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      This guy has come up in discussions all over this board and I have wanted to comment but didn't want to hi-jack someone elses thread, so I'm stating my opinions here because it's about time his game is exposed.
      Had a customer contact me about a year ago about restoring his Pepsi 110. It had been converted by Coke and they hammered the lettering section in and bondo'd over them. For this reason I declined the machine until we could find a better door.
     Later I found a door and called the guy back but he had already taken the machine to Las Vegas. 6 months later he drove 5 hours to pick it up, then waited until dark for Rick to show up as no one else would help him and Rick was making a "movie".
     When he got it home he could not get the main door to unlock and had a few other issues so he called them but was only able to leave messages, with no response.
     To make a long story short, the guy is furious and the machine is now here in my shop for re-work.
     He does not like the brush strokes in the lettering or the way the pinstriper did not follow the natural edges of each letter, the bottle door gasket does not fit right so the bottle door will not close properly as well as the main door issue, but just look at the cabinet gasket.
     Bottle stack, faceplate and shelves hammertoned without dis-assembly. He is aware of the 120v power exposed and is concerned about his kids getting zapped. Bottle opener and coin entry bezel were re-chromed but the coin return lever and crank handle were only polished. Kick plate is still bent up and was just sprayed to look like chrome.     
    I must admit they did better with the letters than I could, and the paint is shiny but the rest of the job is what I would call "quick and dirty". You guys be the judge.

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Ugh! Hammer-tone silver on the bottle gate face? he must have used up all of his gloss white paint on something else.. it would rank up there overall as being a beginners / amateur repaint, I wont grace it by saying the word "restoration" in this case. & if you're going to make your own wiring harness, splurge a little & go to home-depot & get a $1.99 handi-box & cover to put it in...I'm dying to know what he payed for this abortion... I also love the orange-peel in the compressors area ( blue in the background) I wonder if the kickplate was done with a rattle-can or that flash-chrome stuff I've seen, 

Is the ID tag covered in paint?

Probably not covered in paint but rather faded from the sun and scratched from other machines/items rubbing against it over the years. I've seen ID tags in this condition, so it's not uncommon. In my opinion, I always prefer the original ID tag on a 100% restoration even if it's beat to hell. So it's kinda a matter of opinion as to whether the owner wants a reproduced ID tag.

Other than that, the paint chips, brush strokes, non-restored coin mech, and lack of new chrome is inexcusable on a restored machine IMO...


What does "hammertone" paint mean?

I wont even comment on this, as I know others here will for me..... But I will say that I too prefer the original ID tag on a restored machine, no matter what condition the tag is in, as that is the tag, the heart, the soul of the machine for me, it truly is one of a kind, and to reproduce that, well, it's just not the same anymore.

But that's my opinion, others may differ, and thats why we have chocolate and vanilla  :smile:

 :happydrinkers:

  WOW !!!   I feel sorry for the Guy .I've been threw the same thing as Many Know Here .

That's Why I have Pat From Here at Custom Soda Works DO ALL MY STUFF . Pats a Great Guy & We became Friends after 6months of phone conversation's & Him & Johnnie G came down to Visit & Pick up a few machines & To take one Back To Restore For Me .And Now He has 2.
I also went and Visited Pat & His Wife Cindy had A great Time .Saw some of his Work And Am Happy to have Pat Do my Machine .

As I have Seen Glens Work NICE !!! I also talked to Terry at Soda Works few years Back .. But across the Country From Me . And Shipping Would Kill Me

I know Glen You'll Make It Right !!  

Again I like Watching The Shows But that It !!!! The Work Looks Shabby & Way To Costly For Any Normal Guy Like Me .

WOW!!!!   This is like the worst restoration I've ever seen  .   It sound like Rick planned it that way to show it in the dark what better way to hide
a poor job then in the dark. So Glen can I ask is this going to be a repair of the current restoration ? or or you going to have to do the whole thing again ?

   can you post a few more pictures ,  this is just unbelievable it is a eye opener.

  Thanks Leonard  :blush: :blush:

  Thanks for sharing  :oh:

Post some pictures taken from a normal distance. It would be interesting if we can see the imperfections without the close ups.

This guy's work really sucks!! Always has!!

Looks like the kind of work that matches some of the goons that work for him wouldnt you say!!! For what he charges I would be very pissed.

I totally agree with you about keeping the origional tag on the machine. I don't think I would be able to replace something like that on a machine. Also now that I enlarged the picture I can see that it does look like it is just the old tag. (proboly should have done that in the first place   :laugh: )

It has always been my opinion that it is best to stay away from any shop that boast a T.V personality as they tend to focus more on their stardom then the real job that started it all. I recently lost a friend and a future business partner as a result of a possible "T.V reality show". My brother and I stepped away from the action as the producers filmed some runs at a local drag strip. We didn't go to the track or inner act with the producers and crew, but our good friend did. The result was a badly damaged engine caused by run on to much nitrous in a race of no significant consequence, all for the purpose of filming a pilot show. Funny thing was, after the car got damaged our friend couldn't afford to race for the rest of the season so the Television crews went elsewhere to do their filming. I feel bad for your customer as this is a very expensive way to learn this rule.

