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This page details how I painted the Cabinet and Backbox using the stencils I made. It contains all the info you'll need on the products I used. To see how the Stencils are made go the the Stencils page. Fathom uses a 3 color scheme for its Backbox (BB) & Cabinet (Cab). The 3 colors are Blue, Yellow & Teal. The primary color is the first color to be applied to the BB/Cab. The entire BB/Cab is painted with the primary color. After the primary color is applied then the other colors are applied, one at a time. The first color to be applied to the BB/Cab is the primary color, Blue. The next color to be applied to the BB/Cab is Yellow or Lime. The final color to be applied to the BB/Cab is Teal.
Links to areas within the Painting page.
Wow, so many choices!! When I started this process I had no previous experience with air brushes and associated equipment. I found several posts on RGP that were useful. David Gersic had posted a summary of a whole bunch of other posts on the different types of Air Brushes. So many questions and decisions to make.
HOBBY AIR BRUSH I finally decided to pickup a hobby air compressor and hobby air brush. I went to the Louisville area Harbor Freight store. Lucky for me, the day I was there they had their hobby air compressor with the pressure gauge and air trap on sale from $99 to $60. I picked up their hobby air brush, the "1500" (an Internal mix air brush), for $20. They also had their cheapo External mix air brush on sale from $10 to $5 so I picked one of those up for the kids to play with. I got out of there for under $90. I spent over 10 hours of testing and learning with the "1500" model and just wasn't satisfied. It took me a long time to figure out the thinning ratio of the paint to get it to flow through the brush. Too thick and it doesn't flow. Too thin and it comes out like water. Next, variable to figure out the distance to hold the brush from the area being painted. About 12 to 16 inches works. The last variable to determine was how much air pressure to use. Internal mix air brushes (the "1500" model is an Internal mix air brush) have one control that determines the air pressure and the amount of paint to be dispersed. You control this by pressing down and back. Summary
AUTOMOBILE AIR BRUSH My dad had one of these and a garage compressor (Campbell/Hausfeld 20 gallon tank). I did some testing with this and the coverage was excellent. I quickly decided this would be how I would paint the Backbox/Cabinet. I still had to figure out the variables (thinning ratio, air pressure, distance) for this equipment like I did for the Hobby Air Brush. I spent over 10 hours testing, learning and tweaking how to use this type of air brush for cabinet and stencil painting. This setup really atomizes the paint particles. You have to wear a face mask. You need a paint booth if painting inside otherwise paint, over spray and paint-dust will get everywhere. You can pickup the garage type compressors just about any hardware store or Wal-Mart. W-M carries the Campbell-Hausfeld brand of compressors and accessories. The compressor will run you around $200. The automobile air brush will run you around $45. I have used both a Siphon air brush gun and a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun. They both worked well so you can use either one. I now use the HVLP but only because I like the way it "feels" - it has nothing to do with the quality or result of the cabinet painting. I tested doing some stencil painting with this type of air brush and I never liked the results. The air pressure kept lifting the stencil edges and produced more over spray than I desired. I was standing on a step ladder about 4 feet above the painting surface and still having problems. Also, because the paint comes out so thick, my paint layer was too thick causing me problems when I removed the stencils. Summary
Pictures of the Hobby and Automobile Air Brushes, along with Compressors, can be found in the PICTURE Section below.
I had been warned that when spray painting you get over spray everywhere. I planned on painting my cabinet in my garage. I didn't want to paint the cabinet outside in the wind and where debris (such as dirt, dust, grass clippings, etc) could get attached to a fresh paint job. I also didn't want over spray to go over all of my personal items in my garage. My only recourse want to build a temporary paint booth. I have an attached 2-car garage. I put my paint booth in one section of the garage so that I could still park a car in there at night. The Paint Booth had to be small enough to fit in one section of the garage but large enough where I could walk around all 4 sides of the cabinet while I was painting it. I also wanted it to be a temporary structure and I didn't want to spend any money on it. I constructed an enclosed room using 2x4s, plastic, braces, screws and staples. The structure is 8ft deep X 10ft wide X 8ft high. Total cost is $85. This might seem like a lot, but if it save me from having paint damage on something then its worth the extra expense. Below is a materials price list:
I spent the extra bucks on the braces because they made the project come together very fast and I can reuse them again when reconstructing the paint booth for another cabinet in the future. Also, the brackets speed up the de-construction process. The Shop Lights are great because the lighting prevents shadows and lets me work at night when the sun goes down. It took my brother & I about 3 hours to put the structure together. The braces really sped up the process. Also, I made the dimensions so I would not have to make any cuts. We also used one of those electric staple cuts - SWEET!!! When I'm finished, all of the material will be recycled and used again. I'll use the lumber somewhere along the way. The plastic will be tossed. Pictures of the Paint Booth can be found in the Picture Section below.
