinballHQ says water-based acrylic paint, and other people say enamal paint.
Which one is better and why? The reason I'm asking is I'm planning on
touching up a small section on my FH, and Testors has a red that matches
really well, but it's an enamal paint.

2. I do plan on removing the mylar as well, and then having the PF clear
coated. Will the paint I use from the above question have any effect the
clear coating process? Does anybody know of anyone in Canada that does
clearcoating of playfeilds? I could have it cleared at my friends auto
paint shop, but I'd feel more comfortable sending it to someone that has
done it before. And sending it to Bill Davis would be the best, but time
and shipping/customs is a deterrant.

Appreciate all your feedback, as always!

Doug


Randy P.

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Dec 10, 2002, 12:07:42 AM12/10/02
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Bill is a good guy who is always happy to talk. I'm sure if you called him
and asked about what kind of paint to use for touch-ups, he'd tell you more
than you wanted to hear. If you chat with him, it would be great if you
passed along whatever advice you get to RGP so we'll all know.

Also keep in mind that the missing paint will need to be brought up to the
height of the surrounding paint before you clear it -- Clay recommends just
building up layers of touch-up paint.

FWIW I've heard of folks using both types of paint for touch-ups without any
problems. The only thing to be real careful with is Sharpie's -- best
avoided if possible because they can bleed and cause a real mess when the
clear is applied (at least with urethanes).

If you don't know Bill's phone number or web URL you can easily find it with
a Google RGP search. Good luck!

Randy

"Menace" <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message
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Menace

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Dec 10, 2002, 12:10:55 AM12/10/02
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Thanks Randy! I'll pass on all that I find out later. Think I'll fire an
email off to Bill and see what he says.....

"Randy P." <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
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Ron Strom

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Dec 10, 2002, 12:22:15 AM12/10/02
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You probably better call him as he uses his pc very little and doesn't do much
email. You'll love talking with him.
--
Ron -- CARGPB7 - (Change hot to ice for reply)

In article <uvatrfd...@corp.supernews.com>, men...@internet.look.ca
says...

Chris Knight

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Dec 10, 2002, 9:45:35 AM12/10/02
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Menace wrote:
> I've got two quick questions I need some help with....
>
> 1. After reading through PinballHQ's playfeild resto pages and searching
> google I'm confused as to what type of paint to use to touch up a playfeild?
> PinballHQ says water-based acrylic paint, and other people say enamal paint.
> Which one is better and why? The reason I'm asking is I'm planning on
> touching up a small section on my FH, and Testors has a red that matches
> really well, but it's an enamal paint.

I've been using Delta acrylics on mine and one comment I have is that
you must let it fully dry (5+ days) before you can sand it down to
level, otherwise the paint may still be "tacky" and come right up when
you sand it. Definitely buy some fine-grit sandpaper (I have 1000, 1500,
2000) to sand it down to level (it doesn't hurt the neighboring
playfield to be "scuffed" a little, and after sanding using Novus gets
rid of the cloudiness.)

One question I have is that I've recently waxed my playfield...Should I
remove the wax, and how? (Novus? Alcohol? Jackhammer?)

Mrhide

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Dec 10, 2002, 1:13:47 PM12/10/02
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Naphta seems to be The choice to remove old wax.

Menace : you should try to find a cheap playfield and bring it to your
friend's auto-shop to see how he does it before you give him something
valuable like FH :)


"Chris Knight" <cknig...@accessoft.org> wrote in message
news:3DF5FE0F...@accessoft.org...

Ron Strom

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Dec 10, 2002, 1:48:30 PM12/10/02
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In article <3DF5FE0F...@accessoft.org>, cknig...@accessoft.org says...
Use Naptha to remove wax. If you want to be real anal about wax and oil
removal, give Bill Davis a call. He uses a specialty DuPont product.

cfh

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Dec 10, 2002, 2:04:18 PM12/10/02
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You can use either water-based acrylic or enamel for pinball playfield
touch ups. Here's the pro/cons...

Water-Based
-----------
Pros:
* LOTS of colors available. I mean TONS!
* Cheap! Usually 99 cents a bottle.
* Available just about anywhere.
* Easy to work with. Since it's water based, if you make a
mistake, it cleans right up with a damp rag.
* Does not damage the original finish in any way.
* After it is fully dry, it can be removed with Goof-Off.
* Does NOT run with any brand of clear coating I have tried.
Cons:
* It gets darker as it dries, so it's harder to color match.
* It must be clear coated for permanence.

