Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

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madmickshere
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Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by madmickshere »

Hi, brand new here, I only wish I'd discovered this site years ago, anyhow after many hours of reading on here and not finding the exact answer I need I hope someone can help me.
I've had a Bell Fruit bandit in the state of restoration now for over 10 years now, well really I've only restored it for a couple of months then abandoned it under cover for the rest of that time in shock until now. Firstly I bought it for £30 then took the chrome to near Bristol for rechroming only to find when I collected it, it cost a staggering £450, then I had the body stove enamelled which only cost £70 back then but they lost the back door and the locks, great stuff, then the graphics on the glass decided to start coming off, at this point I was so p'd off with it I just wrapped it up and left it. Two house moves and 2 old cars later I have now found this forum so I'm asking for some inexpensive help.
The problem I have is the paintwork detail on the back of the glass is flaking off.
1/ How can I prevent it all flaking off (it does seem to have a light film of oil on it, the painted side), if I touch it, it will fall off.
2/ If I decide to hand paint the missing flaked off bits even though I'm not sure it is possible, what paint do I use?
3/ Does anyone do any reproduction graphics / decals or can I get them remade and where?
Thanks in advance for what is probably the most expensive Bell Fruit ever made.
Mick
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aristomatic
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by aristomatic »

Hi and welcome

That was a tidy price for that chrome!

If you search the site for bell fruit you will see a number of threads which may also help but this thread is likely to one you would be interested in:
Bell Fruit "Flowers Brewery" slot machine
pennymachines
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by pennymachines »

:WELCOME: Mick. So glad you found us at last. :D

Sounds like you hit all the hard bumps on your first trip down the road to coin-op nirvana. Don't worry, keep travelling and you'll hit plenty more! Well done for not giving in - you'll find folk here who've overcome similar and larger hurdles.

If the paint is as fragile as you describe, I don't know any method to restore it satisfactorily, especially in view of the oily film. Cleaning is out of the question, so over-coating to seal and protect won't work. The important thing now is to handle it as carefully and little as possible to avoid further damage and make a high resolution image scan. This will provide the basis for a computer-based 'restore' in Photoshop or the like, which can then be printed on a suitable transfer medium and applied to a nice shiny new piece of perspex cut to the original shape. It would be possible to work with the pictures you posted, but better to carefully remove the original, clean the unpainted side and put it on a flatbed scanner. That's the approach Coppinpr took (see thread linked above).
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coppinpr
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by coppinpr »

Pity about the oily back, the paintwork looks like it could have been re touched OK but as MrP says perhaps not now. Clean the outside, scan if you can, photo if you can't. (At a pinch a good photo like the ones you already posted will work), put the results on the site and I or one of the others will complete the Photoshop job ready for you to have printed. :cool:
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

Thank you for the replies and advice. Can I ask what you would apply to the back if it was possible? I'm not good on these forums so don't know how to reply individually let alone see who I'm writing to.
I don't have a scanner but can take much better photos than I posted, though I don't know how to upload them on here to be photoshopped as it only takes 300KB or do you mean to another site??
Does the new print out have to go on perspex or can I clean off the original and it go on the glass I have which I'd prefer if I can't save it?
I will read the article mentioned, though not tonight as too busy and finally I'll put a photo of this bandit on tomorrow.
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by pennymachines »

madmickshere wrote:Can I ask what you would apply to the back if it was possible?
I was thinking something like a spray-on acrylic varnish, although others who've tried it may have better ideas. Maybe something from an art/craft supplier for fixing/sealing artwork. The danger would be the force of the spray dislodging more paint flakes and/or, with some varnishes, solvent attacking the paint. The important thing is to get some good images of the graphics first, then you can try saving the original without fear of a total loss.
madmickshere wrote:I'm not good on these forums so don't know how to reply individually let alone see who I'm writing to.
You'll soon get the hang of it. If you click the little symbol top right of the post from the person you want to address, it automatically quotes them, but it's not really necessary. You may find this post helpful: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5471
madmickshere wrote:I don't have a scanner but can take much better photos than I posted, though I don't know how to upload them on here to be photoshopped as it only takes 300KB or do you mean to another site??
Actually it takes 20 MiB, so that shouldn't be a problem. The pictures you posted were good but you need to clean up the front surfaces. The main thing is square on, diffuse lighting, no reflections, sharp focus, no handshake (tripod if possible) and maybe just a tad larger for the resolution.
madmickshere wrote:Does the new print out have to go on perspex or can I clean off the original and it go on the glass I have which I'd prefer if I can't save it?
For some reason I assumed your original was Perspex, but of course a decal will work just as well on glass. The trick is to invert the image (easily done on the computer) so that the decal can be stuck behind the glass where it will look better and be less prone to damage.
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gameswat
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by gameswat »

In this instance I'd say the art is far too deteriorated to bother trying to restore and use the original. Especially if it's a light up machine. Before any retouching could be attempted you'd need to thoroughly seal all the cracks because otherwise any retouching paint will bleed through the cracks and air pockets underneath, ending up with colours running places where they shouldn't. When I used to restore pinball backglasses I tried many different methods to get the most invisible results. And on flaked areas of glass I found the best way was to draw over the black line detail on the front of the glass first and then rub off all the flaky paint! A slow and time consuming process but gave the best results. But I would never bother with more than about 15% damage to a glass, usually smaller areas that had flaked ruining an otherwise good backglass.
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madmickshere
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

pennymachines wrote:The important thing is to get some good images of the graphics first, then you can try saving the original without fear of a total loss.
Having now read the next comments, I reckon I'll just go straight for replacement decals.
pennymachines wrote:You'll soon get the hang of it...
I think I might be getting better at this, then again I might not be!

