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prepping cab for redecal questions

AlanJ

AlanJ

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Dec 27, 2017
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Leeds, West Yorkshire
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Alan
I’ve stripped my rfm cabinet as the decals were well shot, i’m on with the glue removal scraping, sanding and filling and sanding and sanding and sanding. Couple of questions :

1. what grit smoothness do you sand down to? I’m on 120 at the moment and it feels nice and smooth.

2. In the rfm cab there are a number of bolts recessed into the sides of the cab, these were visible under the old decals as they were never originally filled with anything, should I fill them and smooth over? Or do you leave them so they are easier for the next guy?

i would post a pic but tapatalk won’t let me!

many thanks.

alan


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120 grit doesn't sound like enough. I can tell you as a buyer of a half-****d re-decal job a few years ago on a TAF.....get that thing glass smooth because it will feel like a dog has been knawing at it when you run your hand over it otherwise. Any imperfections are magnified.
 
400 grit maybe even finer. Then you spray with acrylic primer to highlight imperfections before you put the decal on. Much easier to see with the primer on.

Good tip is tack cloth, wipe the prepped surface down before you apply the decals to remove any dirt/ dust/ bugs.

I sanded my bolt head compressions down to at least make the area smooth. Those bolts do not carry much weight so you don't need to massively tighten them.

Worth experimenting. You can use off cuts of decal to test out what it might look like before you go all in. Try spraying some random plywood to get a feel for how it goes down. Have your spray room warm as cold rooms make painting harder.

Experiment at cutting the start button hole. If knife too sharp, it cuts into the wood. If too blunt it wont cleanly cut the decal. I found a pen knife was perfect. Quite a few folk mess up the start button cut and it is a really obvious spot
 
Well you certainly have the pain in the **** cabinet as your first. Not the easiest to do by a long shot.
My advice is to keep the process as original as possible to how it was done by the factory back in the day.
The sanding process , I usually go as far as 360's, which should give you the desired smoothness. I always do as the factory did and apply the decal direct onto the bare wood. As long as you have got the surface as smooth as you can by reducing the grade of disc to a minimum of 360, this should be enough. Then as Dave has said I always tack cloth the area directly before you install the decal to remove fine particles.
Take your time and have fun, if you have any questions or need advice on anything PM me and I will help out in any way I can.
D.
 
I usually go to 400 gtit - however you MAY find that on fillered areas you have to use 200 to give the super smooth filler some Pseudo "grain"... :)
 
thanks all. filled around those bolts last night. today is a day of sanding......


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Aren’t Radcals solid anyway, not decals? I would’ve assumed they would mask any imperfections completely. That said you might as well do the job properly while it’s in that state.

EDIT: I’m an idiot. Assumed title was a typo.
 
I’ve got a set of Radcals to fit for my IJ, still need to sand down the print or remove the original decals as apparently they don’t quite line up and you can see through to the old ones!
They do look good though.
 
AlanJ said:
I feel like i’m elton john - i’m still sanding.


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Know the feeling well Alan!!! I'm about to start sanding my full dracula cab and head as well -happy days!!!

Cheers

kev
 
AlanJ said:
I feel like i’m elton john - i’m still sanding.


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An orbital sander is your best friend if you don't already have one, really don't recommend by hand, the uneven pressure and grain from a hand alone can make ten times the work
 
Have been looking at orbital sanders, the Bosch one I fancy has been out of stock for weeks now at about £200. Comes with 125mm and 150mm plate.
Any other ones to look at around that price and lower?
 
see if you can grab a second-hand Festool, might still be over £200.

Although, for the small number of sanding that's involved in a pinball machine, a cheapy from toolstation will do it for you,

Work is made easier with a sander that is evenly balanced, for instance if it's back heavy more pressure is needed to stabilise the pad so it sits perfectly on the deck if it's back heavy only one corner of the pad will sit on the deck without pressure.. hard to explain, im sure there's a youtube video out there.


But, again for the small amount of work involved in a pinball machine, I wouldn't go spending £200 on a orbital sander just for that purpose, unless you plan on doing several and have other uses for it


Might also be worth reading up on the differences between a rotary and a orbital
 
Going to be using it for some wall work too but that’s about it.
Ive looked at them all and Festool are the ones to get but a watched as by side comparison review against the Bosch and it wasn’t too bad, don’t want a cheap one.
I use Bosch pro mainly and Fein and cant complain. New Festool is so expensive, ok if you use it all the time though. Did look at used but were pretty hammered looking and still over £200!
 
i’ve not got a random orbital sander. just the old style 1/3 sheet oblong orbital sander. i am aware these are not as efficient and also can leave worse cross grain scratches, i’ve managed to get a really nice smooth finish using some very fine paper, probably 400 grit - it doesn’t say. i inherited a load of sanding paper from my uncle who was a woodwork craftsman.


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another question.

t-moulding: do you glue it in or just rely on the friction of the fit to hold it in place?

and i’m planning doing it after applying decals, is that the right order?


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I got it from Tobin, had a few issues that confused the f out of me as hadn’t played one before. Skill shot light board was the wrong way around, that was weird, the castle lock was releasing too many balls and the drop target needed sorting. Nothing major and has been pretty sweet since👍 Nice job.
I put in a colordmd and pinsound/speakers as they were taken out I think.
 
M4carp said:
I got it from Tobin, had a few issues that confused the f out of me as hadn’t played one before. Skill shot light board was the wrong way around, that was weird, the castle lock was releasing too many balls and the drop target needed sorting. Nothing major and has been pretty sweet since[emoji106] Nice job.
I put in a colordmd and pinsound/speakers as they were taken out I think.
Click to expand...

Strange sounds like it swapped hands a few times since me
 
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