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Playfield Protection - what do people rate?

Best playfield paint protection?

  • Mylar

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Plastic playfield protection

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Clearcoat

    Votes: 5 83.3%
  • Total voters
    6
PBrookfield

PBrookfield

Resident Uneconomical Repair Representative
Joined
Mar 23, 2017
Messages
1,338
Location
Wolverhampton, UK
Alias
Paul
A perennial question, but I'd like to hear personal opinions!

Looking for opinions on playfield paint protection as I have all three choices available to me (that I am aware of) and I'm not 100% sold on either one yet.

A playfield protector is the easiest to install, looks very nice and is fully replaceable, but I've read that it affects ball movement a lot and as the game is an F14, the last thing I want to do is make the game slower. If I wanted a slower game I wouldn't have bought F14 :D It's also costlier than the other two options - not a fan of that. If it was a cheap option I'd go for this.

Clearcoating appears to be the best option in terms of end-result, but while I know how to do it (lots of prior experience with car body repair) I don't have a suitable place to do it, so would have to haul the thing outside and then deal with the amusement factor of spraying rattlecan clearcoat outside. It's also a clearcoat, so it's much harder to undo. But it's also the cheapest - which I like a lot. I don't like cutting corners, but I really like reducing costs by choosing 'difficult' options.

Mylar... I'm not adverse to going for a 'full' mylar protector and I'm sold on the ability of mylar to protect the playfield, looking at how the factory paintwork has withstood the test of time underneath the factory F14 partial mylar - but I already know how much of a royal ass it is to remove this stuff.
 
Clearcoat for me. Strip the top of the playfield and then take it to your local car body shop, give them £20 and get them to do it
 
Keep in mind that in home use the chances of wear is really minimal. These things were meant for commercial operation, getting played for hours every day.

Keep the game clean, wax if so desired and importantly make sure the balls are always in good nick...... You would really have to be playing it a LOT to cause wear.

You do need to address any raised or lowered inserts...... Very common on F14s. Any that are could be potential wear zones.
 
JT. said:
Clearcoat for me. Strip the top of the playfield and then take it to your local car body shop, give them £20 and get them to do it
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Not a bad idea, actually. But the association to a car body shop just made me realise - that clear coat is going to have to cure. I'm a big manchild and the idea of not being able to play my machine for four weeks while the clearcoat hardens just made the clearcoat route a lot less appealing!
 
Sgt GrizZ said:
Keep in mind that in home use the chances of wear is really minimal. These things were meant for commercial operation, getting played for hours every day.

Keep the game clean, wax if so desired and importantly make sure the balls are always in good nick...... You would really have to be playing it a LOT to cause wear.

You do need to address any raised or lowered inserts...... Very common on F14s. Any that are could be potential wear zones.
Click to expand...
Oh, absolutely agreed - even though I will play it a huge amount and eventually be tempted to route it, I know it doesn't need it. But when I bought this thing I was expecting a real dog - but it's just a little bit of work (in my eyes) to becoming a beautiful piece. Doing any of the options I listed also gives that beautiful glossy look to the playfield - and the satisfaction of a full restore.

Yeah, the inserts are like a cobblestone path right now. Very entertaining to play on a surface like that, very hard to believe you have the machine level when the ball is curving everywhere, and the yagov kicker may as well be renamed the glass kicker. I already plan to re-level those and epoxy them into position - obviously before I do anything like a clearcoat or mylar!
 
Is it full mylar now? Always a risk of paint/artwork damage on removal of it. I'm sure you have read the million discussions of this :)

I'd lean towards the full playfield protector.

Clearcoat def needs to be done in a professional fashion, or risk a dogs dinner.
 
Sgt GrizZ said:
Is it full mylar now? Always a risk of paint/artwork damage on removal of it. I'm sure you have read the million discussions of this :)

I'd lean towards the full playfield protector.

Clearcoat def needs to be done in a professional fashion, or risk a dogs dinner.
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Mylar has been yanked off already with the exception of the two patches in the upper playfield - so it's very close to just being a clean field. I'm fully prepared to repaint any ripped-off paint; there's a fellow online that has posted some frighteningly good acrylic paint matches for the colors, and I used to paint Warhammer figures. I'm just fine with acrylics and doing detail ;)http://www.edcheung.com/album/album09/pinball/f14.htm

The cost of the playfield protector and the numerous reports of slower play make me nervous about it - they apparently changed from lexan to a new material lately so I'll have to see if newest reviews change their mind on the 'feel'.

Re: clearcoat quality, agreed - I don't suggest it lightly. I've wasted months on my project car figuring out the art of trying to get a clearcoat down that isn't total garbage with rattlecans...
 
