Easy Perm Backflash

[greg]

Hi Everyone...I am looking for a scan of the backflash and the marquee for an Easy Perm Allwin. I thought I saw one somewhere on this website but I can't find it. Is there a special corner that all the scans are stored in? The back flash on my machine is so curled I couldn't flatten it with a hammer.

Thanks GREG

[badpenny]

It's here ..........

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2686&hilit=Easy+Perm

There is a section called Resources.

BP

[greg]

Thank you Badpenny, I thought I looked everywhere...somehow I missed Resources. That is what I was looking for.

I just got out my American to English translator and figured out that I don't also need a scan of the marquee or attraction panel as we call it here. What I need is a scan of the Easy Perm Topflash. So, if anyone happens to already have a scan, I would really appreciate it if they would share it with me.

Thanks Again GREG

[gameswat]

Greg, you should try restoring that original first as much more desirable than a copy. And I've done fine with a lot worse than this. Lay the plastic on a sheet of clean glass with another sheet of glass at hand to cover it. Then slowly heat the sheet of plastic using a heat gun until it sags all over. Then place the glass on top to flatten it while it cools. A weight on top helps. The plastic will have shrunken over time so when refitting you'll need to make it fit in the middle and then drill new holes for the pins and nails etc. Won't look perfect but will have character that befits it's age and life.

[coppinpr]

I did supply a top flash scan to a forum member a couple of years ago and may still have the copy on my machine - I'll look. I agree with Gameswat - that playfield is MUCH to good to replace with a copy. This particular field is actually easier to repaint than some because it's got a lot going on and no large areas of plain colour. I'm no allwin expert, but others here will advise on the splits.

[greg]

Thanks Gameswat, I have a heat gun so I will give it a try. I would much rather have the original backflash than a reproduction. My two concerns are what about all the splits (12) and will it stay flat over time?
I thought about putting a very thin sheet of plastic over the backflash when I assemble it. What are your thoughts about that?

Coppinpr... I appreciate you taking the time to look for the scan of the topflash.

[gameswat]

Yes, that's a good idea and I think I did use it once on a particularly bad example. A polycarbonate plastic works well and there are some with UV filters on the surface which will protect the orginal art from fading. The cause of the wrinkling is that the plastic sheet has shrunken over time, but because of the ball tracks and other trims being attached over the sheet they've not allowed it to evenly compress. So this has caused some sections to move and others not. I've restored quite a few this way over the years and as yet not had any problem with plastic re-wrinkling as I guess the backflashes have done most of the shrinking already.

[spintop]

If still no luck, another way is to place the backflash on a flat baking tray facing up laying on grease proof paper and put it in the oven for 15 minutes on gas mark 5. Remove backflash and then proceed to flatten with a rolling pin then repeat if needed.

[coppinpr]

Nigella uses this method but adds an unusual white "icing sugar(?)" which makes everything look just great.

[greg]

Gameswat, I am going to try your heat gun method first. Spintop, your method will be my backup plan. I am still waiting for my English to American translator to tell me what "grease proof paper" and "gas mark 5" are.

Any hints (other than to take lots of before pictures) on successfully tearing the playfield apart and putting it back together?

[spintop]

Greg, just a word of caution, if things went wrong in the oven you may end up with a mini backflash smaller than you started with.

[greg]

Thanks for the warning Spintop. I am going to start taking it apart this weekend. I will post pictures so everyone can share my joy or sorrow as I put the heat gun to it. Now does anyone remember where I put the heat gun?

[slotalot]

It will be in the same place as my soldering iron. Please let me know if you find it....

[greg]

Ok......#1 I took all the parts off the back. The plastic thing (does it have a name?) that covers the ball track is also warped. I can see where someone put a hot soldering iron to it to make one of the holes larger. (Slotalot, was that when you lost your soldiering iron?) Has anyone tried heating that piece to flatten it? I attached pictures but it is a little hard to tell how warped it is.



#2 Any hints on getting the cotter pins out that hold the ball tracks in place. My machine seemed to have spent its summers at the beach. Every screw or fastner in the wood is badly rusted.

[slotalot]

Any hints on getting the cotter pins out that hold the ball tracks in place..

Not my iron that did your damage....I only manage to burn my fingers with it...when I can find it that is..
To remove the track simply lift the two flattened ends of each split pin with the end of a screwdriver, and gently pull the track away from the playfield, they are normally easy enough to get off.

[greg]

Because of the corrosion on the pins they would not pull out. What I had to do was....
#1 Squeeze the two flattened ends together with a small pair of pliers.
#2 Snip the longest end of the pins off so they are both the same length.
#3 Grip them again with small pliers but keep the pliers about 1/8 inch (2 or 3mm) away from the wood.
#4 Tap on the pliers with a small hammer until the split pin moves. Keep repeating that until it was all the way into the wood.
#5 Grind the point off a small nail and then use that to tap the split pins the rest of the way through the wood. The reason you have to cut the pins the same length is the blunt nail finds a way to go between the pins if they are different lengths. I found that out the hard way. I only had one pin that came out easily on its own.

Now in the morning (which will be yesterday for you) I will find my heat gun and start flattening the backflash.

[slotalot]

Or you could do it that way
As Benny Hill used to say "Learning all the time"

[gameswat]

I rarely bother keeping those original rear plastic covers as mine have always shrunken to the point of not matching up properly anymore. Most of my games have that rear cover made of tin or brass sheet anyway.

[greg]

Overnight the backflash warped even more. I guess it had been waiting for years to get free. I decided that I better not start heating it until I gave it a good cleaning.

I started with window cleaner and worked my way to the stuff I tell my wife not to spray on painted walls because it will eat through the paint but she does it anyway and then blames the maid and we don't even have a maid but I realize it is pointless to take it any further.

Nothing removed the really bad marks off the plastic. So I ran over to the auto parts store and bought plastic headlight lens restorer. That did a great job. I am going to try it on some of my other backflashes with marks.

Here are two pictures after cleaning.

[greg]

Day #1 with the evil heat gun!!!

Because the backflash has so many spots that the plastic was turned under I started by trying to flatten it one corner at a time. I was planning on working my way to the middle. It went OK for 2 corners then I must have overheated the third corner. It looked fine hot but when it cooled the plastic had turned white. I tried the plastic headlight lens restorer, nothing. Then I stepped it up to the slightly more abrasive chrome polish, nothing. Finally I went to a plastic abrasive and high speed hand held buffer. I do Jewelry and Watch repair and we use the abrasive to remove deep scratches in plastic watch crystals. It worked, sort of ! I was able to improve the look of a small area after polishing the top layer of plastic away. It will take several hours of slow tedious polishing to get it back to almost normal.

In the picture the white part is not the flash bouncing off the backflash it is where the plastic has turned white.