In Progress Road Show Restoration

Ant-H · Jan 10, 2025

Whist the boards were out of the game, I took the opportunity to give them a clean and service.
First job was to install some nvram.

Next, the bridge rectifiers were replaced along with all the capacitors on the power driver board and mpu board.

I also re-flowed all the solder on the connectors and changed out both of the GI connectors as they were slightly burnt, before re-fitting them back in the game.

The side rails and back box hinges also went back on.

When I stripped the cabinet, I dismantled the coin door and had that power coated along with all the other parts at the same time.

When it comes to rebuilding the coin door once it’s been freshly coated, the hinge can be quite hard to move.

I find the best way to get it moving freely again is to clamp the hinge in a vice and slowly move the door backwards and forwards, moving down the length of the hinge until it’s fully free.
It can then be put back together and fitted back into the cabinet.
I also added replace my decals to the the down mechanism.

Now the cabinet is done, I can get the playfield in the rotisserie and start the strip down to see what needs doing

Ant-H · Jan 20, 2025

I made a got start on stripping the playfield down so I could give it a good clean.

First job was to remove the wire form so I can take that to the platers.

Once that was off, everything else was removed from the playfield. All the metal parts will go in the tumbler for a few days to shine them all up.

Now that everything’s removed you can really see the years dirt build and ball trails all over the playfield.
However you can also see that a new PF was definitely not needed on this game, as after a good clean and polish, I think it will look great.

The last 2 parts to removed were Red and Ted. I’ll dismantle, service/replace any broken parts and then rebuild them as both had issues with either theirs eyes or mouth prior to the restoration.

Ant-H · Jan 28, 2025

With the topside stripped, I cracked out the foam cleaner and gave the entire playfield a good clean, including the back of the back board.

Along with the foam cleaner, I used a magic eraser sponge which help me remove all the ball trails from the playfield.

The final step was to machine polish it. I generally go over a playfield twice with different grades of polish, similar to how I would polish a cars bodywork.
I find by doing so, I can usually get a really nice finish and shine on an original playfield.

The next thing I worked on is probably one of the worst things I’ve had to tackle on a pinball machine. Stripping, servicing and rebuilding both Red and Ted.
What a **** job

.
Prior to the rebuild, I knew that both had some issues with eye alignment and Ted also had a problem with his mouth.
The owner provided a complete rebuild kit for both, which was good as I could see straight away that a couple of the linkages were not in the best shape.

All the plastic parts on both heads were cleaned in the ultra sonic.

I could then start putting them both back together, which was such a ball ache to do

After each part was put back together, I manually tested each part to make sure they moved just so there was no issues when fully assembled and back in the game.

The lips on red looked like they had been coloured in with a sharpie at some point so I repainted these by mixing up some acrylic paint.

Final job was to get them both back on the playfield, so I could move onto refitting the posts

David_Vi · Jan 28, 2025

Oh the horror !

setchuk · Feb 2, 2025

nice work, just took red & ted off my playfield today, ive gone a bit further with mine than planned and the whole playfield is stripped now.

Looking at buying a tumbler now as pricing up all the posts to replace is starting to get silly..

Ant-H · Feb 4, 2025

setchuk said:
nice work, just took red & ted off my playfield today, ive gone a bit further with mine than planned and the whole playfield is stripped now.

Looking at buying a tumbler now as pricing up all the posts to replace is starting to get silly..

Yeah tumble all the metal parts. No need to replace all the posts etc. it’s definitely more cost effective to purchase a tumbler and some good media and a bit of autosol than all new parts.

I generally leave everything tumbling away for 3-4 days and they come out like new.

setchuk · Feb 4, 2025

Wish i brought one before i spent a small fortune on other metal parts for the cab but hey-ho... lesson learnt

Kenny Taylor · Feb 6, 2025

Roadshow deserves this love. Fun and unusual pin.

Ant-H · Feb 24, 2025

More progress on RS. All the ball guides were re-grained back to a factory finish and to remove any ball trails.

I had previously rebuilt all the flipper mechs but I also decided to remove and rebuild the pop bumpers. Once removed I could clearly see they needed doing.

The game already had a Cliffy around the scoop, which had done its job well but was looking battered, so I swapped it over for a new one. I asked @Colywobbles to make me some cool flipper bat toppers for all 4 flippers, which imo are a must as they really blend in with the playfields artwork.

Next job was the plastic ramp, but before I started that, I began fitting the new plastic set, starting with the ones that needed re-riveting.

The plastic set was from Planetary Pinball and are licensed. However, I recommend to anyone else wanting to fit these is to take care when removing the protective paper on the rear of the plastic, as it can take some of the print off with it.
I ended up using some warm water and a sponge to soften the glue/paper.

When it came to the plastic ramp, I fully dismantled it so I could give it a good clean and polish. I also decided to replace the old rusty ramp flaps with new stainless steel versions.

When it came to the rubbers to install, the initial request was to reuse the red titans. However, after I refitted them, I felt that they didn’t suit to colours seen on the playfield artwork or to the orange plastic protectors that @Colywobbles made , so decided to swap them out for orange.

Next few jobs are to rebuild the newly chromed wire form, remaining titans and plastics along with some lighting mods

Ant-H · Feb 26, 2025

When I removed the wire forms on the game, I actually thought they were in pretty good condition and wasn’t to sure they needed re-plating.
However now they’ve been done you realise what I difference some new shiny chrome makes

It actually took quite a while putting all the wiring and the plastics back on before I could fit them back in the playfield, which imo really changes to whole look of it once it is back in place.