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ok - here's a question for you - If you take it to the local Car body shop - What would you say you wanted to do?? "Slap a load of clear on here please matey"?? I doubt they would know what "Clear" is :D
 
Paul said:
ok - here's a question for you - If you take it to the local Car body shop - What would you say you wanted to do?? "Slap a load of clear on here please matey"?? I doubt they would know what "Clear" is :D
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Haha - find a better local ;)
 
Paul said:
ok - here's a question for you - If you take it to the local Car body shop - What would you say you wanted to do?? "Slap a load of clear on here please matey"?? I doubt they would know what "Clear" is :D
Click to expand...

Mine was more confused by what a 'pinball playfield' was, until I turned up with it :hmm:
 
Clearcoating is the best option but only if you get it done properly (2pac using HVLP spraying gear) and then have the time for it to cure and buff it out so it's nice and shiny. I'd only go to these lengths for a top end restoration which in this case doesn't sound like you're doing. I've toyed with the idea of rattle can clear before a few times and did a test on a old Flash Gordon play field but wasn't happy with the results I could achieve so IMO don't think it's worth going down this route.

Do not bother with mylar :thumbs: It's good for spot covering ball drop/strike areas but I wouldn't do a full playfield with it no there are other options on the market and seeing as the game is in your home.

I really like the play field protectors and have used them on a few games now (the latest being my Space Station restoration). They don't really change the speed of play at all but you could say they give a slightly different "feel" to the game as the ball is rolling over the protector rather than wood but "feel" is quite subjective.....maybe a better way to describe it would be to say the game seems to roll quieter :) The only issue with them is the cost!

In your situation I'd be looking at one of the following two options:
  • Not cheap - get a play field protector.
  • Cheap - As @Sgt GrizZ mentions, clean it, wax it, play it :thumbs:
I am going to be experimenting with a different waxing technique on my Wizard that apparently gives a longer lasting finish but not finished the touch ups yet so no idea if it's any good. @PBrookfield you're not that far from me in Nottingham so if you want to come over to play on a game with a play field protector fitted then give me a shout and we'll try and arrange something :thumbs:
 
if you can get a car spray garage to do it for £20 quid then good luck...I get them done when I restore them for customers but its about 8 coats with 4 days drying and sanding between each coat and 4-5 hours gradually buffing with reducing grades of buffing paper and compound ..its hard work !! results are like glass...im a big fan of mylar as well ....
 
@PBrookfield I've just won a €100 voucher to use at playfield-protectors.com for winning a tournament in France.
If you're interested in buying it from me PM
 
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Reactions: JT.
chris platt said:
if you can get a car spray garage to do it for £20 quid then good luck...I get them done when I restore them for customers but its about 8 coats with 4 days drying and sanding between each coat and 4-5 hours gradually buffing with reducing grades of buffing paper and compound ..its hard work !! results are like glass...im a big fan of mylar as well ....
Click to expand...

That was for one layer (probably more than that, in one go), definitely not what you're describing @chris platt. One layer definately did not fill faults like cracks around inserts, but that wasn't my intention. 8 layers with work in between must be significantly more than a brand new playfield gets. It does sound like a lot of work, but cool stuff anyway :thumbs:
 
I used to clear coat all my high end games, MM, IJ, W?D but over the years have discovered exactly what @Sgt GrizZ said. I have owned my CV for probably 10 years and (although I always meant to get around to clear coating it) the playfield looks exactly the same as the day I brought it.

Unless you really want to do it for the sake of doing it don't bother, just enjoy the game!
 
Begging's not my business.

I have never waxed a game in my life (though I have a round tub of that gerlitz stuff after people on here raved about it) and don't really care if a playfield looks shiny or not, though of course I don't wanna make any surface worse than it is. I bought one game with a playfield protector on it and it plays ok but the extra 1mm means some of the rollover switches sometimes don't register so I considered removing it briefly. The best and easiest way to protect any game imo is to occasionally handle your balls. Cup them. Cradle them. If they ever feel even slightly pitted or god forbid rusted, even in one spot, replace. a ball with a wear spot on it is the same as a sandpaper ball, just more subtle so you won't notice it happening.
 
Have read about the playfield switches thing with a protector - now I own a machine and have had time to work on one, I'm not bothered about that in the slightest - I'll adjust as needed. These things are a DREAM to work on compared to some of the **** I've put myself through in the past!
 
After 25 years some of these switches and holes are getting a bit marginal - as thin as the protector is I can easily believe it would throw some mechanisms just that last millimetre out of whack.
 
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