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Funhouse- yet another funhouse restore thread.


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and why not, probably one of the best games ever made which usually gets over looked by some because of its lack of a DMD, don't be fooled though, this game has got almost exactly the same guts as games like Twilight Zone (I always assumed Funhouse was system 11 hardware).

 

Turned the game on and it works fine, usual things broken, eyelids wont close on Rudy, CPU board has some battery corrosion etc Positive things however the Playfield has very little wear, cab is in decent nic and the alpha numeric displays are like new.

 

First Pic of when the pin was first assembled

DSC00407.jpg

 

Well to cut to the bones here's a few pics of where I'm at.

I pulled the Playfield out of the cab wires and all, I then decided to separate the wiring, I've removed the solenoid and flasher harness, then the Switch but I've decided to leave the LAMP's on, they should be easy to plug and won't get in the way when we clear.

 

Playfield out, the Mylar is intact.

IMG_1265.jpg

 

I've gone over it quickly with some shelite, it looks much better.

IMG_1266.jpg

 

Now I don't know what I'm going to do here but I have a feeling theres going to be a lot of touch up work involved.

You can see how good the white is on the mylar part but when it meets the unprotected playfield its faded dull(same with the blue) and shit theres also a lot hair line cracks in the paint. Ball swirl marks need to be removed too.

Close up shot of a section of the PF

Closeup.jpg

 

I'm not looking forward to removing the Mylar but it has to be done, the small arrows around the centre of the clock will need to be reseated too.

Any tips, suggestions and comments would be appreciated.

 

What needs to be done.

Mylar Removed

Inserts reseated.

Playfield cleaned and touched up, Rudy also needs to be done.

Clear coated. I'm actually a bit worried about this, 2 pac seems to have reaction to the bare insert plastic. We had problems when fixing a insert problem with STTNG where when the clear was applied directly on top of the bare insert it started getting tiny surface cracks.

CPU cleaned up and mount remote battery holder, also reprogram the latest version of the roms (which is 2 meg instead of 1) (Done)

 

What I want to do.

New ramps

New Trap Door

New Cab Decals (long term)

A new playfield would be nice but I can't really justify the price, and where's the fun and challenge in restoring?

I'm sure there's heaps of other things I'd like to do, a game thats worth restoring.

 

So from peoples experience I take it goo gone or De-Solv-It is the best way to tackle the mylar on a non diamond plated playfield?? I couldn't find De-Solv-It at bunnings.

I will have to grab one of these magic erasers, be interesting to see if it can get the grime out of the paint.

Edited by Arcade King
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Hmm.. Mylar removal - my favorite !

 

I think Creech had a go at removing the mylar on his FH with great results. He might have used freeze spray. I guess the key here is patience, and trial and error. The mylar on these playfields is thicker, and the adhesive is generally stronger. Having said that, I removed mylar off a Fishtales with minimum effort - just a hair dryer and some time took care of that..

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I guess the key here is patience

 

Pfffft Patience! who needs it I tells ya, I say just give it the 1,2,3 heave ho rip.

 

BTW I do recall Garuda (where ever the fuck hes disappeared to) sayings hes used freeze spray on early pins with good success.

 

.................I'm scared!

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My experience on Firepower (my 1st attempt at removal) I tried

 

De-solve-it (from Bunnings ) lots of patience required, work real slow let the glue dissolve, use a blade of some kind, lifted paint otherwise

 

Hair dryer, worked all right, left lots of residue, don't leave it in one area for to long or it can melt the paint :redface (worse with a heat gun I imagine)

 

Goof off, good for stubborn glue removal, harsh on paint, I wasn't comfortable using it as the main solvent for mylar removal, can melt the paint if left on for to long

 

I wish I had of tried the freeze spray, might still do it on the pop bumper mylar (man they are stuck down well, but that's for another thread ;))

 

Main thing I can say is be patient, walk away and come back if it's pissing you off

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Hmm.. Mylar removal - my favorite !

 

I think Creech had a go at removing the mylar on his FH with great results. He might have used freeze spray. I guess the key here is patience, and trial and error. The mylar on these playfields is thicker, and the adhesive is generally stronger. Having said that, I removed mylar off a Fishtales with minimum effort - just a hair dryer and some time took care of that..

