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Cost to Have a Pinball shop Redecal a Cab?


punkin

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Hi all, was looking at a widebody pinball i'm interested in. The machine is at a resellers business and it comes with new decals. When i asked if they could put the decals on for me they said it would cost $2,000 to apply them.

 

Does this seem at all reasonable just to fit the decals that come with the machine??

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Talking about time taken to do decals. I did a restore on an Indiana Jones a few years ago where I took the time to document every hour I spent on the machine.

Complete strip down, remove everything from play field, airbrush touch ups, clear coat, repair and prep cabinet and fit decals and I stopped counting at 180 hours. I just looked back at my restore log and it took me 25.5 hours for the decals.

Edited by c_mario
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Thanks guys, in summary from reading here and the private messages i had, 2k is a little steep but not completely out of line. Definately was the 'i don't want to do it price' but they thought it might move the machine.

My take on it was that for the 2k i'm better off getting the decals with the machine and getting someone who does this kind of work as a hobby income to do it for me as it will work out cheaper and i'll know what standard the job will be done too.

In the end the machine was too exe anyway although i liked it.

 

For those that think i should do it myself, this is the flipper button protector i put on last, upside down, wrinkled and peeling with large bubbles.

 

IMGP0405.thumb.jpg.ca637a8d49d121e8f7f7834ed70f523c.jpg

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haha! I reckon your plan sounds like the go.

 

Get it home and find someone local to do a paid job or a friend to help.

You could stuff up 3 sets of new decals and be in front still..

 

I was super nervous when I did my first cab now its just a cruisey formula with good coffee and music on the side, on a lovely day in paradise.

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It's not rocket science. Then in most cases it sits between other games or against a wall and all is lost, don't put so much emphasis and money into these machines a few imperfections is ok if you do it yourself, the return is not there but if it helps you sleep at night then spend away.
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Hi all, was looking at a widebody pinball i'm interested in. The machine is at a resellers business and it comes with new decals. When i asked if they could put the decals on for me they said it would cost $2,000 to apply them.

 

Does this seem at all reasonable just to fit the decals that come with the machine??

 

It's a fair question indeed and not an easy one to give a straight up answer to, as it depends on what exactly is being done. If we are talking just decals being applied to the cab, then $2000 is steep in my opinion, taking into account there are overheads associated with a business and gst, etc. There are other questions that need to be asked as this sort of thing is never black and white. There are grey areas.

 

Is it a full strip down of the main cab and head box?

 

Are ALL cabinet parts cleaned/restored/polished/etc, including new earth braid?

 

Is the cabinet damaged and will it be repaired and prepared correctly? Glued/screwed, clamped, filled/bogged, sanded, painted, etc?

 

Does this include the correct metal cab protectors to avoid future decal damage?

 

What about new rails? These can get bent/damaged when removing.

 

Etc, etc....

 

There are so many variables and so many options. The more detailed job = more hours = more cost.

 

A decent re-decaling job takes time. It also depends on how fussy you are and what you expect.

 

I have seen some re-decaled cabinets from pinball retailers that have been very average, and then I have also seen some really top work and craftsmanship from hobbyists done in their garage/shed at home.

 

So it really depends on the individual performing the job and a full description and explanation on what work is intended.

 

Like @KJS stated, have a crack yourself, it's not that hard and you'll get better the more you do. It's also such a rewarding task. There are plenty of guys that have done it before, including me. I would never claim to be the best but I would like to think I do a pretty good job at it considering I'm not a tradie or have any training. So feel free to contact me as more than happy to provide advice based on the method I use and my experiences.

 

There are many that have provided good feedback and advice (too many posts to 'like') so I just thought I'd throw a little more in late. Good luck if you choose to do it yourself @punkin.

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Thanks a lot mate for typing out the details for me. Great place here with lots of people willing to help.

 

Did my first solo repair yesterday, spider mech on The Hobbit has been sticking at the top of the lift for weeks.

 

I pulled the mech and then spent an hour figuring out why and where it was binding and then had a couple goes of bending the brackets after disassembling a couple times. All fixed and working and i was feeling pretty proud.

 

Onwards and upwards, but i don't think i'm ready for this yet.

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Trouble is Ray, I bet my bottom dollar your job will be miles ahead of any retailer. That's the problem at 2k !

 

Totally agree...The best work seen IMO is by the hobbyist....

I have a machine from Ray that is the best example of a 38 year old remake I have ever seen for the machine in question.

I have no doubt that the hours involved in the restore of that cabinet took a lot more than 40 hours. There will be better jobs out there but I am yet to see any retailers rebuild anywhere close to this quality.

I have seen some well overpriced machines that are far from an expected quality for the dollars invested. You get what you pay for, you pay more in the real world where the hobbyist of quality can be hard to find for most. But they all started somewhere.

