I figured we'd do a thread for Claire's holy grail DINER
Mainly to get advice and feedback as well as track progress.
Until now all my pins have arrived working and just needed cleaning, or parts replacing or tweaking here and there so they play to my high standards
Diner arrived DEAD. We knew it had a board issue but this is Claires grail and we knew it could be either fixed or replaced.
The board had battery damage at some point but has had nvram installed.
My eyes couldn't see anything wrong but it's definitely borked so the board has been sent to Jim @myPinballs to work his magic.
In the meantime I'm trying to assess what needs doing on the areas I'm more comfortable with, the playfield and mechs.
The playfield has had the mylar removed and in general is in good condition.
The main issues are a few of the customers had art missing from their faces and clothing.
In the cabinet was a collection of decals/overlays. I considered using them but noticed the scale was slightly off.
So I thought I'd cut out the bits needed thinking the scale might not be as noticable in smaller sections.
So Haji's & Babs' heads were cut out from the decal and I thought F it lets try It.
I thought this might be a huge mistake as if I screw it up or it looks bad I can't remove them without removing even more art.
I'm quite pleased with the result. It's hardly noticeable except Babs' double chin? I suppose that could be touched up to be less obvious?
Maybe it was a mistake? Let me know... But it's too late.
The other more obvious insert damage is DINER
Can anyone explain the smudgy black bits?
I'm not sure whether to leave that or try address it. I looked at the decal and it is slightly smaller like the rest plus the purple isn't a match. So if I did try use it I'd have to try cut it to pieces and try to keep the outlined DINER letters.
Is it worth it? Or just accept typical damage from this era? Or could their be better quality decals available?
Advice was to clearcoat the stickers, however we were also advised to go with a PF overlay which Claire got me to buy (she'll be invoiced).
The next noticable playfield issue is raised inserts. This is my first experience of raised inserts... I assumed they'd sit up squarely but this one is like a smooth hill! If it wasn't irritating it would be satisfying.
Our fellow Diner owner @Spandangler has many uses and apparently one suited for us is his deep throat clamp. Hopefully we can borrow this in the coming weeks and squish the inserts down.
Another pro to a playfield protector I suppose?
A quick inspection found an interesting fix for the diverter mech and a broken stand up target.
Here's an overall photo of the state of DINER
There was a lot of muck at the back of the cabinet and out of curiosity I thought I'd take the of out as I'd read the wire harness is long enough.
We're wondering whether to strip it and clean up, apply some more decals if needed and get to work on replacing broken old parts or wait for the board to see if the game runs first.
The benefit of stripping may reveal broken parts we can then order.
I've ordered my first foam cleaner and Claire's ordered some new rubbers and a playfield protector.
All feedback and help appreciated
Mainly to get advice and feedback as well as track progress.
Until now all my pins have arrived working and just needed cleaning, or parts replacing or tweaking here and there so they play to my high standards
Diner arrived DEAD. We knew it had a board issue but this is Claires grail and we knew it could be either fixed or replaced.
The board had battery damage at some point but has had nvram installed.
My eyes couldn't see anything wrong but it's definitely borked so the board has been sent to Jim @myPinballs to work his magic.
In the meantime I'm trying to assess what needs doing on the areas I'm more comfortable with, the playfield and mechs.
The playfield has had the mylar removed and in general is in good condition.
The main issues are a few of the customers had art missing from their faces and clothing.
In the cabinet was a collection of decals/overlays. I considered using them but noticed the scale was slightly off.
So I thought I'd cut out the bits needed thinking the scale might not be as noticable in smaller sections.
So Haji's & Babs' heads were cut out from the decal and I thought F it lets try It.
I thought this might be a huge mistake as if I screw it up or it looks bad I can't remove them without removing even more art.
I'm quite pleased with the result. It's hardly noticeable except Babs' double chin? I suppose that could be touched up to be less obvious?
Maybe it was a mistake? Let me know... But it's too late.
The other more obvious insert damage is DINER
Can anyone explain the smudgy black bits?
I'm not sure whether to leave that or try address it. I looked at the decal and it is slightly smaller like the rest plus the purple isn't a match. So if I did try use it I'd have to try cut it to pieces and try to keep the outlined DINER letters.
Is it worth it? Or just accept typical damage from this era? Or could their be better quality decals available?
Advice was to clearcoat the stickers, however we were also advised to go with a PF overlay which Claire got me to buy (she'll be invoiced).
The next noticable playfield issue is raised inserts. This is my first experience of raised inserts... I assumed they'd sit up squarely but this one is like a smooth hill! If it wasn't irritating it would be satisfying.
Our fellow Diner owner @Spandangler has many uses and apparently one suited for us is his deep throat clamp. Hopefully we can borrow this in the coming weeks and squish the inserts down.
Another pro to a playfield protector I suppose?
A quick inspection found an interesting fix for the diverter mech and a broken stand up target.
Here's an overall photo of the state of DINER
There was a lot of muck at the back of the cabinet and out of curiosity I thought I'd take the of out as I'd read the wire harness is long enough.
We're wondering whether to strip it and clean up, apply some more decals if needed and get to work on replacing broken old parts or wait for the board to see if the game runs first.
The benefit of stripping may reveal broken parts we can then order.
I've ordered my first foam cleaner and Claire's ordered some new rubbers and a playfield protector.
All feedback and help appreciated
Last edited:
*pokes 
Or there's an issue on the playfield somewhere.
) and reassembled DINER!
To bring these old games back to life after being dead for awhile does take alittle time & patience. You will notice all the minor issues happen pretty quick after the game is back and running with lots of play, having been in storage for years unused, then after those are fixed 1 at a time, it will run trouble free for many years if used regularly. Classic project game issues