Don't bother with freeze spray. You will go through heaps and spend lots of money on it. Just go get some desolve-it from the hardware and use an old credit card or those plastic razor blades to slowly work the mylar and glue off. Spray it on liberally, let it work itself in and peel away slowly. Pull the mylar so there is some tension as you are taking it off and then follow behind it with the credit card or plastic razor blade, at the same time spraying with desolve-it.

 

To clean all the gunky glue off, just use goof-off but be careful as any paint that has lifted will continue to lift a bigger area around it. Only use it in areas where paint has not lifted. To be safe, just use heaps of desolve-it and let it sit for a while. Then wipe off with a clean rag. Do it again and wipe off with a different clean rag.

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Don't bother with freeze spray. You will go through heaps and spend lots of money on it. Just go get some desolve-it from the hardware and use an old credit card or those plastic razor blades to slowly work the mylar and glue off. Spray it on liberally, let it work itself in and peel away slowly. Pull the mylar so there is some tension as you are taking it off and then follow behind it with the credit card or plastic razor blade, at the same time spraying with desolve-it.

 

To clean all the gunky glue off, just use goof-off but be careful as any paint that has lifted will continue to lift a bigger area around it. Only use it in areas where paint has not lifted. To be safe, just use heaps of desolve-it and let it sit for a while. Then wipe off with a clean rag. Do it again and wipe off with a different clean rag.

 

gunky glue removal - That would do it.. Just to be sure - if you go down the path of using goof off, get the can - about the size of a cigarette packet. Dab some on a rag - never ever - on the direct playfield.... oh - and ensure the work area is well ventilated.

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This is gonna be great to follow... I have a mylar removal in the future, so am keen to see how this goes.

 

And it may make AK slow down to human levels of restoration speed (for a day or two;))

 

:)

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Don't bother with freeze spray. You will go through heaps and spend lots of money on it. Just go get some desolve-it from the hardware and use an old credit card or those plastic razor blades to slowly work the mylar and glue off. Spray it on liberally, let it work itself in and peel away slowly. Pull the mylar so there is some tension as you are taking it off and then follow behind it with the credit card or plastic razor blade, at the same time spraying with desolve-it.

 

+1

 

Freeze spray didn't do shit on my FH. Desolv-it worked great. You just have to take your time.

Only paint that came up was some of the insert letters that had already lifted with the mylar (stuck to the underside of the mylar bubble).

 

I'd use Shellite to remove the glue. I wouldn't let Goof-off touch my PF as it removes paint!

 

I also had the problem with the whites being a cream colour as well as the blues. Not sure if it can be fixed without repainting... :unsure

 

I tried some ME on the whites, but all I did was remove paint (esp. along the cracks). Others might be able to use it better, but I ran out of patience pretty quick...

 

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/2037/whitestn1gn6.jpg

 

In then end I just repainted the blues and whites!

 

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8296/whitestnin2.jpg http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/2253/whitestn3ka4.jpg

 

The clear should cover up the hairline cracks (unless they're full of dirt). I had problems with small air bubbles on the inserts after clearing. Probably from the guy clearing it (and baked it). They did have small cracks too so that might have affected it.

Edited by Mickey Juice
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+1

 

Freeze spray didn't do shit on my FH. Desolv-it worked great. You just have to take your time.

Only paint that came up was some of the insert letters that had already lifted with the mylar (stuck to the underside of the mylar bubble).

 

I'd use Shellite to remove the glue. I wouldn't let Goof-off touch my PF as it removes paint!

 

I also had the problem with the whites being a cream colour as well as the blues. Not sure if it can be fixed without repainting... :unsure

 

I tried some ME on the whites, but all I did was remove paint (esp. along the cracks). Others might be able to use it better, but I ran out of patience pretty quick...

 

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/2037/whitestn1gn6.jpg

 

In then end I just repainted the blues and whites!

 

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8296/whitestnin2.jpg http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/2253/whitestn3ka4.jpg

 

The clear should cover up the hairline cracks (unless they're full of dirt). I had problems with small air bubbles on the inserts after clearing. Probably from the guy clearing it (and baked it). They did have small cracks too so that might have affected it.

 

Thanks for the info Mick, I think I will end up repainting the blues and White, I have a antique white colour (water based acrylic) I bought from Crazy Clarks.

It matches the white that wasnt faded real nice, I don't think I want to go with a white white if you know what i mean.

 

Funhouse was also made as a system 11, the system 11 ones are the ones with the diamond plate playfields.

