REPAIRING SCOOP HOLE DAMAGE ON A DATA EAST LAST ACTION HERO PINBALL MACHINE.
By Darren Maveus 8-5-03
NOW AVAILABLE! Downloadable LAH rubber parts chart and diagram. This is a complete and correct list of all rubber parts needed on this machine! The original Data East manual is full of errors concerning correct rubber size and placement. Use this new chart and diagram to correctly identify and order replacement rubber parts for your machine. http://doctorhifi.freewebsitehosting.com/_webimages/LAH%20rubber%20chart.GIF
History:
I picked up a 1993 Data East Last Action Hero Pinball machine that was in great shape except for the scoop area. For those of you familiar with this machine or any machine using scoops, this is a common problem caused by the pinball constantly hitting the edges of the playfield holes beneath the scoop. Over a ten year period, my machine had what I would consider moderate damage resulting in a 1/4" wide by 1/8" deep divot on either side of the scoop hole. As you can see in the picture below, these divots had worn completely through any paint and clear coat right down to bare wood. Left unrepaired, normal use would continue to wear away at the wood and widen the damage even more.
Although an excellent starting point for me (he has a lot of photos), his repair didn't apply to my particular situation since he planned on covering his repair with a custom made Mylar decal and I was simply going to paint my repair to match the surrounding playfield.
Next, I contacted Stern Pinball, now the only pinball manufacturer on the planet. After a brief explanation of my problem, they said they have had good success using bondo and automotive clear-coat. This is what I planned on using at first but after some more research on bondo discovered that the bondo can actually react with the playfield plastic and cause undesirable problems.
My last bit of research was simply checking out the local Home Depot and Ace Hardware stores for some sort of material suitable for my particular repair. I wanted something that was hard, would adhere very well to wood and plastic and could be sanded and painted.
The Materials:
I found a product called PC-7 at the Ace hardware store. It is a two-part Epoxy paste with all the properties I was after. It cost about 5 bucks for the smallest container , which contained more than enough for my repairs. Check out https://www.pcepoxy.com/images/pc7data.htm for product details.
The paint I chose to use was Testors model paint. I decided to use the acrylic based paint instead of the enamel. I decided it would be easier to wipe off or remove a mistake if I used the water-based acrylic. Enamel paint generally wears better, but since I was going to clear-coat the paint I was not as concerned about wear problems. Paint details can be found here http://www.ubhobbies.com/pictures1/view.nhtml profile=pictures1&UID=10004.htm I picked up a Testors Auto Color Value Set at Walmart for about 5 bucks. It contained the primary colors I needed plus black and white to help me lighten or darken as needed. It also contained two brushes that were the perfect size. Details on this kit can be found here http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2187
Also make sure you have a small bottle of denatured alcohol on hand. You'll see why below.
The Repair:
First, I removed the mechanical sections of the scoop from below the playfield. I won't go into specific details on this; if you are considering this type of scoop repair I figure you must be comfortable enough with your machine to remove the scoop.
Next, I removed the upper spinner/light elements that were above the scoops. This gave me more space in which to work.
Then I taped around the damaged scoop holes with blue 3M painter's masking tape. I covered all the playfield area around the scoop holes that was not damaged, assuring that the PC-7 epoxy would not adhere to any surface I didn't want it to.
Now I mixed up the epoxy, and using a 1" drywall blade spread the PC-7 over the damaged areas, being careful to make sure it was being firmly pressed into the damaged spots. I dipped the blade in some denatured alcohol which allowed me to smooth and form the PC-7. If you don't have the denatured alcohol on the tool, the PC-7 will ruthlessly stick to your blade making it impossible to shape the surface.
I highly recommend you try to shape the PC-7 into it's desired shape as much as possible before it drys. You can sand a bit after it hardens, but it is really hard.
After waiting 24 hours for the PC-7 to dry, I did some light sanding with 150 grit sandpaper followed by a finish sand of the PC-7 using 220 grit sandpaper. I was careful to blend the PC-7 to the level and the contours of the surrounding playfield as much as possible. I removed some of the blue painter's tape to do this, being careful not to sand the good playfield surface.
When I was satisfied with my sanding job, I vacuumed the surfaces clean. Then I applied more masking tape to prevent any paint from going where I did not want it to go.
Now I mixed up the paint. This was just trial & error, mixing the colors by eye and then painting a clear piece of scotch tape that I temporarily placed on the playfield surface next to the existing surface color I was trying to match. When I was satisfied with my first color, I painted the PC-7 to match the original scoop hole color. Only do one color at a time. If the previous paint is not completely dry, it will smear with your new paint. I found it best to let each color of paint dry overnight.
Finally, the clear coat. The clear coat goes on really nice, and flows very well. It is best to flow the clear coat over the painted areas onto the good playfield top coat just a bit to help lock the paint in place. Don't apply too much top coat at one time, but do apply enough to cover your painted areas with ONE PASS. If you try to brush the clear coat it will soften the paint and cause it to smear as well as leave brush marks. Come to think of it, the clear coat even had a tendency to smear the paint even when I was applying it in one pass. Use caution ! Once the clear coat is on the surface you can't get it off without damaging the surface underneath. I applied a total of 3 coats of clear coat, letting each coat dry the recommended 15 minutes before applying the next. The picture below shows the finished results.
Thats it! I let the clear coat dry for 3 days before I reassembled the machine and let loose on the newly rebuilt scoop holes.
UPDATED 5-28-07: It's been over three years and the repairs are still holding!
If you have any questions about this repair, or any questions specific to the Last Action Hero pinball machine, I would be happy to try to help.
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