Restoring my GC III

I

ISW

Registered
I recently purchased my Gold Crown III. I am going to be restoring it this coming week. I had a few questions about the work I am going to do.

First I am going to have the Castings powder coated. I am going to talk to the powder coater about what color will match the original the best.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=228186

CIMG1360.jpg


CIMG1346.jpg


With the skirt I am going to sand them down using 100 grit paper. I started with a higher number and it is going to take too long. I am then going to stain them with Minwax Red Mahogany stain and two coats of semi-gloss. I am assuming I should use some wood puddy to fill any large dings in the wood. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This was done on this table http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=215616 and I think it looks great! Great job jnyrad.

CIMG1356.jpg


The legs I am a little more concerned about. I know the veneer is thin. What would be the best way to repair these? I was thinking a light sand with some wood puddy. Again, I don't know if I should do this so any suggestions would be appreciated.

CIMG1352.jpg


To finish it off, I am going with traditional green Simonis 860HR. I thought about getting the rails changed to diamonds but the mechanic who looked at the rails said they looked fine. I also wanted to extend the rails but the mechanic also assured me that two facings on each side would make the table 1/2 inch tighter. I know I wont have 4 1/4 inch pockets but hopefully they wont be too big.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions welcome.
 
I'm not a mechanic but I can share a little experience having powder coated the castings on my GC4. Not all colors will work because the castings are pot metal and can be difficult to powder coat without bubbling showing. I think the problem is that the pot metal doesn't retain heat consistently so different areas reach different temperatures and they don't cool uniformly. Talk to the shop doing the work but my understanding is the better colors are those that have that pebbling look and are darker as it helps disguise any bubbles.

Partly for this reason I chose to coat mine more to match the rails than the original antique brass look of the castings. On a lighter solid color the imperfections may show more.

If you look closely you can see a couple of bubbles in the upper right of the casting but they still look pretty good:

013.jpg

BEST OF LUCK WITH THE PROJECT!!
 
Last edited:
ISW said:
...
I also wanted to extend the rails but the mechanic also assured me that two facings on each side would make the table 1/2 inch tighter. ...
Click to expand...

You seem unsure about woodworking so you may want to poll people you know locally that may have more experience working with wood for help.
Don't know who "the mechanic" is but adding facings is the hack way to tighten pockets if that is what he plans on doing.
 
DogsPlayingPool said:
I'm not a mechanic but I can share a little experience having powder coated the castings on my GC4. Not all colors will work because the castings are pot metal and can be difficult to powder coat without bubbling showing. I think the problem is that the pot metal doesn't retain heat consistently so different areas reach different temperatures and they don't cool uniformly. Talk to the shop doing the work but my understanding is the better colors are those that have that pebbling look and are darker as it helps disguise any bubbles.

Partly for this reason I chose to coat mine more to match the rails than the original antique brass look of the castings. On a lighter solid color the imperfections may show more.

If you look closely you can see a couple of bubbles in the upper right of the casting but they still look pretty good:

View attachment 179652

BEST OF LUCK WITH THE PROJECT!!
Click to expand...

Interesting. Maybe when I talk to the powder coater I can get a discount if their are imperfections.
 
Dartman said:
You seem unsure about woodworking so you may want to poll people you know locally that may have more experience working with wood for help.
Don't know who "the mechanic" is but adding facings is the hack way to tighten pockets if that is what he plans on doing.
Click to expand...


That's what I understood also. I have also heard that as long as you dont have more than two it's acceptable. I will just have to live with not having the tightest pockets around I guess.
 
Last edited:
ISW said:
That's what I understood also. I have also heard that as long as you dont have more than two it's acceptable. I will just have to live with not having the tightest pockets around I guess.
Click to expand...

"One" facing per rail end is what is generally acceptable. Facings come in different thicknesses so tightening without doubling is possible.
 
Last edited:
ISW said:
Interesting. Maybe when I talk to the powder coater I can get a discount if their are imperfections.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. The shop actually had to do mine over. When they were supposed to be ready I called them and they said that they came out so bad they were re-doing them and that's when they explained the problems with powder coating pot metal. When I came to pick them up he said they were a lot better but there were still these imperfections. I whined a little bit about the delay and the imperfect results looking for a discount, and he told me "just take them, don't worry about it". They are a reputable shop and since they weren't completely happy with how they came out they felt uncomfortable charging me. I think I got a pretty good deal and needless to say, they have made a customer out of me. :wink:

But that's why they recommend using a darker color and even better if you pick one that has some pebbling or a texture look to it. The reason I didn't go to the textured look was because the castings on the GC4 have the Brunswick logo in the casting and the textured coat would tend to make these less visible. Anyway, you'll know what I mean about "textured" when you go look at the available colors. See Steve's post #9 in this thread for a pic of what I'm talking about:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=94382&highlight=powder+coating

BTW, maybe one of the mechanics will correct me if I'm completely wrong about this. My table is a GC4 and I suppose it is possible that the castings on the GC3 are not pot metal.
 
