How hard is it to restore a Rol-A-Top?

[watlingboy]

Having collected and restored Rol-A-Tops for many years, I would highly recommend sending it to someone like Jeff Frahm of Two Bit Restorations in Arizona for repair and restoration. The cabinet on a RAT is probably the most difficult to restore correctly and I believe your first try will only net you average to poor results. If it was a high top I would say give it a try but this cabinet is much more complicated to do. You almost have to be a master craftsman in metal finishing, painting and wood refinishing. Part of the castings have to be sprayed and part brushed. The castings first have to be stripped and polished by a competent shop that won't polish out the detail. The coins should to be sprayed with a clear tinted lacquer, as they originally were. The base was often warped because of the two long bolts that ran through it, not allowing the wood to move so it cupped or warped. The cabinet has to be carefully masked and sprayed with black as well as clear. The mech is the easiest part, assuming you don't need too many parts. Also Watling changed mech design all throughout the production run so not all parts are interchangeable. Example, at least 3 different reel stop fingers used and 3 or 4 dfferent reel bundle kickers used. Beginners often try to clean the reel strips or award card with Windex or 409 and instantly remove the paint and destroy them. How many collectors have seen a reel strip with 2 or 3 symbols removed because of improper cleaning? These are things learned over years and not on a one time resroration of a valuable machine. Considering you have nothing in it, it will reach its full potential value if you have it professionally done.

Watlingboy

[watlingboy]

That 1934 date on that part does not refer to the build date on your machine. The model maker put that date on that part when it was made. You are probably referring the part inside the cabinet that connects to the handle which pushes down and operates the mechanism.

Watlingboy

[watlingboy]

I didn't realize that was your machine in the pictures. It seems to be very complete and in nice condidion. There are no pictures of the front. Are you sure the castings can't be cleaned up and left original. Nice clean unrestored machines bring as much and more as some restored machines. Also don't let anyone bead blast the mechanism. It should only be cleaned.

Watlingboy

[Courk]

The wood doesn't seem warped on the outside. I didn't pay attention to that when looking at the bottom yesterday, though. The bottom does need paint, it was practically bare unfinished wood.

Here's the front and sides -- I'm not sure why the top is green.





My favorite part of the sides are the Watling seals -- someone could make the sides look nice without removing those, right?

[Dave]

I agree with the advice given by WatlingBoy.

I think you are getting more than you bargained for if you attempt to restore this machine yourself.

Since you have nothing into it and it has sentimental value, have it done right so you can display it. Every time you see the machine you might think of your grandfather.

Why would someone paint the top casting green and leave the bottom casting untouched?

Regarding the decals on the side, they make exact replicas of those decals. I don't think it will be possible to refinish the case and keep the original decals.

The mechanism does not really look that bad. You could probably get away with just having the appropriate parts cleaned and lubricated.

It looks like you are missing the glass holder frame which is in front of the escalator. Fortunately, that particular part has been reproduced.

[Courk]

Should the seals be green and yellow or blue and white? I can't tell if these got yellowed over time or not. It's so weird to me seeing the blue and white seals, I keep thinking "No, it should be green". Maybe that's why it was painted, to match the seal.

[PA23]

they should be blue and white

[Courk]

The wood wouldn't be replaced, would it? On the inside there's a label giving the serial number, inspector number, and the company's phone number. I really, really don't want to lose that.

[watlingboy]

Court,

The bottom casting seems to be nice and could be cleaned up but the top because it has been painted green, cannot be saved. The back bonnett has been painted black, should be blue and part of the case was painted at the same time. The grooves in the wood sides were originally natural and not painted black. So you would have to restore the entire cabinet. As Dave said, exact decals are available and not worth saving. But it looks like a very nice machine and worth having done correctly.

Watlingboy

[Courk]

To me restore means sand down the wood, revarnish and paint, etc. You're making me think that what you're thinking of is completely remove the old wood, get brand new wood, and make a new cabinet. Which is more accurate? I'd prefer keep-current-wood-just-make-it-look-nice, but if it has to be completely scrapped and started over, that's OK, so long as we can keep the bit of wood that has the label on the inside -- it seems hand written and can't really be replaced, but if it can't be kept inside the cabinet, I at least want to be able to display it with the machine, I just need to know if this is something to tell the restorer, or if it's something I won't have to worry about if the wood that's there now it just touched up rather than replaced.

After this machine is restored, I want to put it on a nice stand. I did a quick search for slot machine stands, but that got me wondering if there were any specifically made for a Rol a Top? Also, several sites had the same stands -- any experience with those, the ones that come with either the silvery feet or the brass feet? Are they sturdy?