 

Taken from IPD

 

Reportedly, about 200 of the first playfields made were manufactured with "Diamond Plate" covering. Additionally, several years later and due to dwindling replacement stock, a set of NOS replacement playfields was manufactured which also had the Diamond Plate covering, although these are also reported to suffer from having the red color 'bleed' around the center playfield clock.

 

Also, early production models of Funhouse have the Williams System 11 sound board (part no. D-11581) hooked up to the WPC board (via an adapter), because the WPC sound board wasn't yet ready for distribution.

 

So only the system 11 sound board was used with an adapter initially which probably accounts for the poor sample quality, shame they couldnt resample it for the WPC.

 

Thanks for all the input so far fellahs, appreciate it.

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I normally take the playfield outside on a sunny day to help heat up the mylar and glue and use the hairdryer method, then I use a good quality metho to remove the glue, the cheap methos just don't cut it. I find this method works well even on badly flaked paint.
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I never found this to be the case. The most I ever used on an early playfield was 1 can (the small can type from Dick Smith). I find on any playfield that is non Diamond Coat it is easier to remove the glue without harming the playfield than it is to remove the mylar. This is where I thought freeze spray really had it's strength. You could remove the mylar easily using the frozen glue as a protective layer between the mylar and the PF itself. In my experience I also found Shellite much better for removing glue residue than Goof-Off. This said, I think the method is more important than the medium. Take your time and you'll be fine.

 

Don't bother with freeze spray. You will go through heaps and spend lots of money on it.
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I'm going to try the freeze spray, I tend to agree with Garuda. I'd rather be cleaning up glue with Shellite (which is magic stuff) than stripping paint with goo gone.

I just bought a can from dick smith, going to do a test area.

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Heres a small update.

I'm pretty happy with the way the freeze spray method is going, only problems ive come across is losing a smidgen of paint on some of the black around a few inserts and I got a bit ahead of myself on the 55 on the clock which pulled some of number off.. I was using a razor blade type scraper but find as suggested in the TOP vids but found it was only really good for lifting the corners to get a start on, I found using it over a insert tended to scrape some black off the edge if the insert was even slightly raised, pulling the mylar off without the scraper was fine.

Another problem has been the glue is super thick and REALLY hard to get off, Shellite wont move it.

I've only done about half because I ran out of freeze spray, I think I was being overcautious and using too much..oh well.

Here's a few pics of where I'm at. first one is how much mylar left to pull off and a shot before I started using the Magic Eraser to clean up the non mylared parts.

 

IMG_1279.jpg

 

Check out the difference down the right hand side particularly around Rudy with the umbrella.

 

IMG_1281.jpg

 

Its very easy to get carried away with the Magic Eraser, I went a little too far around that area and rubbed some paint off, this has happend on a few parts of the PF but lukily it should be an easy touch up.

 

IMG_1282-2.jpg

 

So anyway that's where I am, I fear I will have more lifting problems around some of the badly raised arrow inserts in the clock but I think its unavoidable.

All in all the freeze spray method works well but the glue left over is a real bitch specially if its as thick and hard to remove as what's there now.

The Magic Eraser is amazing also, again very easy to get carried away and start rubbing off paint too, they don't last very long either, I've already used 2.

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Betcha feeling a little less nervous now Travis ? :lol

 

The hard part is almost done, and by the looks of your progress, it has worked our well. Magic Erasers don't last that long, they do their bit and then throw them out. I've noticed that areas of high impact, not wear, can already have paint cracking that you cannot see until you either lift the mylar, or commence removal of the residue. This happens around pop bumpers (as you have found) and around slings.

 

Very good stuff... It will turn out VERY well methinks :)

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Still think I should brave the crappy glue removal with Goof Off?

 

Try a test section...

 

I used it on one of my favorite games - Paragon, and I had no problems at all. Used it on a Fishtales - again - no issues.

 

I ALWAYS try Shellite FIRST... but if it is stubborn, I go straight to goof off.

 

The only disaster I ever had was on a Bally Star Trek where I poured a small amount on the PF... The liquid went through the paint (already lifting), into the wood, and then lifted the surrounding paint... Scary.. Since then, I've used goof off on a rag first and then lightly rubbed it in... It will evaporate in time.. stinks like hell..

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i used turps on my wh20 mylar glue, not for any other reason than it was nearby at the time. it worked a treat and no negative effects a couple of months down the track....
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