Thanks for all the info, I don't know where I got the image sizes from, anyway I'll get some clearer, cleaner images of the graphics up later and I'm so glad they can go on the back of the glass. thanks again.
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madmickshere
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

Gameswat wrote:In this instance I'd say the art is far too deteriorated to bother trying to restore and use the original.
Yep, it does look like it's too far gone, especially with what you say about the bleeding. I'm going to go for the replacement decals instead. Thanks for the advice.

Here's the machine as asked, sorry it's buried but that's where it's stood for 3 years under that material. Now I've got my mojo back I now can't wait to get it finished.
Does anyone here have any spares for these as I need a replacement back door as the stovers lost the original and the locks?
Arrh, they came out sideways, eeeeeeek! (Rotated - Site Admin.)
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madmickshere
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

coppinpr wrote:Clean the outside, scan if you can, photo if you can't.
Here's a better couple of photos, I hope they are good enough. Now cleaned they are really bright colours.
On the oblong one, the 3 Shamrocks, the star and the border around the threepenny bit where (or should be chrome finish).
On the squarish one, the 3 stars, the 2 shamrocks, the border around the winnings, the border around the viewing window and 2 bands down the sides of the black central part through the red writing are also chrome. (This last bit is odd because it doesn't correspond with the same black band on the top piece of glass).
Ps: photos of the machine are further down.
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coppinpr
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by coppinpr »

You may be right, but are you sure the bits were chrome and not black that has oxidised?
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by pennymachines »

Great photos - well done! !THUMBS!
As there's quite a lot of work here, can I suggest whoever fancies taking this on makes themselves known first, to avoid duplicated effort. Also, if using Photoshop, it would be sensible to save the file in PSD format during the process, so it could be worked on collaboratively if necessary, without loss of quality. The only solution I can think of for the "chrome" or mirror parts of the graphics would be to leave them white (to print as transparent on the decal) and then cut out and apply the shapes in mirror plastic behind the decal, with a small overlap hidden by the print outline on the decal.

The chrome was expensive, but it does look spot on. Together with the stove enamelling and restored graphics, your machine could be the sharpest Bell-Fruit bandit on the planet!
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madmickshere
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

coppinpr wrote:...are you sure the bits were chrome and not black that has oxidised?
Yes, they definitely look like chrome as the black areas look different both on the front and rear.
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madmickshere
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Re: I hope someone can help

Post by madmickshere »

pennymachines wrote:The only solution I can think of for the "chrome" or mirror parts of the graphics would be to leave them white (to print as transparent on the decal) and then cut out and apply the shapes in mirror plastic behind the decal, with a small overlap hidden by the print outline on the decal.
That sounds clever to me, the plastic mirror idea, as for the sharpest Bell-Fruit on the planet, I'll tell the Mrs that maybe it'll get me some brownie points!
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gameswat
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by gameswat »

pennymachines wrote:The only solution I can think of for the "chrome" or mirror parts...
So are you suggesting scratching off the unused mirror plating so the plastic will be transparent to let light through to the rest of the artwork? I can't see a lower light tube but surely there's enough light cast down from the upper one to light the lower panel?
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madmickshere
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by madmickshere »

Gameswat wrote:I can't see a lower light tube but surely there's enough light cast down from the upper one to light the lower panel?
There are two light tubes, though not fitted back on the machine yet. The chrome mirror plastic idea is to be seen through the new decal through to the outside / front of the glass to replace the areas where the detailing has now gone black and was originally chrome finish.
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special when lit
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by special when lit »

I've done a few pinball backglasses, that were like that.
You need to spray it withh a clear lacquer, (Wilco's do a good one). It won't mater about the oil, unless it's really thick.
Spray a couple of coats from about 12" away, then carefully press the flakey bits down onto the tacky paint.
When the lacquer had dried, you can overpaint it from behind, using acrylic. you can check colour matches by painting on the front, as it will wipe straight off.
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coppinpr
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by coppinpr »

I've made a start on the top glass. Still a way to go and others might be better than me at this.

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I can try and do what ever you like BUT are you absolutely sure the stars and shamrocks are chrome? When I blow the sections up super large in Photoshop they are clearly black, degrading to chrome/grey in places. The two bottom stars on the square glass are solid black !PUZZLED! Let me know what to try.
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by badpenny »

Image

I have to ask, what is the other machine in your photo?
The one that looks like a gas meter mounted on a sewing machine treadle with a hat stretcher on the top.

If it turns out to be a gas meter mounted on a sewing machine treadle with a hat stretcher on the top, I shall immediately award myself ten points and have an early night.
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madmickshere
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by madmickshere »

coppinpr wrote:Ive made a start on the top glass...
That's looking great. I've gone and looked again and taken another photo and you can clearly see (though not so much on this image) my fingers and the lens of camera reflecting in the chrome. However, as you said, I do now believe the bottom 2 stars are black, also the red is a brighter red. Sorry to be a pain but it is looking good.
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