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Playfield Repairs.

DanLewell

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Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
1,041
Location
Northampton, UK
I've been reading through some of the repair guides on pinside which explain in detail how to do a full playfield restoration and I was thinking of having a go. Im going to get an airbrush and have a practice on something other than a half decent playfield first.

While I work up the courage to do a proper job involving proper 2PAC clearing the entire playfield (I've got a mate who has a car repair firm so I'm planning on getting him to clear the playfields when I think Im ready to try that), I thought I might practice on some smaller touch-ups that I need to do.

So I was planning on using waterslide decals but I dont really know what to use to protect them? All the repair guides say about clearing the entire playfield, but is there something I can use to spray a small amount of clear coat without having to do an entire playfield. I dont really want to stick mylar over them as it will make it really obvious.

Has anyone tried anything similar? what products are available in the UK that will give decent results?
 
Vid's guide is really helpful and the input from the others on there is a great insite to the issues you may come across and the solutions. However the level of restore they are aiming for is operator bullet proof standard, thus the whole 2k thing and it's anti UV, anti yellowing and anti fade attributes.

In a home environment and the UK market I can't see why the new 1k acrylic clearcoats can't be used. They are available in aerosol cans and also much safer to use in a home HVLP setup.

Ask your car guy about them.

Good luck.
 
Yeah, im still on about page 50 of vids guide, going through a bit every night.

I suppose what I'm asking is, if I use an aerosol clearcoat, can I just do a small area and feather it out at the edges or will that be really noticeable once it is buffed up?

And has anyone got any recommendationsfor a clearcoat in a can that they've had decent results with?
 
Automotive clearcoat, 1k or 2k of an acrylic base is flexible. It has to be to cope with the plastic bodywork they use on cars these days. The problem is having an exposed edge that can receive impact.

So you do a few repairs on the playfield, spot cover them in clear and start shooting balls. The edge of each spot of clear is the weak point. Each ball pass or waxing highlights that microscopic lip and eventually it looks like peeling sunburn.

The fix is to cover any work done in clear to protect it from contamination, then once all the touchups are done shoot the whole playfield and sand it down flat, fill in any imperfections or sunken inserts. Shoot another layer of clear and sand flat.

You should get to a point where after sanding there are no imperfections and the playfield is a clean matt finish BUT there are lines where the different levels of clear have been sanded through, imagine microscopic contour line like you see on a map.

Brushed on clearcoat, centre left shows a smooth area where the different layers edges are revealed.
MagicCircle example.jpg

When you get to this point you are ready for the final glass, wet, flood coat. This coat will, after sanding, cover the entire playfield without any edges, apart from around switch holes but there is little you can do about them.

Finally work from 1000 to 2000 wet dry and polish up to the required finish.

If you have a knackered playfield go crazy, I did and I learnt a lot. Alternatively use a small sheet of plywood, make some dents on it and experiment with a spray can of 1k so you get an idea of where your heading.

EDIT: Should also add that whilst 1k and 2k are advertised as compatible, when you add in stuff like acrylic paint, waterslides or decals between the layers crazy stuff can happen. Find something that works with the touchup methods you will be using and stick with it from start to finish.
 
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