# Episode 55 - Cabinet Repaints

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-05-05  
**Duration:** 14m 46s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-55-cabinet-repaints

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge discusses the technical and aesthetic considerations involved in repainting vintage pinball machine cabinets, covering stencil preparation, paint application, color layering, and finishing techniques. He draws heavily on learning from Steve Smith's restoration methods and addresses the debate within the collector community about preserving patina versus restoring cabinets. The episode focuses on Gottlieb wedge-head machines as a case study, detailing disassembly, base coating, webbing/spatter effects, and reassembly.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Gottlieb typically used two or three different colors—white as base with red and blue for the red, white, and blue effect — _Nick Baldridge describing standard Gottlieb color schemes_
- [HIGH] The intended effect of webbing or spatter was to reduce the visibility of blemishes and scratches on the cabinet — _Nick Baldridge explaining the functional purpose of webbing in factory finishes_
- [HIGH] Poster board costs about 50 cents a sheet and typically takes a couple sheets per cabinet side — _Nick Baldridge discussing materials costs for stencil making_
- [HIGH] Gottlieb wedge heads used spiral nails to attach side rails, which often need heat application and careful extraction with firm pliers — _Nick Baldridge describing Gottlieb assembly methods_
- [HIGH] Lacquer coating was the factory standard finish and provides both protection and aesthetic shine — _Nick Baldridge recommending factory-faithful finishing approach_
- [HIGH] Bondo (automotive body filler) with adjustable hardener ratios allows control over working time during cabinet repairs — _Nick Baldridge describing use of Bondo for filling gouged areas_
- [HIGH] Cabinet legs will bite into fresh paint during reassembly, requiring either lacquer coating or felt standoffs for protection — _Nick Baldridge explaining reassembly challenges_
- [MEDIUM] Poster board allows for controlled overspray creating softer edges, which Nick Baldridge prefers aesthetically — _Nick Baldridge explaining personal aesthetic preference regarding overspray_

### Notable Quotes

> "I have a game right now that has troll sex carved into the side. I think I'm ready to get that one repainted."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, early
> _Introduces the GG project as motivation for discussing cabinet repaints and addresses the practical reality of damage that motivates restoration_

> "I'm going to call out Steve Smith again because most everything I've learned about cabinet repaints I've learned from him."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-opening
> _Credits Steve Smith as primary source of knowledge and establishes credibility through mentorship_

> "I wouldn't do that personally. The reason being that you might transfer some dried paint from one side to the other without intending to."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, early-content
> _Explains reasoning behind cutting separate stencils per side, emphasizing precision and preventing unintended paint transfer_

> "I'm way too lazy to take out the backboard, even though it's not incredibly difficult to do so."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-content
> _Demonstrates self-aware practical approach and establishes relatable, honest tone about restoration shortcuts_

> "I've seen repainted cabs without webbing and it looks awful. You know, it just does not look right."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-content
> _Emphasizes webbing as essential aesthetic element in factory-faithful restoration_

> "Less is more. The intended effect of the webbing or the spatter was to reduce the effect of blemishes to your eye."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-content
> _Explains functional design principle behind webbing and cautions against overdoing it_

> "If you're going to all this trouble, why not try to emulate that as best you can."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, late-content
> _Philosophy statement encouraging factory-faithful restoration practices_

> "So you do as you will, and I'll do as I will, and the world will keep on moving."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, closing
> _Acknowledges personal preference differences in restoration aesthetics (overspray, webbing density) without judgment_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; pinball collector and restoration enthusiast discussing cabinet repaint techniques |
| Steve Smith | person | Pinball restoration specialist credited as Nick Baldridge's primary source of knowledge on cabinet repaints; worked on Golden Gate and Williams Riverboat restorations |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge, focused on vintage electromechanical and bingo pinball machines |
| Gottlieb | company | Pinball manufacturer referenced throughout episode for assembly methods (spiral nails, wedge heads), color schemes, and factory finishing practices |
| Golden Gate | game | Pinball machine restored by Steve Smith; used as example of professional restoration work |
| Williams Riverboat | game | Pinball machine restored by Steve Smith; used as example of professional restoration work |
| GG | game | Nick Baldridge's current restoration project with cabinet damage ('troll sex' carving); features circular cutout stencil work and layered color application |
| Pop-Up Card | game | Nick Baldridge's pinball machine with repainted cabinet featuring excessive webbing from spray can; scheduled for future restoration |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Cabinet repaint methodology and techniques, Stencil preparation and color layering, Gottlieb cabinet assembly and disassembly, Webbing and spatter application in vintage cabinets, Factory-faithful restoration practices
- **Secondary:** Collector philosophy: patina vs. restoration, Materials and tools for cabinet repainting, Personal restoration project documentation

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Nick Baldridge presents restoration techniques with enthusiasm and practical optimism. Tone is encouraging and accessible despite technical detail. Some self-deprecating humor about laziness adds relatability. Minor critique of his own prior work (Pop-Up Card overspray) shows quality standards. No negative sentiment toward manufacturers, competitors, or other collectors—respectful disagreement on aesthetic choices.

