Power Flash Disassembly

[emmadog]

Ok so I started to take apart my T-Bird power flash today so I can refinish the playfield. You can see in the first pic that the playfield has seen better days. Unfortunately the vinyl that I was planning on using for resurfacing is too dark of a blue. I know computer monitors don't display colors accurately but I took a chance when ordering. BTW, it is the same color blue as the playfield on my Mizuho which can be seen in my album. If anybody wants some lemme know and I'll send it out. I have some more vinyl on order that hopefully will be a better match
I included some pics of where I am right now in the process. Separating the playfield plywood from the frame is not too bad but you have to be patient and pry around the perimeter slowly. The nails holding it in are spiraled just like the playfield pins. Some of the smaller pieces of wood that comprise the split a tad bit but that's an easy fix. Just some wood glue and sanding, plus those areas won't be seen once it's all back together.
I was hoping to completely take apart each tulip to clean it but in the pic you can see that the silver pins are crimped flat in the back so I'll just have to keep them assembled as I clean them. I'll post more pics tomorrow when I remove the track and all other components from the playfield.
As for the stickers I decided to use a straight edge and an x-acto knife to cut them free then I'll replace them on the new surface.

[Cystic]

On matching the colour you could take a sample of the cell or even the whole thing to a signshop, or better, a signshop supply place that sells to the public and get it matched. If you *Really* want to match it and price is no object (about $50) you could take it to a place that prints on vinyl and also has a colour matching camera and get it printed that exact colour.

As to cleaning the tulips I am currently trying to source some brass nickel-plated hollow base rivets so I can dissasemble and make some new "petals" for some of my machines that have badly faded from the sun.(that means I can also make custom colours.) Back to cleaning you might try an ultrasonic cleaner, that would probably work a treat on them. I have seen plastics from a pinball field done in one and they turned out great. I have a dirty Sankyo machine that has a back that comes off in one piece with the turn of a few catches. It would be so cool to just remove and place in a tank and wait a bit and it is cleaned. I have been thinking about calling a ultrasonic blind cleaning company and seeing if they would run the whole back works through their tank.

Good Luck with your restoration.

[emmadog]

Thanks for the good info. I don't mind spending the money for the color matching but I am attempting to replicate the original color which is an educated guess since all PFs I have seen are fairly faded. I think it's a light blue based on some of the not-so-faded areas and from looking at other PFs.
I figure I can still clean the tulips well while they are assembled. The main thing I want to clean is the staining on the sides of the tulip body and to retouch the white lines on the front sides of the flaps. I'll use some very fine sand paper and plastic polish and I have some of those ridiculously small paint brushes for the white lines. Let us know if you find some of the nickel-plated brass pins! Thanks.

[Cystic]

The colour behind the areas not exposed to light should be really close to original. The coulour matching should be free, its the printing that colour onto the white vinyl that will cost. If you don't go that way a well equipped sign supply place should carry 3 or 4 different brands of vinyl and will have a sample book for them so you can lay it next to the area you want to match.

I dont think I will have much luck finding the semi-tubular rivets that hold the petals on as the don't seem to be a US standard size. I will call a few places next week and see if they can help me. I think I do have a work around for them by using a small nickel plated nail or pin with the right head size and roughing up the shaft and epoxying a piece of brass tube over it so I can then crimp the end.

No need for a one hair brush to reline the petals. Use something to scrape the loose paint out of the groove, then use latex paint to flood the lines, wipe off excess with a damp paper towel. I know that works as I just did it.

I hope my idea to make the rivets works as I just took one of my tulips apart by cutting off the crimped rivet ends.

[emmadog]

Here's the playfield plywood minus the laminate. I decided to go ahead and remove it, sand away the white paper that was left behind and that way I can make sure the new surface will be imperfection free for the new vinyl.
Removing the tracks wasn't too bad. It took about 20 or so minutes. After straightnening the ends of the wires I took a screwdriver to use a prybar to gently lift the track away. As the two ends of the wires get closer to going thru the hole from the backside of the wood you just take some pliers and squeeze them together for as little resistance as possible. I'll be able to reuse them as well. I also wrapped pliers in electrical tape to grab onto the track itself and pull at the area of the wire. No biggy, just take your time and pull a little at each wire working your way thru all of them.
The laminate as you can see came off in one piece so it will be easy to cut out the registration stickers and apply them to the new surface so that was a relief. As far as the nails ago, I may leave them into reassemble it with. They seem to be quite a pain to remove. As Cystic mentioned, I probably will end up paying to have the vinyl color matched. I have a feeling that the new vinyl I have coming in will still be off. Looks like I'll have to cart my entire L-man PF to the printshop since it has the best looking (least amount of fading) cell. Should be interesting.

[Moparformances]

good information

let me know how the reinstall of the tracks works for ya

thanks

[Lt Teddy]

Now if you could get my slave to work on mine I would gratefully appreciate it. Maybe you can apply some work ethic.

[emmadog]

My free time is limited so when I get the oppurtunity to do some work I gotta take advantage!

[Microbus99]

Installing tracks is no big deal. On the last one I did it was a breeze. I pulled apart a Nish A today down to the cell. This time I soaked the cotter pins in Evapo Rust and they turned out great. They'll be even easier to reinstall this time.

