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1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions

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1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions
« on: June 05, 2020, 05:20:59 PM »
I just picked up an old Rene Pierre coin-op table.  It was painted by the previous owner.  My intention was to clean it up and learn how to play with my kids.  It looks complete and in good shape.  The play field was also painted and looks to be blue under the green paint.  I now plan on completely stripping the paint and refinishing the wood.  Where can I find information about this table?
What year/model, are there different models?
What color should the legs be?
How does the play field attach to the table?  It just lays between the top and bottom now.
Is it tough to strip and repaint the players?  Should I? They are chipping.
I don’t plan on selling it, I just want a solid table to learn and play on.  Should I worry about having it look original?
It looks like a big project, but I have pretty solid woodworking ability so I am looking forward to restoring it.  I just need to decide where to start and what the final product should be.

Offline alaskan thunder

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Re: 1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2020, 08:43:01 PM »
need pics

Re: 1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2020, 11:03:10 PM »
Here are a few pictures of the table.
I have decided to start with the legs and lower cabinet.
The first picture is how the table looked when I purchased it.  Everything was painted except for the rods.
[img]https://imgur.com/rS7yS30/img]
Next is the playfield.  The green is peeling in a few places exposing a blue playfield.  It is something I will eventually replace as it is cracking where it turns up in the corners.
[img]https://imgur.com/PHdl6Gv/img]
When I stripped the black paint off the legs it looked like the finish was partially sanded off prior to sanding or the paint stripper started pulling up stain.  The leg on the left has been cleaned up as well as I could with stripper and steel wool.  It looks like the original stain was reddish.  Is that normal?  Was there a standard stain used or were there options.  How were these tables originally finished.  Polyurethane, shellac, tung oil?  The white paint on the side came off very easily.  It looks like the finish was not removed as much as on the legs.  It also seems to be natural wood without any stain.  Prepping this part should be a lot easier.  I'm thinking of keeping it natural.
[img]https://imgur.com/jUtSn9w/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/VISzpNH/img]
I've seen pictures of Rene Pierre tables with metal plaques on them.  This one only has numbers stamped into the wood.
[img]https://imgur.com/7ZAHOYz/img]
Last is the playfield.  There is a clip on the top half of the cabinet that grabs a small cutout on the edge of the playfield and lifts that end whenI open the table.  The side of the playfield closest to the hinges is not attached to anything and it does not feel secure.  Should the playfield be attached to the top half of the cabinet?  Under the playfield there is a hinged metal hook hanging.  What is it?
Thank you in advance for any information you can give me.  I will continue to add pictures and questions as this project progresses.
[img]https://imgur.com/Vab11At/img]

Re: 1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2020, 12:25:54 AM »
Your foosball table is a "Rene Pierre Competition 71". You can find pictures on the web to see what it should look like (inside and outside).

Legs are supposed to be black. The foosball table itself should remain natural. No problem to paint the players if needed.

The playfield was attached to the top cabinet with 2 hinges. The hinged metal hook hanging under the playfield is used to lock the playfield to the top cabinet. When you need to clean the playfield, you unlock this metal hook, move the 2 latches on the sides and you can lower the player to clean it up properly.

Good luck with your restoration !

Re: 1970’s Rene Pierre restoration questions
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2020, 07:21:21 AM »
Thank you for the information metlal. 
I should be able to locate the screw holes used to mount the hinges.
Searching competition 71 returned better pictures than my original searches.