### Signals

- **[restoration_signal]** Detailed walkthrough of factory-faithful cabinet repaint process for vintage Gottlieb machines, including stencil techniques, color ordering, webbing application, and finishing (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge provides step-by-step methodology learned from Steve Smith, covering disassembly, base coating, stencil application, drying times, and reassembly considerations
- **[restoration_signal]** Specific restoration materials discussed: poster board stencils (~$0.50/sheet), Bondo automotive body filler, lacquer coating, webbing via stiff bristle brush or spray gun, sandpaper for smoothing (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge details poster board cost, Bondo two-part formula with adjustable hardener ratios, and spray/brush techniques for webbing application
- **[restoration_signal]** Technical knowledge of Gottlieb wedge-head cabinet assembly: spiral nails on side rails, backboard attachment, stencil layering for circular cutouts with varying sizes (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge describes spiral nail extraction requiring heat and firm pliers, backboard protection during painting, and multi-layer circular stencil cutouts on GG project
- **[restoration_signal]** Discussion of factory design intent for webbing/spatter—functional aesthetic designed to mask blemishes and create visual depth; debate over appropriate density and overspray (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge explains webbing reduces visibility of scratches, cautions against excess webbing, and discusses controlled overspray for softer edges versus hard stencil lines
- **[community_signal]** Acknowledgment of community debate between purists preferring original patina versus restoration advocates; respectful treatment of different aesthetic preferences (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge opens episode noting cabinet repaints 'can be a touchy subject' and some collectors want machines to 'wear their patina proudly,' then closes with acceptance of differing tastes
- **[historical_signal]** Documentation of Gottlieb factory finishing practices: lacquer coating for protection and shine, spiral nails for assembly, webbing/spatter application, specific color schemes (white base with red/blue) (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge references factory practices multiple times, emphasizing emulating factory methods and noting lacquer was original standard finish
- **[personnel_signal]** Steve Smith established as respected mentor and knowledge source in pinball restoration community; has worked on significant restoration projects (Golden Gate, Williams Riverboat) (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge repeatedly credits Steve Smith as primary source of cabinet repaint knowledge and mentions learning hands-on from his restoration work