Just be easy going in and bending the pins again. Too much stress and they could break off.

Good luck with the background. Cant wait to see how it turns out!

[heavyguitarman]

I have a machine on one of my threads that I did the same thing to (w/pics). I don't know if you clearcoat the vinyl after you install it because I built my own play field on the wood behind. One problem I ran into is that I clearcoated over some artwork and the clearcoat filled in the indentions where the holes were. Im so glad I took alot of pics, they helped me find the holes again. Good luck with your project.

[emmadog]

Here's a pic of my PF still disassembled with the parts just laying atop the new vinyl. I'm not totally sold on the color but after two and half weeks of searching for the right color and getting about 30 feet of the wrong shade in, I settled on this one. Who knows it may be close to the original but I am just used to seeing the faded playfields. However the little blue conical shaped "hats" on each tulip are actually close to this hue ... Plus with the tracks back on and some shiny pins it should be cool.
Anyway, to do this after diassembly I removed the old laminate and sanded down the plywood till very smooth. Then removed the backing from the entire piece of vinyl at once and laid that sticky side up on as flat a surface as I could find. Prior to that it is important to spread out the vinyl on the floor for an hour or so so it can lose it's tubular shape acquired from being on a roll. I then placed the plywood on top of the vinyl and then flipped it over. It worked well and only had a few bubbles which I popped and smoothed out. Small bubbles can be left alone which is what I did as they will outgas over time. I actually have two layers of vinyl on here (so that xtra off-color vinyl came in handy) to help smooth out any divots or bumps that the sanding didn't get.
Now obviously I want this surface to last as long as possible since dismantling one of these definitely takes some time and I am not sure how vinyl will hold up to thousands of balls rolling across it. Soooo I bought some "archival quality" mylar film that is self adhesive and optically clear. Museums use it to protect documents and artwork, etc. This stuff won't yellow or become brittle with time as acetate does and should be a good protective layer for the vinyl.Then in go the pins and the reassembly. I ordered the mylar today so I'll post how that goes when it gets in. It's about 5 bucks for a sheet big enough for the playfield. The brand name I found is "Dura-Lar". Any questions-fire away.

[Moparformances]

like u said the blue looks odd after looking at green machines for the last year..

but i have to agree.. with nice bright brass pins its going to look great

verry nice

[mudfud]

That looks great! I like that shade of blue.

You guys have almost got me convinced to pull all the nails... Just too bad I'm fighting wrist tendinitis after all the wrenching on the citicar.

[emmadog]

Ahh yes the nails. It really didn't take that long to pull them but I had to do it in 3 separate batches and my wrist definitely let me know about it for a couple of days after. Next time I'd like to use a slide hammer.The disassembly overall was not as big of deal as I thought for the PF. The whole back comes off in one piece with all mechanics intact. The solenoid mechanism came off next. The separation of the playfield from the frame was easy-it just took careful prying.Same with the tracks. Forgot to mention that I hacksawed off the nails. They did not want to come out thanks to their spiral ends and some corrosion to boot. On reassembly I will use wood screws like Microbus99 did and less of them as compared to the nails. And there is a wood peg at the top and bottom of the playfield plywood to easily get things back in line.

[Microbus99]

Hi Emmadog,

Let us know if the Dura-lar is thick enough. I used .010mil acetate on my last machine which was the closest to the original I could find. I see the Dura-lar is .002mil .

I like the 10mil but it wasnt adhesive backed. I like that idea!!

[MrGneiss]

Wow, I think the blue looks great!!

[emmadog]

I bought some in .003, .005, and .007. I'm not sure which thickness will be the best. Mylar is tough stuff so I didn't want to go with some that was too thick because this may make it a pain to put the nails in. Did you encounter this and also, how did you adhere the Mylar if it wasn't self adhesive? Thanks.

[Microbus99]

I used Acetate from an Art Store.

I didnt need to use an adhesive. Once I installed the nails, tracks, chutes and center feature it held it down very well. Probably because it was so thick. If you look at your old laminate you'll see that its pretty thick and sturdy. What I bought matched this pretty well. You could check out my album to see how it turned out.

As for driving nails thru this stuff I had no trouble at all. After loosening up the holes from removing the nails, I figured a little more "gripping" would be welcome. I did however "pre-punch" holes "very slightly" with a regular nail before commiting with the brass nails. Kind of like a pilot hole.

If I could find adhesive backed material that wont affect the color I would love to try it!!

Cant wait till you get yours!! Keep up the good work!!

[johnnynormal510]

I am trying to get a grasp on the thickness of the acetate. I believe a Credit Card is about 30 mil, a matchbook cover is 10 mil.

Am I reading this correct? .010 mil would be about the thickness of a piece of paper?

Thanks

Hi Emmadog,

Let us know if the Dura-lar is thick enough. I used .010mil acetate on my last machine which was the closest to the original I could find. I see the Dura-lar is .002mil .

I like the 10mil but it wasnt adhesive backed. I like that idea!!

[Microbus99]

You're right Johnny. My error on the decimal point. Yes 10mil is about the thickness of a matchbook cover.

Thats also pretty close to the original playfield laminate. However that stuff is really hard. Acetate is a little softer. Not sure about clear Mylar. I'm not the expert on that stuff.
Do you know about these different materials.