My Last Action Hero Restoration Part 2

Cary Hardy·video·12m 39s·analyzed·Jan 12, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Action Hero restoration: playfield removal and powder coat planning with selective color contrast strategy

Summary

Cary Hardy documents the restoration of an Action Hero pinball machine, focusing on disassembly and preparation for powder coating. He removes the playfield, flipper buttons, and various cabinet hardware, then discusses his design approach for selective powder coating—using yellow highlights on side rails, hinges, coin door perimeter, and lockdown bar for aesthetic contrast rather than coating the entire cabinet.

Key Claims

This is the longest Cary has owned any of his machines
high confidence · Cary states 'I've had it probably the longest that I've had any of my machines' when discussing this Action Hero restoration
Double-sided tape damage occurs approximately every four years of regular play due to ball impact on the same spots
medium confidence · Cary observes 'That's only actually about four years of wear, so every four years you might have to get that redone' when discussing damage on the buck wire form
Selective powder coating with color contrast (rather than full cabinet coating) makes a machine stand out aesthetically
high confidence · Cary emphasizes 'something I think that helps make a machine stand out is a little bit of contrast' and demonstrates this philosophy throughout his approach
Matching hinge color to side rails improves aesthetic appeal
high confidence · Cary states 'if you're going to be doing your side rails you need to be doing the hinge that goes to your back box...if you want it to look aesthetically more pleasing then i highly recommend that you do the hinges'
Cary found loose hardware in the Action Hero after removing the playfield for the first time
high confidence · Cary states 'this is the first time I've ever removed the playfield from this game...And I'm seeing loose hardware, which is making me a little nervous here'

Notable Quotes

“this is the first time I've ever removed the playfield from this game and I've had it probably the longest that I've had any of my machines. And I'm seeing loose hardware, which is making me a little nervous here”
Cary Hardy@ 0:50 — Establishes long-term ownership and reveals structural concerns discovered during deep restoration
“something I think that helps make a machine stand out is a little bit of contrast so for instance I've done just little bitty highlights right here just with the bolts”
Cary Hardy@ 7:15 — Core design philosophy: selective powder coating for visual impact rather than full cabinet treatment
“if you're going to be doing your side rails you need to be doing the hinge that goes to your back box...if you want it to look aesthetically more pleasing then i highly recommend that you do the hinges”
Cary Hardy@ 8:32 — Practical restoration advice emphasizing cohesive design through color coordination of often-overlooked components
“That's only actually about four years of wear, so every four years you might have to get that redone”
Cary Hardy@ 10:50 — Provides maintenance timeline for wear-prone areas due to repeated ball impact
“I'm not going to do the entire coin door for this game...but I will be doing the border of the coin door. I'm going to do that with the yellow and I'll probably have black bolts for the coin door”
Cary Hardy@ 7:42 — Demonstrates selective approach to powder coating—choosing specific elements for color rather than full coverage

Entities

Cary HardypersonAction HerogameHarper Freightcompany

Signals

?
design_philosophy: Selective powder coating with color contrast strategy prioritizes visual impact through strategic rather than comprehensive coating—reflects broader restoration community approach to customization
high · Cary emphasizes 'if you want it to look aesthetically more pleasing then i highly recommend that you do the hinges' and demonstrates yellow/black contrast approach throughout planning
?
technology_signal: LED flipper button assemblies present design/removal challenges during restoration, suggesting modern upgrades to classic machines create service complexity
medium · Cary notes 'wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have these damn flipper button LED assemblies in the way'

Topics

Powder coating restorationprimaryCabinet disassembly and hardware removalprimaryAesthetic design and color contrast philosophyprimaryMaintenance and wear patternssecondaryDIY restoration techniquessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Cary is enthusiastic about the restoration project despite minor frustrations with hardware removal (flipper buttons, double-sided tape). He's engaged and methodical, sharing knowledge with viewers. Concern about loose hardware is tempered by problem-solving approach.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.038