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## Transcript

 What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only, this is Nicholas Baldridge. Today I thought I'd talk about cabinet repaints. And this can be a touchy subject. Some collectors feel that cabinets should wear their patina proudly. I have a game right now that has troll sex carved into the side. I think I'm ready to get that one repainted. So that's the GG project for those of you following along. at home here. So, since that's kind of top of mind, I'm planning out how I'm going to do the repaint. And there's several things to consider. First of all, the logistics. How do you handle a repaint and what do you use as far as paint in order to ensure that you get adequate coverage, the appropriate factory overspray, and so forth. So I'm going to call out Steve Smith again because most everything I've learned about cabinet repaints I've learned from him. And he has graciously let me try my hand and taught me how he did his restores for Golden Gate and Williams Riverboat. So, the first thing is to cut your stencils. and you need to cut a separate one for each color on each side. On some games, you can just flip them over and reuse them, but I wouldn't do that personally. The reason being that you might transfer some dried paint from one side to the other without intending to. So, I cut stencils for both sides. And what I do is figure out the order in which the stencils need to be applied. There's always a base color for the cabinet, which can be rolled on. You don't have to spray the base color, but you can. It doesn't really matter, though. What really matters is that you spray on the stencil colors. So Gottlieb typically used two or three different colors. White as their base, and then red and blue typically. So you get that red, white, and blue effect. But it varied a bit by game. So you pencil in the design on tracing paper and then you carry that over to poster board And you can get poster board for about 50 cents a sheet It takes a couple to do a side of a cabinet. And it takes one to do a coin door, if it's got any graphics on it. And then you just spray them in order. So you have to take the side rails off and any other hardware. So again, on a Gottlieb wedge head, you've got to take the back glass out of the head and tape off the backboard. I'm way too lazy to take out the backboard, even though it's not incredibly difficult to do so. It's just more trouble than it's worth. So I just take newspaper and tape it so that any overspray from the base coat, if I spray it, or the graphics from the head won't get into the backboard and discolor it. Taking the side rails off, it's a good idea to apply a bit of heat depending on the age of the game. and on wedge heads, again, they applied the side rails with these spiral nails. They have to be worked out a little bit and then grasped with very firm pliers or cutters or the like, and then you can twist to pull them out. usually that ruins the nail I would just replace them rather than reuse but if you're careful theoretically you could reuse it take the side rails off they're usually not attached by more than the nails but it does depend on the age and then you got access to the original color usually so match that up against what color that you picked out and make sure that the white is the appropriate shade of white you want to take the play field out of the game and again because I'm lazy and this actually makes it harder to move the cabinet but I leave the bottom board in and just tape that off with newspaper the insides of the cabinets were not sprayed below a particular area. It almost has an overspray effect, so they just kind of ran it in a line up the inside of the cabinet walls. So the important thing is just to tape off any area that you don't want painted. And spray or roll your base coat. and that has to be sprayed on the inside as well. When the playfield comes down, you don't want that inside to be the dull, yellowed, nicotine-stained color that it is currently. It's better that it match the outside. So once you've got your base coat on, you put your stencils on in order and you allow time to dry for each thing. Now on Gottlieb games they used either spatter or webbing and this is applied on the base coat before you apply your stencil So the webbing extends to every area of the cabinet, but it's masked really well in areas where the stencil is applied. Spatter and webbing can both be done via a stiff bristle brush. Or if you have the appropriate equipment, basically a spray gun, you can do it with that as well. And it takes the appropriate mixture of thinner to paint, and you'll have to experiment a lot to find the right one. It's also going to depend on your gun and how good that is. but the end result you should be pleased with if you take the time to figure out how it was done initially. And less is more. The intended effect of the webbing or the spatter was to reduce the effect of blemishes to your eye. So if the cabinet got scuffed up or scratched because a bar patron was a little rough with it, then it would be less noticeable if there was webbing applied. I've seen repainted cabs without webbing and it looks awful. You know, it just does not look right. Similarly, repainted cabs with too much webbing look bad as well. So, my pop-up card has a repainted cab and it's got way too much webbing. And that came from a spray can and it looks really bad. So I'm going to give that the old restore treatment here one day after I get some of the other eyesores taken care of. But as each stencil is applied, they build on top of each other. So on GG, there's a circular cutout that needs to be made. And that circular cutout is slightly larger for one color, slightly smaller for the other. and it's layered on top of each other. So again, you allow the last color to dry, then you paint on the next color. Then you flip the cab over and do it to that side. It's important to mark each of your stencil pieces and make sure that the alignment is correct. Take the extra time to do that. You don't want to have to repaint the base coat more than once if you can avoid it. But if you make a mistake, you can always start over. Don't forget, before you start painting, you want to sand down and make sure your cabinet is nice and smooth. This will enhance the appearance, but it will also take out any of the surface blemishes that occur over time. The Trawlsex on GG is a good example. So, once you've got it sanded down, if there are pieces of the cabinet that are actually missing, like someone has gouged out around the coin door trying to break into the game, you want to build that up with an automotive body filler. I use Bondo, which is the current wisdom. And that works really well Well it a two formula It a putty and a hardener in a tube The more hardener you put into the putty that you mixing up the faster it dries If you are pressed for time, then you can put in more hardener. If you want to have time to work it into the appropriate shape, then you put in less hardener. once it's hardened you can sand it, scrape it, paint it and it reacts similarly as wood once that's all done and painted and everything then it's time to reassemble and when you do so it's important to note that the legs will bite into that fresh paint So, one thing that you can do is lacquer the cabinet, which is what they did in the factory. Another thing you could do is make little felt standoffs for your legs, which will protect the cabinet from the pressure of the legs. A thin lacquer coat will give it a nice shine and it will enhance the appearance greatly. So I would highly recommend that and that's what they did on the factory floor. If you're going to all this trouble, why not try to emulate that as best you can. Once you've finished your repaint, the game will look new. And if you followed previous advice about preserving the back glass or replacing it, making your own Translite, then all you have left is the playfield. And we'll get into playfield touch-up another time. That's not something to be entered into lightly. Similarly to back glass touch-up. Oh, a note about overspray. Some people hate the look of overspray and some people like it. I happen to like it because I have several cabinets that from the factory had a bit of overspray. So the trick is not to overspray all the time. And poster board is something that I use because it allows for overspray. So you weight down the poster board on the cabinet. You don't adhere it to the cabinet. And then you spray. And a little bit will spray underneath of the edge of the poster board where you've cut out your stencil. But the majority will be where it's supposed to be. This gives it a softer appearance than a really hard edge. And that's a look that I happen to prefer, but everybody has their own taste. So you do as you will, and I'll do as I will. and the world will keep on moving. So, thanks again for listening. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can find us online at 4amusementonly.libsyn.com and you can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via Facebook, via RSS, on our website. And I'll talk to you next time. Thanks again. Bye.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 578c9349-c92f-435b-bda4-009149878fca*