First pachinko machine, so of course I have questions

[GeneM]

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My wife found this 1975 Daiichi machine for free in a local Facebook group. I've been fascinated by vintage pachinko for a few years, but couldn't justify paying for a machine that was going to need restoration. For free, however...

I've been watching Dan Welch's videos on YouTube, and learning as much as I can about how the machine works. I have a couple of questions that I didn't see covered elsewhere:

1. How difficult is it to remove the laminate from the door frame? I really don't care about preserving its original appearance, and I'd much rather paint the frame instead. I'd consider painting the laminate if necessary.

2. I think the playfield might be laminate as well. No offense to the original rainbow design, but I have my eyes on one of the Hiroshige art prints instead. I've seen several posts warning about messing with a laminate playfield. Would it be possible to lay a new playfield down on the existing laminate? Or is it game over as soon as I start pulling nails?

[MrGneiss]

WELCOME!!!

[sparky kilowatt]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your first pachinko machine.

I'm probably not much help on removing the laminates as I've never done it on the 3 machines I have with laminate playfields, from what I've read it may not be possible without doing more damage to the board. As far as the door frame, probably not as critical as the playfield, but again, I've always just cleaned mine and left them in place.

[jasonlujan]

removing the laminate from the door frame will reveal the very uneven and ugly wood beneath it. have a plan for what you're going to do with it to have become presentable.
the laminate is glued on with contact cement and can be removed with a five-in-one and a little acetone on the blade. then wipe down the wood to get the glue off before sanding.

[GeneM]

removing the laminate from the door frame will reveal the very uneven and ugly wood beneath it. have a plan for what you're going to do with it to have become presentable.
the laminate is glued on with contact cement and can be removed with a five-in-one and a little acetone on the blade. then wipe down the wood to get the glue off before sanding.

That's a good point, I didn't consider how the wood underneath might look. Maybe I'll just sand and paint over top of the laminate instead. I'm just not a fan of the laminate; a little too 1970s, ya know?

[Wayne-Ooo]

If you are wanting to change the door frame, I would probably do a vinyl wrap.

I always called it contact paper, but now a days they call it vinyl wrap. You can get a wood grain pattern, if that's what you are looking for.

I've done it on a couple of machines and it worked well. Just sand down the laminate so it doesn't have a shine to it and that will make a good surface for the wrap to adhere to.

I've removed a lot of playfields, but never one of the laminate ones. If I was going to, I'd probably leave it and after removing everything make a copy of it, (nail holes and openings), with tracing paper. Lightly sand the old playfield, so the new one would adhere to it.

[lotsoballs]

I would just sell that one to somebody else to fund a Nishijin (with faded paper background) or keep it and leave it alone due to the laminate playfield. More trouble than it’s worth; not to mention it doesn’t need a playfield replacement as badly as most vintage Nishijins…

[GeneM]

If you are wanting to change the door frame, I would probably do a vinyl wrap.

I always called it contact paper, but now a days they call it vinyl wrap. You can get a wood grain pattern, if that's what you are looking for.

I've done it on a couple of machines and it worked well. Just sand down the laminate so it doesn't have a shine to it and that will make a good surface for the wrap to adhere to.

I've removed a lot of playfields, but never one of the laminate ones. If I was going to, I'd probably leave it and after removing everything make a copy of it, (nail holes and openings), with tracing paper. Lightly sand the old playfield, so the new one would adhere to it.

Not really interested in a fake wood grain look, that's kinda the whole reason why I want to get rid of the laminate on the frame. I think I will just lightly sand it and then paint over the laminate.

Maybe I'll leave the playfield alone. If I can get it cleaned easily, it might be too ambitious to pull nails just to change the artwork.

[jstunt1]

pachinko-front.jpgpachinko-back.jpg

My wife found this 1975 Daiichi machine for free in a local Facebook group. I've been fascinated by vintage pachinko for a few years, but couldn't justify paying for a machine that was going to need restoration. For free, however...

I've been watching Dan Welch's videos on YouTube, and learning as much as I can about how the machine works. I have a couple of questions that I didn't see covered elsewhere:

1. How difficult is it to remove the laminate from the door frame? I really don't care about preserving its original appearance, and I'd much rather paint the frame instead. I'd consider painting the laminate if necessary.

