Ruffler & Walker "What's My Line"

[christopheb]

Dear All. I am now the very happy owner of this beautiful baby (drove to Holland to pick it up).
It seems complete and working fine so far. In the coming days I might have a few questions for you experts, though...

1). the backflash is in a good shape considered the age of this machine, but it is not totally flat : I don't know if you can see in the picture, but in some place it makes like little 'bumps' or 'bubbles' (sorry, could not find the right word in English !!). This is not dramatic. Do you know of any magic trick to restore this ? Could I glue it back to the wooden board which supports it, maybe ? Is this a good idea ? How are the backdrops normally attached ?
Or could I purchase an original backflash from anyone ? (but then again, replacing the backdrop may be a bit overkill as mine is in a very decent condition).

2). The second thing which worries me more are the small holes in the wood (see pictures). I suppose these are wood worms. How can I know if they are dead, or are still happily munching away my new toy ? Would you recommend I treat the wood, just in case ? Luckily the exterior of the cabinet is intact : only the back and the inside of the door (the board on which the mech is screwed on) are covered with those small holes... (see picture).

Thanks for your valuable input !
Christophe

[bryans fan]

In my opinion leave the original backflash alone and definitely treat the wood worm.
Here in the UK you can buy woodworm killers which are usually a clear liquid wood treatment that you soak the wood with, or spray into individual holes.

[gameswat]

The reason the plastic buckles is because over time it shrinks, but since the plastic is held in place by all the playfield features it doesn't shrink evenly, hence the buckling. I've had great success by stripping the playfield down and removing the plasic sheet from the game. You need to handle it carefully as the paint on the back is brittle and falls off easily if buckled or bent. Then after a gentle clean and polish I place the backflash on a clean sheet of glass. I carefully heat the plastic slowly with a heat gun until it starts to soften, constantly moving the gun so as not to melt anywhere. Once it's droopy I place another sheet of glass over the top with some weight to hold it. You'll find that any bad cracks will close themselves up as there is no tension anywhere. After 5 mins it's cooled and ready to be re-touched on the back if needs be. Once that's dry I usually photograph the backflash in case I need to make a print some day. Then time to replace the backflash and I try to place it as central as possible. The central holes will match up but then they'll start to be further out of place from the centre. Nearly all the old holes through the plastic will be out of place now so one by one I drill new ones through each hole to hold the spiral track etc. The old holes are usually hard to notice but you can always touch them up with a drop of matching paint. And the holes for the ball to enter and exit the mechanism usually need sanding with a Dremel type sanding drum to stop the ball catching. A lot of work for sure but the difference in the finished machine is quite amazing and it should stay flat for quite a few more years.

[christopheb]

Thanks for your input. As suggested, I shall treat the worms (well, actually the wood !) ASAP, just in case.

Woa! gameswat, your technique sounds impressive !!. Am curious to see the end-result of such a restoration. However, it is also very scary (so many things which could go wrong, and ruin the whole thing!). Given the current good condition of my backflash, I shall just leave it alone.
However, I shall keep your technique in mind in case I ever purchase a machine with a backflash beyond acceptable condition, and in dire need for restoration.

Thanks so much for your suggestions.
Christophe

[malcymal]

It looks really nice. I like the odd bump and nick here and there, its acceptable ageing and it gives it more patina. Nice find.