All right, I think this plate filler is ready to be removed. one man show that should do for right now oh man for now that's just temporary alright So now, I have total access. You know, that's the first time I've ever removed the playfield from this game and I've had it probably the longest that I've had any of my machines. And I'm seeing loose hardware, which is making me a little nervous here. I'll have to figure out where this stuff goes eventually. Alright, I now have, well, almost complete access to this. And now I need to remove the flipper buttons, which wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have these damn flipper button LED assemblies in the way. So now that they're out of the way... Alright, so now that my flipper button has been removed, it's time for me to remove this double-nutted bolt with the grounding strap in it. And then we'll be one step closer to prying this son of a bitch off. That should just push out. Flipper button removed, bolt removed, Phillips removed. The only thing I've got left is the double-sided tape that is up underneath this thing. Honestly, it doesn't feel that bad. Thank you I don want to apply uneven leverage Don't know who you are, don't care. Sweet. So these, this side came off pretty easy. So if you want to do the method I just did, that is like a 20 piece pack of putty spreaders. Got that from Harper Freight. I'm going to get off this excess double sided tape. I don't need it entirely stripped and cleaned off because they're going to have to get it all sandblasted and everything for the powder coating anyways. So I'm not too concerned about getting it completely clean. All right, let's get this Phillips screw off. Just like the other side. Let's get a feel of things. I'll tell you right now, this one feels like it is on there very good. So I'm probably going to be using a lot more of these. This one's definitely on there A lot better Than the other side Oh man The way I see it is if these things fall out, then they have served their purpose. It's being really difficult on my hands. Son of a bitch. Alright let bust out the heat gun There we go! straight as a board. Now you can see that took a little more finagling and a little more effort to get that shit off. So when you're deciding on how you're gonna do the powder coating and when I say how I mean what all on this cabinet are you going to be doing now everyone has their personal opinions on this but something I think that helps make a machine stand out is a little bit of contrast so for instance I've done just little bitty highlights right here just with the bolts the bolt heads done them inside the gun and I've done just the coin slots and coin slot returns. Now I'm not going to do the entire coin door for this game. Now certain machines can get away with that. This one I'm not going to do it but I will be doing the border of the coin door. I'm going to do that with the yellow and I'll probably have black bolts for the coin door. I have a photoshopped version of this and how it's going to look like to give you a better idea. Now something that I want people to understand and that is if you're going to be doing your side rails you need to be doing the hinge that goes to your backbox. this hinge is going to be right there next to your side rails so why not have them the same color as your side rails i mean your machines you can do whatever the hell you want but if you want it to look aesthetically more pleasing then i highly recommend that you do the hinges for your cabinet so that's what we're going to do we're going to be going over some of the footage i've got some now some people also even do all kinds of extra stuff inside their cabinets whether it be their lockdown bar you know things with their transformer a little bitty rinky dink stuff that you know no one ever is ever going to see unless they show it off and like we're talking like even the metal portion for your knockers and all your coils and stuff like that you know you can do that You can go the extra mile, more power to you. I don think I going to be doing all that though For this machine I going to be doing just the exterior So I going to be doing side rails Why am I drawing a blank The hinge, Jesus, the hinges for my backbox and the coin door perimeter, and I might do my lockdown bar. I'm going to have to go over to the drawing board on Photoshop to get a better idea on what I'm going to do with this. Okay so all items have been removed that I'm going to be doing a powder coat on. Now not me personally, I'm going to be taking it to an individual that I know that will be able to get this pulled off. So let's go over the items that will be getting powder coated. Got everything stuffed in here, but here is the gun portion that's going to be mounted to the cabinet. We're just going to get basically what currently is coated done in yellow. I'm going to be getting the buck wire form and the portion that connects to that. There is some damage on here. I can't see it too well, but damage on there as well. That's only actually about four years of wear, so every four years you might have to get that redone. That's essentially where the ball is landing repeatedly over and over again. So, getting the hinges done to the backbox, getting the middle of the coin door reed done in black, the perimeter of the coin door done in yellow, my side rails done in yellow, the shielding for the backbox behind the boards is going to be done in yellow, and the locking mechanism underneath your locking bar is going to be done in yellow as well. That's something that's only gonna be able to be seen once you take everything off, but uh, it's a nice little extra touch so The lockdown bar already got done. This is actually just a rattle can Done. This is just to give him a good visual of the color that I'm going for So this is all gonna have to be Sandblasted and everything anyway, so it's not gonna be a big deal But yeah, so off to the powder coat. Where are we going? so you