SMC Discussion Areas

        This is a nice looking cooler but who installed the countertop and......
what was he thinking?   :tounge:

      http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28272&item=190247263324  (http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28272&item=190247263324)

        Sure would be a great auction, if not to bid just to prewiew in person.

I am actually going to go to Vegas on the 17th - 21st and am going to go by and Look at all the stuff.. I'm sure I'l take some photos,, maybe drop in a bid or two..

Do you think I can get that Single door Victor in the Overhead bin on the plane??? hmmm

I'm excited to see all the stuff...

That would be a great auction to visit. Always lots of great stuff! But high dollar too.
Why wouldn't you spend the money and get the cooling system redone so it worked?
When I got my Victor C-14 last year, I was surprised at how heavy it was. Last one I saw on eBay supposedly cooled and was in decent unrestored shape - went for $4300 or so.

I don't think these two statements should be in the same sentence!
Looks nice; too bad it doesn't work...

I was out in Las Vegas this weekend, and did stop by to the preview of the auction, didnt' stay for the auction however, but got to see the stuff.. I have to tell you though, pictures where alot bette than the in person. I also visited a "Collectables" Store in Ceasars Palace as well, Alot of cool stuff, Coke Machines, Jukes, Stoners, collectables, neons and such.
However the stuff that was restored was poorley done in my opinion... Paint was Ok, but some overspray on areas that should have not had paint on them, insides where just hammertoned, Decals where applied crooked and with wrinkles, and the hand painted letters on the embossing was very Poor, crooked and just looked crappy. and the worst part about it is they still wanted 8900 or something crazy for a Vendo 81b with all these flaws...

       I've always enjoyed that store too! I'm not sure where they get the
consignments they sell but they can charge high prices because they sell
to tourists from other countries who fly into Vegas and don't have the
opportunity to shop around the U.S. If the store can arrange shipping, then
the sky is the limit on price.

You got that right. Sky was the limit.. Vendo 81, Poor restoration, insides real rough and all hammertone finish 8900!!
Poorley restored Ideal 55 not embossed , wrong logo on front $4500
Fantasy Stoner Jr. Theatre edition, I think was at  $4600.00
Many other items WAY overpriced...

Hey easy now on the Hammertone finish... that's what I'm gonna use on my cooler liner..  :smile:

Talking with the guy who powder coated my 39's tub (which I had to take back cause a
piece the size of a quarter popped off!!??!) said auhhh... just use paint stripper it'll take the powder coating right off and I'll redo it!!  :Oo:
Heck... it's about the same as the Hammertone.... Hammertone
has the resin in.. and they all scratch... and I've done the zincing and it will still oxodize...
so I don't know anymore....

I'm Not getting down on the hammertone either, I to use it but would not charge 8900 for a machine that had it just sprayed on over all the rust and gunk that comes in a machine,, hardly looked as if they just sprayed it out with a hose , then hit the whole inside with a few cans of hammer... Poorly done.

It's a great product, and works great if applied the correct way..

Has anybody tried adjusting the thickness of the zinc plating?
I have them do the bare minimum for my coin mechs because any thicker and some of the parts will not fit over the posts, etc. - I think they do .0002" for my mechs.
But the thicker it is applied, I would think the longevity would increase too.

I really like the look of a newly zinced shelf or any metal part, but like some have said, it is still subject to scratching and sometimes oxidation.. I haven't played around with thickness, but may try next batch.. or I may try powder coating liner and shelves too.. we'll see.. that's half the fun too..

    I just recieved a machine from a customer who bought it from that store several years ago.

    Nice glossy paint.........but that is all! They called this a restoration?  :darn:

    Here is what John was talking about:

I wonder what the inside of that cabinet is going to look like when you pull the liner out? I bet you find some pin holes after it is blasted. Well at least they are now going to get it restored the right way.

Hamer tone vs power coating? Now that's a tough one. I have got machines done in hamer tone and my most recent V-39 has it's liner and drum done in powder coat, and I have to say, I like the hamer tone paints better. That old metal just seems to create bubbles in the powder coat where the hamer tone can be laid down smooth.

If you guys are having problems with your powdercoat, Its not the powdercoat its who you are using. They are not prepping the metal correctly before it is applied and baked on. I just came from my powdercoater this week with some parts he just got back from a 2 week class on all the metals, cleaning, sandblasting, new methods, new products, temperatures etc. He has been in the business for 10 years and has not once had a complaint, or had to do warranty work. You guys need to shop around!

Joey

It's all in the prep work regardless of the coating you use. I media blast everything before applying and I have never had a problem with Hammertone. I buy it in the gallon, cut it with a 20% reducer and it sprays out nicely. It's also very durable, I sprayed one of my vintage dirtbike frames with it and raced it in the national circuit this year, steam cleaned it after every race it still looks great. This stuff is tough!

       Sorry for the confusion guys! This machine was not even touched on the inside,
or it would have withstood the plugged up drain much better. The main door was never opened at the paint shop and the coin mech and all hardware were painted over.
       RC, you are right......lots of rust all around the beltline. Large holes through the
floor of the liner. Compressor was lucky to survive overheating because of all the lint.
       Just a terrible way to sell such a classic machine to an unsuspecting buyer.

I can't beleive that this machine was sold as restored...
Was the tape around the door liner part of their handy work too...

Glen, you are so right about foriegn tourists being ripped off... And once they are many
thousands of miles away with a huge lump of water inbetween there's no comeback...

I wonder why the customer never looked on the inside to see all the crap? 

I have seen some of the machines going through that store and as previously mentioned the quality isn't that good.

This is what I was talking about earlier in this post.. I was just in Vegas last month and they had an 81b, from 5 feet back it looked very nice.. nice and shine.. but up close the hand lettering was real crappy, coin mech not restored. and the inside was left untouched... just like this one... and they called this restored and it was ON SALE for 8900!!! the was the sale price, the original sticker said 10,500!!!  and this was just one example of what they had.. other machines, all done the same way... Too bad!

I guess this will serve as a reminder that it's all up to us to "do the right thing" and not use the term "restored" to liberally.

One of my favorite ones is the further explanation "Restored using vintage and original parts" only to find out later that the black plastic zip ties and red/yellow wire nuts in your $10,000 classic soda pop machine aren't from circa 1950......How nice!