Use AA and have a go...Plenty of advise from plenty of members. Choose what you think you are comfortable with.

You may just surprise yourself...

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About $300 give or take , pending Quality and game

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

What about all the unlicensed cabinet decals out there. I've seen people pay that sort of money for unlicensed copies because you can tell by the saturated and poor colour matching. As for quality doubt we are comparing apples with apples, and game title should not make any difference in price. Seems like paying for an unlicensed reproduction is not disclosed for this particular spare part. A quality decal is evident by it's texture, thickness and colour. In your case it doesn't matter because your decals have been supplied but for 2k you would think they would have been included.

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Yep that’s the easy part. The prep is the time consuming part. The better you want the cab, the more time it takes.

 

And let’s face it most of us are OCD and want the job done to perfection (WELL I KNOW I DID!!)so it all takes time. I put around 30-35 hours into my Indy cab (NOT including stripping it out and fully stripping down Playfield)to get it ready.... and about 30 minutes to put the decals on. It’s a process @punkin

that really depends on how good you want it to look but more importantly how long you want it to last. I’ve bought redecalled machines that have literally had the decals start to fall off weeks later. Anyone here who has done a redecal will tell you it’s ALL in the preparation. My 2c worth. [emoji106]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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Yep that’s the easy part. The prep is the time consuming part. The better you want the cab, the more time it takes.

 

And let’s face it most of us are OCD and want the job done to perfection (WELL I KNOW I DID!!)so it all takes time. I put around 30-35 hours into my Indy cab (NOT including stripping it out and fully stripping down Playfield)to get it ready.... and about 30 minutes to put the decals on. It’s a process @punkin

that really depends on how good you want it to look but more importantly how long you want it to last. I’ve bought redecalled machines that have literally had the decals start to fall off weeks later. Anyone here who has done a redecal will tell you it’s ALL in the preparation. My 2c worth. [emoji106]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

 

Absolutely spot on. I take so long to prepare my cabinets for decals...................but I am also OCD when it comes to this.

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Did my Indiana Jones cabinet a few years ago and it took me about 40 hours - but I did it properly and it was my first time so was learning on the run. As everyone says the actual preparation is 90% of the time spent.

This is a great thread for those interested in doing it right (he covers a whole restoration but a lot of info on doing the cabinet/decals):

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ij-restoration-started?tu=bryan_kelly

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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To do it properly takes experience, products and equipment. Most people don't have proper spray guns, compressor, and the proper filler materials I use just lying around. I see lots of people just using "bog", fine for slight blemishes but on a corner or a major repair with it is just asking for trouble. I certainly don't charge $2000 for a cab with decals but I don't have the overheads of some. Anyone can slap decals on and it looks good for a while from a distance but to make it last and be super flat and a professional look takes more. Just my 2 cents and I've done work for a few people on here who I'm sure will vouch for what I'm saying.

 

Sent from my SM-G960F using Aussie Arcade mobile app

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Did my Indiana Jones cabinet a few years ago and it took me about 40 hours - but I did it properly and it was my first time so was learning on the run. As everyone says the actual preparation is 90% of the time spent.

This is a great thread for those interested in doing it right (he covers a whole restoration but a lot of info on doing the cabinet/decals):

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ij-restoration-started?tu=bryan_kelly

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

 

Just read that entire Bryan Kelly thread he posted a few years back on the IJ - really good informative read with comedy also.

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I'm still doing my Fishies and it's been a tough son bitch !

 

Just removing the old cab decals was a mongrel. The cabinet is sound but still tons of prep on this one as well.

At least 30hrs so far. Glad I have learnt so many good tips from fellow forum members.

 

Yes it is very time consuming, but the satisfaction from doing it yourself is great :)

If you are gonna do it don't forget safety first. Get a good mask. The dust and paint fumes are toxic as hell.

 

1401259529_FTCab.thumb.jpg.da4b399fe3675ea836e5686fac0ade14.jpg

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As you saw in the video factory fitted decals were applied straight onto bare plywood. So if you think after removing the old decal you really need to sand, prime and paint to get a factory finish then that involves many hours of work, but by going by some figures it takes guys weeks. I think if you just bogged and sanded then sprayed all edges in black then applied your decal you wouldn't be any wiser, and this has been proven to be the case by Bally/Williams themselves.
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As you saw in the video factory fitted decals were applied straight onto bare plywood. So if you think after removing the old decal you really need to sand, prime and paint to get a factory finish then that involves many hours of work, but by going by some figures it takes guys weeks. I think if you just bogged and sanded then sprayed all edges in black then applied your decal you wouldn't be any wiser, and this has been proven to be the case by Bally/Williams themselves.

 

Yes true,

It just sucks being an OCD perfectionist :)

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