Not that I'm knowledgeable on drink machines, just getting into it..  However, I do have 8 cars that I've restored and over two dozen pinball machines that I've also done ( all for personal use ) and I'm a bit anal when it comes to my stuff ( guess that's why I do most of it myself). There is NO WAY  I'd accept that.. Personally- If the guy payed him for it ,it's on him..I would have rejected it and told him to get it as it should be then give me a call.   BTW-  For wasting my time " This trips fuel n mileage are being subtracted off the overall bill".


My .02

       When the guy brought the machine here, my first impression was this was a really nice job....how could I do any better? Upon closer examination I understood the total lack of detail.
       I am convinced that when the machine was broken down, the cabinet and doors were sent to a professional painter who took great pride in his work. But when it returned it was assembled by the kid.............. or maybe all 3 stooges.        
       The coin mechanism rejects all coins (and the original plating was scuffed with sandpaper on one side for some reason as shown in the picture). I do not understand where the water from condensation tube was to collect, there is no where to place a collection tray. The compressor works as well as it did before, but the machine was certainly not delivered as ready to use in the house as most restorers would do.
       The total charge was not as high as I thought it would be for a shop that is "famous", $3500.00 included the extra $350.00 to pound out the letters, but 50% deposit was required.
       I guess most of his customers are just grateful that it looks pretty and I'm sure that's all we really get to see for that millisecond on TV.
       No I am not going to re-paint the whole machine but am going to replace the front door, then fix most of the problems done by amateurs.

Well your customer will be happy knowing that it is going to be done right and done by someone who cares about the end result.

I disagree on the un-restored tag being put back on the machine. Would you restore a car and leave the original door tag on the door? I don't think so. If you are going to invest that much time and money on a quality machine, I would have a new tag made for it for sure. I might frame the original tag with a picture of the machine on how it looked before resto. To each his own, i guess. Looks like he really got a ride by Rick and I'm sure he's rethinking his original decision.  I just sent rick an e-mail @ricksestimates@gmail.com to tell him how shoddy his work was from the pictures I saw. I think everyone else should do the same!  :help:

If folks remember his magic transformation of the vendo 39 into the cavalier that originally showed up on pawn stars, it was rick's brother that took the 39 into the pawn shop, then they took it to rick for his magic.  Both shows are fake. 

Classic move for Rick, Money over quality, The guy should be taken to court for doing a hack job and expecting to be paid. Maybe he should be taken off the air now.

It's interesting looking at the picture which shows the entire machine from a distance. From that perspective, the restoration looks good...

Rick really bent that guy over.

I saw the machine in person. When I first saw it my reaction was wow, I like it. I asked Glen what was wrong with it? As I got closer and really looked at it, it was clear it was a hack job. No detail, half ass, cut corners, no pride, etc. The sad thing to the average customer it might pass as a nice job. I can remember restoring a machine for a customer, spending hours on detail, putting my heart, soul, and sweat into it and getting top dollar for it and when I delivered it he didn't even open it to see the inside. Are you kidding me! Anyway, the Pepsi 110 has nice color but it pretty much stops there.   

      The owner was not asked if he wanted the ID tag replaced. This was a cost saving tactic by the restorer. I showed him a new tag and he said YES he wants it. Now the rivets have to be drilled out and replaced by screws like original.... but the holes are so much larger now that some big head screws will be left showing.  :darn:

The VMC 7up 81 I did about a year ago was the in the same condition, the guy bought it on auction, looked great in photos and even from 5 feet but when you got up to it saw all the "Shortcuts" that where made... I basically Redid the whole machine, paint and all, stripped it down just like a barn find machine and redid.. the customer is now a repeat customer on several machines..

I'm sure you'll make a long time customer out of this guy when your through with it..

That guy is a sham.  I've seen stuff he did on the show and was like "I can't believe he is giving that to a customer." 

I watch the show to see the cool stuff that comes in.  I'd never let him work on something of mine. 

Here is all I have to say about the subject.....

As an amateur restorer, I would never sell that work to anyone.  In my opinion, the quality of his stuff will get worse the more popular his show becomes.  His customers want to say that "Rick Dale" did their restoration.  Also, there is a significant premium for those 'clients" that would like to be on the show.  A $6000 Vendo Milk machine magically is worth $10,000 when you get your 15 minutes of fame of American Restorations.

Sorry, I did not use spell check but my blood pressure is elevated for some reason.

BC

Here's my two cents, whenever you get anything restored from a car to a Coke machine you need to do your homework,  find out what's the proper way to do the restoration by check out forums "like SMC" etc , know the quality of the restorer's work and ask exactly how will it be restored.  If not done correctly as agreed upon the restorer won't get paid until it's right.

A customer with knowledge is power and it's what people like Rick fear!

Also, I personally saw some of Pat's & Johnie's work and have to agree they are Pro's and  do it right!

I sent an email to ricks restoration explaining my displeasure with pictures I saw of his work, telling him it was all over the internet how shoddy his work looked on a certain machine. This was their automated response.

We have received your email. Please allow up to 6 months for a response.

6 months... are you serious? Talk about customer service!

(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/Picture1.png)

Very unfortunate for the customer.

Now neither party has anything to be proud of.