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I have this War Eagle that is now working good and I'd like to clean up the front castings. I don't want it to look like a new machine but want to get off some of the grime and not lose the little paint that's on it. Is there any way to add paint and not have it look too new?

If you are going to try and add paint you should do a complete repaint. Other wise just leave it as it is. Don't do a half a-- job if you know what I mean.

I feel that when the paint is compromised either by peeling or crud 60% or more, its an easy choice. Repaint it as original and enjoy the task. The outcome is so well worth the time. If it was a lot less gone I might think about it. But yours as far as I can see is about 90%.
Dave

Hi,
Find attached a copy of the original brochure, it may help you with your colors.

Freddy

Oldslotman restored my war eagle and it turned out perfect. This will help you with colors too.

Joe:
If you want to leave this machine as original as possible, you don't want to touch a thing.
On the other hand......................
If you want to just clean-up the castings, you can wash them with a very mild soap and water.
But, even with this light process, you are liable to loose what very little paint that is left. It is
really in the "no paint" zone, in which you may want to do a "semi-restore". It will have new
paint, but won't be all 'glitzy & shiny', like a new machine. This is something that I tried-out
on a couple of different slots, several years ago. First, I did not bead-blast anything. Just
cleaned the castings with soap & water, and a toothbrush, to get in all the corners. All of the
high spots were wet-sanded with 400, and fine steel wool. Painted the appropriate colors in
the low areas. Wipe off any paint overlap with thinner, after dry. The final finish, is a coat
or two of Dull or Satin clear-coat spray, which is available in a rattle-can. If everything is
done properly, it will come out looking like a 'real-nice-clean-original', not restored.

Joe:
An additional note:
Should you decide to repaint, check out the coin tower area of your top casting. Your machine
looks like there is residue of yellow on it, like the rest of the front. The original "War Eagles"
had two different examples. One with no paint, as shown above, in the original flier, and the
restored machine, and the other version was painted yellow. I am not sure at what point in
Mills production, that they changed this, or it was a preference of whomever placed an order.
They look good either way, but personally, I favor the top in yellow. In any case, return it to
however it was. Check the back bonnet for paint residue as well. There is also two styles of
the bonnet. One has a design in the center of the flat area, close to the top of the door.
Bill

Thanks for all the input. Bill, I like the idea of not making it too shiny . Could you post a photo of what you machine looks like?

Joe:
The "War Eagle" shown here, is not mine. It is an excellent original machine,
and is for reference only, to show you the 'yellow-top' version. I have sold all
my previous examples, that I do not have digital pix of. They are all on 35mm.
The one I still have, has an interesting history, and has been apart, in a box,
waiting for one last part, that I have been unable to turn up. Good luck with
your challenge.

Also forgot to mention before, that if you decide to go the 'semi-restoration'
route, just lightly buff, or use chrome cleaner, on the handle, hub, and award
card frame, as they do not look like they are rusty. Any light surface-rust, will
come out with "Brilliant-Shine", if you can get any in your area.
Bill

Joe:
Although not a "War Eagle".........this is an example of a Mills "Poinsettia" that I restored
a few years ago. This machine was really trashed, and could not be saved without a complete
make-over. This is an example of how I do the castings. The highlights are not overly-polished,
to look like chrome, and the lower areas are dull. The handle, hub, gooseneck, and award card
frame were plated in Watts Nickle. As for the paint, I always like to stick with 100% original
color schemes, but sometimes like to bend the wire just a tad, to 99.9%, as evidenced by the
spiffy looking Owl.
There are many different configurations of the "Poinsettia" lower front. Some are very suttle,
like a jackpot window style, as well as a few revamp fronts. All this for a later story.