Restoration Challenge: 1950’s Nishijin Single Shot

[Moparformances]

starting to really come together for u

looking good

[MrGneiss]

Wow, lookin' good!!

[ShockSystem]

That machine is shaping up well - Great work!

[JACKSJE4]

After consulting with Sharmoni today regarding the water stained paper on the back of the machine, we ultimately decided the best course of action would be to leave it as it is.

We considered trying to clean the paper with some sort of bleach solution, but became concerned that the moisture might make the water stains worse and potentially bleed through to the front in some areas. We also considered covering the back with a new piece of paper, but that would cover the nail and screw holes making reassembly even more challenging than it already will be. It would also cover up the machine label that is attached to the back, and Sharmoni wants to preserve it. The third option we considered was to completely remove the paper altogether and just leave the bare wood showing. When we looked into that option, we found that the paper on the back of the machine is also the same piece of paper that makes up the cell on the front; it is wrapped completely around the board. Cutting it might invite other problems that we have yet to consider, like potential ripples in the cell among other concerns.

So, we are leaving it as-is. His thought was that once the machine was fully reassembled with all of the clean and shiny parts back in place, the water stains would not be as noticeable as they are with everything removed from the back. He also is considering building a cabinet for it and hanging it on the wall, so the back will not be as readily visible.

I did make some significant progress on the front of the machine this week, so I will make another post soon.

Jeff

[JACKSJE4]

Well, I made a bit of progress this week with the front of the machine. In the first photo, I took the pachi out of the frame and removed the hardware. You can see the difference between the color of the wood and the color of the house paint that somebody slapped on it.

The second photo shows the face after I sanded all of the house paint off (and polished the heads of a few pins – I’m impatient that way! ). There is a piece of wood trim between the Pachi and the base of the frame that was broken when Sharmoni bought the machine, so I cut a new piece and put it in place (third photo).

The next step was to continue cleaning the brass pins in the playfield and remove the 60 years of grime and tarnish. I started with a few, using Blue Magic and an old cotton rag. The progress was very slow and the neck of the pins had to be cleaned as well. So, to speed things up I got the Dremmel out and tried using the buffing wheel. As I was buffing some of the pins, several vibrated right out and fell on the floor. I began checking all of the pins and about 80-90 % of them came loose with my fingers. The plywood they were attached to had dried and shrunk away from the pins, leaving them loose in their holes. Following what Shock had done, I pulled all of the pins and soaked them in CLR for about 30 minutes. I then threw them in the tumbler for a couple of hours with walnut shells. The result was pins that looked like new.

CAUTION!! I don’t recommend removing all of the pins during a machine restoration unless there is a very good reason to do so. While it makes cleaning a heck of a lot easier, getting all of the pins back into their holes at a uniform height and lined up to look like they originally did will take a bit of time, patience, effort and luck!!

In the case of this machine, Sharmoni really wanted the neck of each pin cleaned and polished without getting moisture under the cell and the pins were already loose to begin with, so removing the pins to clean them made sense.

In the last photo, I have all the pin pushed back into their holes finger tight for now, and will need to spend a few hours carefully tapping them back in to the right height and the aligning them so they look straight. Next, I will fill the cracks and holes on the front and apply a light color stain to the sanded wood to accent the wood grain, and then coat it with a durable varnish to protect it. I also need to rebuild the mahogany wood frame that came with the machine to strengthen it (it is really flimsy right now).

After that, I will begin testing with Sharmoni’s chrome and electroplating kits that he brought over. As you recall from my first post, the win pockets lost their chrome when they rusted and some of the metal pieces in the center of the play field lost their luster. The kits should restore the shine to these pieces if I can figure out how to work it.

That’s all for this week. I will make another post when there is progress to report.

Jeff

[Moparformances]

i have a few years of of industrial chrome plating experience.. do u have the ability to do copper and nickel plating?? i may be able to shed some light on that process for u if need be

let me know

[JACKSJE4]

i have a few years of of industrial chrome plating experience.. do u have the ability to do copper and nickel plating?? i may be able to shed some light on that process for u if need be

Thanks Mopar!! I may take you up on that. I'm going to practice sometime this week with the kit Sharmoni brought over.

[Moparformances]

do u have a pic of what the system looks like??

or a link to a web site??

does it do coper plating??

[JACKSJE4]

Here is a link to the system Sharmoni brought over.

Eastwood Co. - Electroplating System Tin Zinc

[Moparformances]

depending on the parts your planing on plating make sure thay are verry clean and 100% rust free.. if there is any parts u do not want plated paint them or u can try covering them with tape (your trying to keep the metal dry when submerged in the acid solution)

while plating i would move the parts around.. plating takes nickel from the nickel bar and attaches itself to the part your plating.. it will fallow the path of least resistance.. the side that is facing the nickel bar will get allot of plating wile the shadow side will get little to none... also be aware edges will attract more plated then flat sides.. if left long enough little fingers of nickel will grow from the part being plated twards the sacrificial nickel bar

one last trade secrete u might try if u get spotting or inconsistent finish is to hook the wires up backward when starting... reverse polarity (make your parts the positive and the nickel bar the neg) this will push off any last bits of dirt grime or rust just before plating... when doing chrome we would reverse polarity new parts for 30 sec at max amps.. and parts that were in for rechrome would be reversed for 3 min before plating..

hope this helps

keep in mind this is all acid based products.. take your time and be carefull

shouldn't need to be said but... keep in a well vented area.. plating will also bubble and offgas as well

hope this helps

[JACKSJE4]

Thanks for the tips and inside information.

I have been reading the instructions and they have many of the same warnings. I will use the kit outside and wear the blue gloves that came with it.

Jeff

[luckydog]

I did the reversing cleaning process with a home made setup, a wall wart and a spoon with wires and alligatoer clips to clean ancient coins.

it worked but took a long time!!

[sharmoni]

The other kit Jeff and I will be testing is electroplating kit that uses a chrome solution (Copy Chrome) instead of an anode bar. It's designed for filling in the gaps in pitted and rusted chrome. It should work for the handle and the chrome pockets.

Caswell Inc. - Plug N' Plate Brush Plating Systems

[Moparformances]

the plug and plate system looks very interesting.. interesting concept.. i will be interested in hearing and seeing which system u like better..

thanks for posting

[mudfud]

how did the electroplating turn out?

[JACKSJE4]

I have been saddled with several family matters over the past 4-6 weeks that have consummed most of my available time, so I have not had the time needed to make any progress on the electroplating. I want to make sure I fully research the process and understand it in detail before I begin. With any luck I will have the time to resume this restoration in the next few weeks. I will make sure to provide prompt updates with photos.

Jeff