Last edited:
Update

Hey guys. So far I have had the castings powder coated and re-stained the wood pieces that needed it. The guys are going to be here in about an hour to set up and cloth the table.

CIMG1371.jpg


CIMG1369.jpg


CIMG1368.jpg


CIMG1365.jpg


CIMG1363.jpg


Not everything came out perfect but I am happy with it. I will be really happy when the garage is done. I will never do my own drywalling again. :)
 
Update

Well the guys who were here to work on my table just left.

They arrived and I saw the rails they had put facings on and was a little taken back by the lack of quality. I could see the lines where the facing were. I could also tell the side pockets were angled different from one another. The pockets were also less than 4'' and the sides were 4.5" which was okay. The last thing was I didn't see them stretch the felt in the way I read about online (Simonis 860 HR). Maybe I am too ignorant to notice but I don't think so.

I sent the rails back and expressed my concerns. The head guy was a little irritated but he saw the issues with the rails also. I just hope this doesn't turn into a huge hassle.

The guy said he learned how to do tables from one of the most well known mechanics in Northern CA (a guy I have heard of before). Hopefully he will do the work this time and it will all come together

CIMG1372.jpg


I honestly was hoping to be able to play a little pool tonight.
 
ISW said:
Well the guys who were here to work on my table just left.

They arrived and I saw the rails they had put facings on and was a little taken back by the lack of quality. I could see the lines where the facing were. I could also tell the side pockets were angled different from one another. The pockets were also less than 4'' and the sides were 4.5" which was okay. The last thing was I didn't see them stretch the felt in the way I read about online (Simonis 860 HR). Maybe I am too ignorant to notice but I don't think so.

I sent the rails back and expressed my concerns. The head guy was a little irritated but he saw the issues with the rails also. I just hope this doesn't turn into a huge hassle.

The guy said he learned how to do tables from one of the most well known mechanics in Northern CA (a guy I have heard of before). Hopefully he will do the work this time and it will all come together


I honestly was hoping to be able to play a little pool tonight.
Click to expand...

BTW, I notice you didn't put the table on the middle of the garage. Good move, same way I did mine. A little over 5' from the side wall is all you need and you can still park a car in the garage plus it's easier to hang a light because you don't have to work around the opener. Another benefit is that if you have a bunch of guys over there is plenty of space on the car side for everyone to sit. With the table in the middle it gets tight. I would only suggest that you lay down some indoor/outdoor carpeting or something. It beats dropping a stick on the concrete or scratching up balls that get dropped or fly off the table.
 
Last edited:
Good catch. I was really thinking about doing the carpet thing. It's pretty cheap too.

The reason why I didn't was honestly because I wasn't sure what color and or what size to get. I don't really want to do the whole garage. Is there a size that works well for 9' tables?

I was also thinking that the carpet would throw me off if I had one foot on and one off while shooting. I guess I would just say I have had too many "unsures" to make a good decision.
 
ISW said:
Good catch. I was really thinking about doing the carpet thing. It's pretty cheap too.

The reason why I didn't was honestly because I wasn't sure what color and or what size to get. I don't really want to do the whole garage. Is there a size that works well for 9' tables?

I was also thinking that the carpet would throw me off if I had one foot on and one off while shooting. I guess I would just say I have had too many "unsures" to make a good decision.
Click to expand...

Indoor/outdoor is cheap. My garage is like 20x20 and I think the whole thing with the 2 sided carpet tape was less than $150. Just put it down over the whole floor and you won't have to worry about one foot on and one foot off - if the only bare part is under the leg assemblies you won't have the issue. I drive the car right on to it, no problem. You don't even need padding. If you get sick of the color it is so cheap you just replace with a new color.

Believe me, the first time you or a guest drops a cue, you will be glad you did.
 
Looks like I am going to get some carpet.

The mechanic called me today. He said the rails weren't that bad but would redo them anyway.

He then proceeded tell me that his guys knew what they were doing and that the cloth was stretched fine. I then told him about his lead guy doing the railing while the two helpers were doing the leveling, bondo, and cloth. One guy didn't have clue. When he heard "Jon" was working on the cloth he didn't say anything.The guys just stretched the cloth with needle nose pliers and not with their body weight as I saw a pro do with some diamond tables.

He knew it had been a botched job. He also told me to stay off the internet as I would just confuse myself. Well, I was reading the Simonis manual not just the "internet".

In the end we came to an agreement. He is going to get new rail cloth and I am supposing they will re-stretch the cloth when they come back. We will see...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top