Testors (Enamels)
-----------------
Pros/Cons:
* A more "professional" paint.
* Usually fewer colors available than the water-based acrylics.
* Not as easy to get. A good hobby shop though usually carries
many colors.
* More expensive, usually $2 to $3 a bottle.
* Not as easy to work with. Since it's not water based, often
a solvent is needed to fix a mistake.
* After it is dry, there's no taking it off (short of sanding).
* Usually dries the same color as when wet.
* Does not need to be clear coated for permanence.
* It CAN run when certain clear coats are applies. Your mileage may vary.

So which should you use? Really it's up to you, and what you are
comfortable with. Personally i find the forgiven of the water-based
paints, the cost, and the color availability, make it my choice.
I can buy nearly every color they sell at a store for a lot less
money than enamels. That means i have to mix less custom colors,
and it outcome is usually better (and the outcome is repeatable!)
But if you are comfortable with enamels, then use that...

"Menace" <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message news:<uvat57n...@corp.supernews.com>...

Menace

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Dec 10, 2002, 11:33:36 PM12/10/02
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That's exactly the answer I was looking for! Thanks for the run down. I've
picked up some water-based acrylic, but the hobby store I got it from had
almost no colour selection comparted to the enamal section. Any suggestions
as to where the best place to buy water-based acrylics?


"cfh" <c...@provide.net> wrote in message
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Lloyd Olson

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Dec 11, 2002, 12:02:42 AM12/11/02
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Art supply store. LTG :)

Menace <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message

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cfh

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Dec 11, 2002, 7:34:46 AM12/11/02
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It's more like... "who does *not* sell them!"
Here's all the places i have locally that sell water
base acrylics:

* Meijers
* Walmart
* Kmart
* Frank's Nursery
* Art supply store
* Craft store
* Hardware store
* hobby store
* my local grocery store!

Here's all the places that sell enamels that i know of:
* hobby store
* hardware store (but they only have 5 colors!)
* Art supply store (expensive!)

"Menace" <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message

> That's exactly the answer I was looking for! Thanks for the run down. I've
> picked up some water-based acrylic, but the hobby store I got it from had
> almost no colour selection comparted to the enamal section. Any suggestions
> as to where the best place to buy water-based acrylics?
>
>
> "cfh" <c...@provide.net> wrote in message

Ceegary

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Dec 11, 2002, 12:25:28 PM12/11/02
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I just finished restoring my FH including major playfield touchup. I
did have an artist friend help with repairing a totally worn area
(inlane drop area) and insert lettering, numbering and bordering. Auto
clear done by body shop, wet-sanded and buffed. I basically followed
Arizona Bruce's recommendations... you can see his instructions at;
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=arizona+bruce+group:rec.games.pinball&start=10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&selm=395a1a88.0210201258.5e23a714%40posting.google.com&rnum=20

It came out truly great, better than I even thought it would. I say go
for it.
GRY


40posting.google.com&rnum=20"Menace" <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message news:<uvat57n...@corp.supernews.com>...

BadDoggie

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Dec 11, 2002, 4:28:21 PM12/11/02
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Acrylics are a lot easier to work, but the cons are right on target.
Enamel is easier to match when wet, but the colours are different and
harder to match to begin with. If you have a friend in the printing
business, get the Pantone colour matching swatch books (esp. gloss on
gloss) and maybe you can get some of the actual inks used.

Also, the This Old Pinball videos show the use of superglue
(cyanoacrylate) as a top coating for touch-ups as well as divots. If
you do use a sharpie or enamel paint, you might want to give it a thin
coat of superglue before coating. This should "seal" the new work and
stop any bleeding to the top.

Cheers,
woof.


"Menace" <men...@internet.look.ca> wrote in message news:<uvdg1hk...@corp.supernews.com>...

Mikee

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Dec 19, 2002, 8:32:03 AM12/19/02
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Naphtha will remove wax, very good at it!
But you will have to wipe several times and with a clean cloth each
time.


"Chris Knight" <cknig...@accessoft.org> wrote in message
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