preparing the Harlem Globetrotters Pinball cabinet

After finishing up the Steampunk-Inspired lamp, I have turned my attention back to the Pinball tables. Specifically, getting the Harlem Globetrotters table topper fixed up. 

While the topper wasn't in terrible shape, there were bad edges, dents, the paint was faded and the box was covered in lead-based paint. So it definitely needed some work.

Plus this was a chance to learn a couple of things:

1. how to do wood repair - specifically how to use Bondo (which is the recommended filler from a lot of repair gurus)
2. How to spray paint. I have never used a spray gun - I have always used rattle cans (or a roller) for painting.

 I purchased some Bondo-brand filler at the hardware store, mixed it up and tried it out on some bad corners:

After gagging from the smell! I learned two key pieces of information:

1. Bondo sets up quickly! I was only halfway through my pile of goop when it started hardening and would not spread easily on the wood.
2. A thin coat is all you need! I laid it on thick, thinking it was like the stuff you put on sheetrock - easily sanded off - hah! I had to sand for hours to get rid of the big ridges and blobs I left all over the wood...sigh

But at last I had it good enough for a first coat of primer.

I pulled out my handy-dandy portable spray booth, set it up in the garage, loaded the top in it:

Got out the 3/4 Oz. Quick-Change Airbrush Kit I purchased:

and started in!

I quickly discovered that the 3/4 Oz. airbrush was far far too small for this use.  It is probable that I cannot get it adjusted to its maxiumum abilities but it is not even close. At its best, all I could produce was a light paint spray about 1 inch wide.

The good news was I was able to learn a bit about using a spray gun, the bad news was I need to purchase one 2 or 3 times this size.