2. I think the playfield might be laminate as well. No offense to the original rainbow design, but I have my eyes on one of the Hiroshige art prints instead. I've seen several posts warning about messing with a laminate playfield. Would it be possible to lay a new playfield down on the existing laminate? Or is it game over as soon as I start pulling nails?

I took my laminate off sanded the wood put 2 coats of polyurethane on it sanded it again wiped it down then put on a background that I got from an Arizona company for maybe 15 dollars a background. It’s worth it in the end just make sure you sand properly and get everything as smooth as possible.

https://youtube.com/shorts/-E5BaySZX...t6dTVlfrI1_zKf


Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions


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[takethecastle57]

and biscuits

[GeneM]

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Ok next question… any advice on how to separate the metal pieces from the rest of the turnaround? I’m a little nervous about the pins holding them on, because they don’t look like they can be pulled without ruining them.

[sparky kilowatt]

IMG_0647.jpgIMG_0645.jpg
Ok next question… any advice on how to separate the metal pieces from the rest of the turnaround? I’m a little nervous about the pins holding them on, because they don’t look like they can be pulled without ruining them.

I've had the same thoughts on mine and decided not to try to take it apart. I just did the best cleaning I could, cleaned up the plastic a bit, used a little 4/0 steel wool on the metal, some Brasso on the brass and called it good.

[jstunt1]

I've had the same thoughts on mine and decided not to try to take it apart. I just did the best cleaning I could, cleaned up the plastic a bit, used a little 4/0 steel wool on the metal, some Brasso on the brass and called it good.

I’ve tried brasso before and it smells terrible and leaves a terrible residue. It’s a great option but I found bar keepers is the way to go.


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[jstunt1]

IMG_0647.jpgIMG_0645.jpg
Ok next question… any advice on how to separate the metal pieces from the rest of the turnaround? I’m a little nervous about the pins holding them on, because they don’t look like they can be pulled without ruining them.

This would be a question for Dan. He’s on YouTube as Dan Welch and can contact him on his website email. Just google Dan magic pachinko restorations. He’s super helpful


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[sparky kilowatt]

I’ve tried brasso before and it smells terrible and leaves a terrible residue. It’s a great option but I found bar keepers is the way to go.


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Yeah, Brasso is pretty nasty, I usually wear gloves when I work with it. Another option that works well but takes just a wee bit more elbow grease is miracle polishing cloth. Shines all metals and leaves a nice protective coating as well.

[lotsoballs]

I’d just get a toothbrush and some of those tiny brushes for cleaning metal straws and clean it inside and out with hot water and dish soap.

No need to take that apart risking breaking it if it’s not screwed together. As long as you clean the ball path should be fine.

[GeneM]

This would be a question for Dan. He’s on YouTube as Dan Welch and can contact him on his website email. Just google Dan magic pachinko restorations. He’s super helpful

Yeah I've been watching his videos for tips. He also sent me a replacement launch spring, when I realized it was missing.

[jstunt1]

Yeah I've been watching his videos for tips. He also sent me a replacement launch spring, when I realized it was missing.

If you ever need a part or a piece that isn’t specific to pachinko like springs or screws or nuts you can always find them on AliExpress for super cheap. And if you ever need 3D printed parts you got the community here for you


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[GeneM]

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Oh boy... now I have a bunch of these threaded nails to deal with. How do you remove these? There's no way to get a hold of them with pliers.

[SibSr]

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Oh boy... now I have a bunch of these threaded nails to deal with. How do you remove these? There's no way to get a hold of them with pliers.

Drill a hole in the plastic just over 1/8" in diameter on the opposite side of the rivet, until you reach the bottom of the pocket that the rivet is driven into.

Support the area around the rivet....I've used a mechanics socket before in tight areas or you can use a piece of wood to support the surrounding plastic, and drill a hole big enough for the rivet to fall into. Use a 1/8" pin punch...(that is a straight sided punch with a 1/8" diameter for driving out roll pins) from the back side and tap the rivets out gently, so they have a chance to rotate on the way out.

If you have good support of the plastic right up close to the hole for the rivet, you can increase your tapping as needed for them to finally come out if they don't move right away. With good support the chances of damage are minimal, they really aren't that tight.