I didn't own an Air Brush gun or Compressor so I checked into painting the Cabinet/Backbox with Spray Paint Cans. I couldn't find the colors I needed on the Krylon website. I couldn't find the colors I needed in any of the big home repair stores (Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart). I couldn't find the colors I needed in any of the custom paint stores. I checked into getting the paint custom matched and put into spray paint cans to see if that was cost effective - NOT!! To do that, a minimum of 1 Gallon has to be mixed (at Sherwin-Williams). Its $6 a spray paint can. However, 1 gallon of paint makes approximately 24 spray paint cans. This comes to $144 per color and I need 3 colors so it would be $450 in paint!!! I decided I was going to have to make the one-time purchase of the equipment needed to spray paint my cabinet - an air brush and compressor. I knew I could purchase the equipment and paint for substantially less than $450. Since I made this decision, it was off to get my paint matched. I got my paint matched and mixed at Lowes. You can go to any LOWES Super Center in the US and give them the information below and they will be able to mix the paint for you. I took my Backbox (without the glass, white display board, wiring harness and PCBs) into Lowes - yes, I did get a few strange looks. I spent a lot of time working with a clerk (Todd F) trying to match the paints on the sample cards to the game. The Backbox was thoroughly cleaned with Mean Green to remove all of the dirt. While trying to match the colors, I had to remember that the paint was over 20 years old, so you don't want to match EXACTLY - you want a little bit "brighter" color. The Blue and the Teal were pretty easy to match. The Yellow was tough. Its yellow with green in it. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see the 10's of sample colors. I performed a test paint on a extra piece of plywood for all 3 colors. I wanted to compare them to the colors on the Backbox/Cabinet prior to beginning just to make sure the colors really did match. Well, its a good thing I did because the BLUE was way too light. I went back to Lowes with my Backbox, my piece of plywood with the test paint and the quart of Blue paint. I hooked up with Todd F. He, one of his co-workers and myself held my game up to the machine used to match paint via a laser beam. We got a good scan. I performed another test paint and the new BLUE looks perfect!! The YELLOW and TEAL are as near to perfect as can be expected when comparing new paint to 20+ year old paint. The new paints are just a teeny, tiny little bit brighter. My advice is to go to Lowes and pick up the sample cards and then take them home and try to match the paint. Take the color cards I provide below and take what you think will match. Once you find a match you can have Lowes mix you up a quart and then you can shoot the cabinet and backbox. However, the ONLY way to really get a match is to have them do it with the "laser beam". Take your backbox up to Lowes (during a slow time - such as Tuesday morning). The laser beam device is connected to the computer via a parallel cable. Ask the clerk to remove the cover of the laser beam (connected via 2 thumb screws). Now place the backbox next to the computer equipment and have the clerk place the laser beam right over the color to be scanned/matched. THIS WORKS GREAT! NOTE: Fathom was produced with two different colors of "yellow". Through communications with other Fathom owners, especially Mike Mahaffey, it has been determined that for Serial Numbers in the 1000s, the color is Yellow (with a tint of green) and Serial Numbers between the 2000-5000 range the color is Lime Green. The Fathom used in this project was Serial Number EFA 1380, so the color codes (and pictures) for the "Yellow" are the color Yellow with a tint of green. If/when someone matches the Lime Green color then I will post it on this site.
I used the Automobile Air Brush to paint the Backbox & Cabinet. I used the Hobby Air Brush to paint the Cabinet Interior. I used the Hobby Air Brush to paint the Yellow and Teal Stencils. SIDE RAILS - I left the side rails on. I masked off the side
rails. I bent over the masking tape to cover the bottom edges. I then took
an Exacto knife and cut away the excess tape so it wasn't touching any of the
cabinet. Some people take the rails off, but I wasn't up for that. I
would want to practice that technique on a destroyed cabinet first. I read
several posts where people messed (ie bent) their rails while trying to get them
off. I really don't know why someone would take them off. They are
"permantly" mounted, so no one would/will ever see the paint beneath
them. Even if you get some over spray on the chrome rails, it will easily
come off with Goof Off. To clean the "nails", I used tiny pieces
of sand paper and very meticulously sanded the "darkness" off of the
nails. I then polished them with NevrDull and it looks really good.
There might/probably is a better way of cleaning up the nails but it was almost
an afterthought and it worked. BLOCK sand the BB/Cab to remove any imperfections such as raised wood grain. Some people remove the original paint, but I did not do this. Use Bondo to fill in any gouges (such as initial carvings!) and pieces of wood that have been broken off. BLOCK sand the BB/Cab again to get a good smooth surface. For BLOCK sanding, start with around 80 or 100 grit and end with , 180 or 220 grit. After sanding, wipe down with Naphtha and a Tack Cloth. Mask off EVERYTHING you do not want to be painted with the base coat (in Fathom that would be BLUE). I use newspaper and masking tape. You will have lots of over spray when using an automobile air brush - you have been warned! Next use PRIMER to seal the wood. Krylon white Primer will do the job. Now lets paint the Backbox/Cabinet. Do either the Backbox or Cabinet - I did my Backbox first. I ended up doing 3 coats, but probably could have gotten away with just 2 coats. For FATHOM, Blue is the base coat. I placed the Backbox & Cabinet on a piece of plywood resting on a pair of saw horses so that it was waste level. I did all of this painting inside my paint booth. I wore a special face mask for Latex painting. It is very thick. It cost $4 at LOWES. Its a good thing I used a paint booth - a paint cloud was created every time I applied a layer of paint. My face mask is now Blue. I used one of the cheapo face masks (5 for $3) during my testing/learning phase and I got all kinds of paint residue in my nasal passages - YUK!! I let each coat dry 24 hours prior to applying the next coat. I let the last base coat dry 48 hours prior to stenciling. It took me 3 days to paint the Backbox and another 3 days to paint the Cabinet. If I had my act together, I could have painted these at the same time and saved myself 3 days. It took me about 1 hour for each layer. In this hour I mixed the paint, painted the Backbox/Cabinet and cleaned up the equipment. Pictures of the Backbox/Cabinet being painted can be found in the Picture Section below. STENCIL PAINTING When applying Stencils, I worked on one side at a time. Once I finished applying both stencils on a side I flipped the Backbox/Cabinet over and did the other side. Some people do it this way while others do one Color at a time - different strokes for different folks. For FATHOM, the order of painted colors is:
Mask off EVERYTHING you do not want to be painted with the stencil color. I use newspaper and masking tape. You will have some over spray when using a hobby air brush - you have been warned! Lay your stencil down. For the YELLOW stencil on FATHOM you need to be careful on the word BALLY. There will be a lot of over spray in this area if you don't somehow secure the inner portions of the "B", "A", "LL" to the backbox. The Stencil Spray Adheasive works great - if you use that product then you will not have any underspray in this delicate area. NOTE: Michael's sells a product called SPRAY MOUNT - I've heard that is really messy. I use the product called STENCIL ADHEASIVE SPRAY that I purchased at a local arts-n-craft store (DEE'S CRAFTS in Lou KY) and a very similar product sold at Ben Franklin stores. I used Elmer's Tac 'N Stik. It cost $1 and can be found at Office Depot. You get an ounce which will last you a life time. You have to pull off a really teeny, tiny amount. I can not over emphasize how small a portion you need. It has to be small enough to be wafer thin so it doesn't lift the stencil off the Backbox, yet enough surface area to hold the stencil down. You will be pleasantly surprised on how very, very little of this stuff you need. LESS is MORE!!! NOTE-->: I do not use the ROCK method anymore as I have switched to Stencil Adheasive Spray. I left the old method on here in case you couldn't find the product or you wanted to do it a different way. I used rocks everywhere I could. If I couldn't get a rock in there then I used the Tac 'N Stik. I got a bag of aggregate rock at Wal-Mart for $3. I liked it because it had an assorted of rock sizes and (for the most part) they had flat surfaces which kept them from being moved around by the air pressure from the compressor. For the TEAL stencil on FATHOM you need to make sure it correctly lays over the Yellow stencil. The edges need to be next to each other. Double-check the entire stencil to make sure everything is lining up with the Yellow stencil. Also, you need to be careful around the guy's chest and his flipper. These two areas are very thin and will lift with the air pressure causing over spray. Use the Tac 'N Stik to keep this portion of the stencil down. I painted the stencils with a Hobby Air Brush purchase for $5 from Harbor Freight. Worked like a charm!! When painting Stencils, LESS IS MORE!! Do not put the paint on too thick or you'll get "pools" of paint on the edges of the stencil. The stencil will "wick" the paint to the open edges. Do a light coat/pass - just enough to cover the base coat. Now do a second coat. Make sure the first and second coats are even everywhere on the stencil. When painting your stencils, you will be holding the air brush nozzle perpendicular to the ground. This may cause the paint to not flow correctly. Every now and then you will need to hold the air brush so the nozzle is horizontal to the ground. Spray onto a portion of the cabinet that is masked off with newspaper until the paint starts flowing again. I highly recommend you create practice stencils and do this on a piece of plywood. Especially practice getting the the word BALLY painted correctly with a stencil. When painting with an air brush, remember to always start painting PRIOR to the actual area to be painted and finish painting AFTER the area. This prevents blobs of paint. Use nice, smooth, even strokes. I go Left to Right. Take your time and keep the air brush parallel with the work. Move your arm and not the air brush. Now that I've painted a pinball backbox/cabinet with an air brush I don't think I will waste my time with Spray Paint Cans. With spray paint cans I'm limited to the colors available in stock. With an air brush I can get an color I want. Its also a lot cheaper to paint a backbox/cabinet with an air brush than it is with spray paint cans. Pictures of Stencil Painting can be found in the Picture Section below. TIPS and TRICKS
Thanks goes out to... I would like to thank Ben, Clay & Johnnie Terry for providing me with guidance on how to paint a cabinet with an air brush and stencils. I also found lots of good posts on RGP in regards to this process. I did perform quite a bit of air brush testing with stencils made out of portions of the artwork and plywood. This is how I tested, learned and perfected the process of air brush painting and stenciling. It also gave me 100% confidence that the air brush & stenciling technique would work and how I could eliminate the unnecessary over spray. In the picture below showing my tests, notice the Blue and how light it is compared to the Blue on the plywood in the background. The lighter Blue was my original (incorrect) color match. The darker Blue in the background is the correct color match that I used to repaint the Backbox and Cabinet.
This page was last updated on 09/04/04
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